Getting the flavor of...Texas’s Louisiana neighbors

Lake Charles may be just a short drive from the Texas border, but “it’s 100 percent Louisiana.”

Texas’s Louisiana neighbors

Lake Charles may be just a short drive from the Texas border, but “it’s 100 percent Louisiana,” said Helen Anders in The Austin American-Statesman. If you enjoy gumbo, zydeco, and “a mayor who has way too much fun,” there are nights you can find all three at Steamboat Bill’s restaurant, given that Mayor Randy Roach isn’t above sitting in on washboard with the band. The day I visited, I saw an alligator out back, plus a guy dressed as a gator dancing inside. To figure out “what makes the city tick,” try stopping at the Imperial Calcasieu Museum, where artifacts and dioramas illuminate the city’s 18th-century origins. Behind the museum stands a 400-year-old tree where the city’s founder is said to have tried—and failed—to kill his wife after she bedded a pirate. You’ll find Lake Charles plenty festive every day, “but for the full aaaaaeeeee,” come during one of its many festivals. During one, Mayor Roach walks a pirate’s plank.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up