A very dear friend of ours called recently to announce his impending marriage. He invited us, and I gleefully accepted. The ceremony was to be in his hometown of Broussard, La., And then he mentioned the date, February 11th. Which happens to be the day Tom and I were married. Since I didn’t feel that Tom could make the trip, I was planning to go by myself. But that decision to leave Tom on our own anniversary just never did sit right, even after I had concocted a fun plan to hit all the boudin and cracklin joints on the way during the show.
I called our friend to cancel, and he definitely understood. But the fun scheme to hit all the Cajun joints between here and there still sounded like fun. I did it the following week.
Our friend is Chuck Billeaud, a name very familiar to all those in that area. Billeaud roots go deep there. The Billeauds have a massive real estate company and cousins with restaurants, etc. Chuck has brought us terrific boudin a few times, and cracklins too. His cousin Billy Billeaud owns Billeaud’s Meat and Grocery in Broussard. They were not part of the boundin round-up, but I am going to award them the “best” title on this version of the Cajun staples. Though Broussard was too out of the way for this trip, Chuck brought some to me while I was on the air a few months ago, and I was immediately addicted to the cracklins. I have swooned over the boudin many times before.
As the trip approached, callers on the show placed their favorites into the ring. Best Stop came up time and again. But I was intrigued to actually make this trek to all the ones on the trail, whose wares are on billboards through I-10 heading west.
Since there isn't really such a thing as bad boudin or bad cracklins, this piece is more about the adventure. Have a fun little lark of your own on a nice spring day and make your own determinations. There are really only subtle differences. And at least as much reputation and lore figure into determining the “best.”
Because the show was on from 2-4, I drove to Lafayette first and started the journey back. My plan was to have lunch in Lafayette but there isn’t a place to do that. The original Don’s seemed promising until I got there and saw the cool original building from 1934 boarded up in a needs-gentrifying part of town. There was Drago’s and a newer Don’s like we have at home. I remembered Charlie G’s, but they are now closed at lunch. A COVID development, of course.
At show time I was in front of the four corners of Cajun bliss, exit 97 on I-10. Here is the renowned Best Stop, but also, Kartchner’s Specialty Meats, Billy’s Boudin, and Don’s Meat Market.
Patty stepped in for me while I ran in to get the first contender. Kartchner’s is a brand new place, large and sparkling. But it had all the essentials, mainly the big white old-fashioned electric warmers for the boudin, and glass cases filled with other options. I got a smoked boudin link and a little bag of cracklins. Taking only a bite of the boudin and a few cracklins, I drove to the next place, completely missing Best Stop, which is not right at I-10.
Across the highway I stopped at Billy’s, which was pretty busy for a mid-afternoon weekday. I got another link of boudin and a small bag of cracklins, took a quick bite of each as Patty covered for me on the radio, and drove on, juggling the show on bluetooth, a boudin link, and afternoon traffic in Boudin Central.
After I crossed the street again at Don’s Meat Market, I got to sit and savor a few of these for a minute. Don’s was a somewhat larger operation than these others, with the requisite vibe. It was then that Patty told me where to find Best Stop, so I had to double back across the Interstate.
This is definitely the place. I can see the hype. Is the boudin really that good, or is the market itself so deliciously cliche Cajun country that it adds extra flavor to the product?
The context may add excitement, but the product can stand all by itself. The place was packed and I have a feeling a lot of these people are regular daily visitors. Best Stop is indeed the best I had that day.
By this time the passenger seat of the car was a pile of white wrappers, boudin links, and little bags of cracklins. It would all have to wait for me to sort it out for real at home. A caller to the radio show directed me to Breaux Bridge, to a place called Charley T’s, which he declared the best. I stopped in and got a boudin link and more cracklins, and again, I liked it very well.
Another caller wanted to make sure I stopped at Porky’s between Baton Rouge and Hammond. It was too late for that but I returned on a separate trip to get Porky’s. I was underwhelmed by the cracklins, which were frankly, gnarly. Maybe they are better than the tidy chunks of fried pork fat one usually sees, but I found these atypical pieces offputting. The taste was also, like the other, quite good.
There were two left on my list. Ronnie’s, my personal favorite which just happens to be close, and Bergeron’s, which is actually in Covington. (and a few other places.)
Personally, I love Ronnie’s, and not just because it is not so far from our home. My nephew-in-law is from Hammond and he’s been keeping me stocked when he passes through. I loved it the first time I had it and I’m grateful it’s close. He gets the regular boudin and smokes it himself. I like it because the flavor is great but also because the rice is not mushy inside, a trait that Mary Leigh made me mindful of just as I was doing these comparisons.
Bergeron’s is close to home, and I have a theory about it. I first noticed it on a billboard in Port Allen, right outside of Baton Rouge. I was happy to see them turn up so close to home, where I could get some boudin any time I wanted it. But after trying it I decided I didn’t want it except in an emergency. I feel like Bergeron’s can’t compete in the crowd in Cajun country, but it works fine in places like Covington. For emergencies.
But it does look like the prepared meats are the best thing here. They have a good selection of stuffed chickens and the like, and I’ve heard good things about it. Very nice people, nice place, just not my favorite boudin and cracklins.
So in the end, it may be that boudin joints follow Tom’s rule about Chinese food. The “best” one is simply the one you patronize.
