Café De Amis: I bid you Andouille

Sunday morning the drive home brought us back to Breaux Bridge, though evidently the town is also referred to as Pont Breaux, famous of course for being the crawfish capital of the world. After passing back over the eerie thirty mile stretch of elevated highway bisecting the Atchafalaya Basin (the largest swamp in the United States), we arrived in downtown Breaux Bridge with eager appetites. Café De Amis was on the agenda this morning, as they are well known for dishing out uniquely Cajun breakfast fare.

We promptly ordered up a round of beignets for the table, which, for my sheltered northeast readers, are small balls of fried dough dusted with powdered sugar. I only wish they had some cane syrup to pair with them. While I tend to be a breakfast traditionalist most of the time, it’s not often that I see Eggs Begnaud on the menu (okay I’ll confess I’ve never seen Eggs Benaud in my life before) so I figured it was an appropriate time to embrace my inner Louisiane’. Eggs Begnaud, as I learned, is a grilled biscuit with scrambled eggs smothered with crawfish au gratin. This was a delicious departure from traditional biscuits and gravy, and the silky crawfish gravy was the perfect morning indulgence. The meal was finished off with an order of andouille cheese grits on the side, which were absolutely divine and the unanimous favorite of our discerning table.

Café De Amis is certainly worth a stop if you’re passing through Breaux Bridge with a morning hankering for some comforting Cajun food.

http://www.cafedesamis.com/

Champagne’s Breaux Bridge Bakery

It's not often you get the opportunity to stroll into a bakery that’s been open for over 120 years, so on our way through Breaux Bridge, LA we decided to stop in for a quick visit. Champagne's Bakery first opened its doors in 1888, and its been under continuous ownership and operation by the Champagne family since that time. Stepping inside is a trip back in time to a bygone era. White washed walls and the aroma of fresh baked goods fill the air, while a heavily accented Cajun lady greeted us with a genuine smile.

While Champagne's selection is fairly limited, the bulk of their business comes from their famous "pink cookies", we sampled a handful of treats delicately arranged beneath the glass display cases. The pink cookies are bite sized size sugar cookies with a cream filling, which have a unique lemony flavor that belies their pink color. In addition to the pink cookies, we picked up an assortment of other treats, only a fraction of which successfully made it out of the store. I also noticed a tray of meat pies splayed on the counter, and made sure to sample my third meat treat of the day when the lady at the counter graciously offered to heat it up for me.

http://www.champagnesbakery.com/