LaPlace, LA – Water lilies, we hardly notice them in South Louisiana because they’re everywhere!  But they were in full bloom this week as we returned from ‘The Big Easy’ via Hwy 61 instead of taking our usual I-10 route.  At times the beautiful purple was so intense they looked surreal between New Orleans and Laplace just before the Bonnet Carre Spillway.  They were in a small waterway which parallels the highway – another good reason to call ourselves Cajun from South Louisiana – if you just stop and look, LA is a beautiful state.

A little ways down the road from the wild flowers, as we rolled in to the city of LaPlace, is Jacob’s Smokehouse — been smoking since 1928 and is hailed as having world famous Andouille.  We are always leery of “world famous” anything and at the same time curious.  We stopped, we tried, we are fans.  I don’t know about world famous; I do know the Andouille is delicious and some of the best we’ve had.  Entering the smokehouse, the smell will tingle your senses and make your mouth water.   Along with the Andouille there are many other types of smoked meats from sausage to chicken.  Boudin and Cracklins are also available.  I was not a fan of the Boudin, too much liver; John enjoyed it.   He says Boudin is like gumbo – all different yet most is pretty good.