Louisiana Eatery Earns Spot On ‘Best Roadside Restaurant’ List

Louisiana has had a love affair with food ever since the first indigenous people set foot across our marshy southern lands. The land has always been bountiful and provided for the needs of Louisiana residents. Of course, our restauranteurs perfected recipes that turned nature's bounty into a myriad of classic Cajun and Creole dishes. It's just how we are in Louisiana.

And because of that, we are often asked by visitors "Do you know any good places to eat"? In Cajun Country, the answer is always a resounding "yes". We know several great places to eat, however you might be impressed by the facade or the outdoor design of the place we send you. Louisiana is a haven for "hole-in-the-wall" bars and eateries. The reason those places stay in business? What they serve is incredible.

The folks at Southern Living Magazine have chronicled what they believe are the South's Best Roadside Restaurants. You can see their entire list here, 15 eateries made the list. Among those recognized are the NFA Burger in Atlanta, the barbeque at B.E. Scotts BBQ in Lexington Tennessee, and Greenville, Alabama's Bates House of Turkey. I have stopped in there many times during trips to Atlanta and this may be the only turkey I can tolerate eating.

What Louisiana Restaurant Made Southern Living's Best Roadside Restaurants?

Chances are if you are familiar with the culinary landscape of the part of Louisiana that is collectively known as Acadiana you might have come up with the answer to this one on your own. I would be willing to bet that thousands of people from Lafayette, Crowley, Eunice, and Jennings have made the short trip to the Frog Capital of the World, Rayne, Louisiana, but not for frogs for something else.

Southern Living Magazine has recognized Hawk's Crawfish Restaurant in Rayne, Louisiana as one of the 15 best roadside restaurants in the south. Granted with the way crawfish season has been going here lately they might not be doing the bang-up business they normally do a Hawk's but you can bet whatever they serve you is going to be good. According to their website, they look forward to seeing you on March 20th.

According to Southern Living author Tara Massouleh McCay Hawk's offers diners the "cleanest crawfish in the world". And when you consider where most crawfish spend most of their time hygiene is a good thing. Owners Anthony and Jennifer Arceneaux use a special method to purge their mudbugs and the difference shows up in the taste.

Now if you're trying to find Hawk's you might need your GPS or need to know somebody because they are off the beaten path but well worth the journey. If you need directions, here you go. And be sure and tell the good folks at Hawk's that we said hello. It's a Southern thing, they'll be expecting it.