cookies and code

After a very satisfying meal at Nash’s Restaurant, we walked across the street to Olde Tyme Cakery, Creamery, and Candie Shoppe to look for something sweet for later. At Old Tyme’s they produce all types of cakes, sweets, ice cream, and candy, but the speciality of the shop, according to shop girl, is red velvet cake and wedding cake. My wife, mother, and aunt were pretty excited upon hearing this for two reasons: they love wedding cake and where there is wedding cake, there are usually petifores. Sure enough, the shop had chocolate petifores made with red velvet cake and chocolate filling as well as the traditional white petifore with white wedding cake and butter cream filling. We grabbed a few of those (~$1 each) and a slice of a red velvet cake made that morning (~$3) along with a brownie that was calling our name (~$2). The cake was delicious, very silky in texture with a cream cheese frosting that was very rich in flavor; some of the best red velvet cake I’ve had to date. The brownie was coated in chocolate frosting and topped with pecans and very moist considering it had been pre-cut that morning. I didn’t get to try the petifores unfortunately, but I did hear a lot of, “Oh, you won’t like this…” and “You shouldn’t try this, its terrible…” accompanied by lots of laughs so I’m guessing they were a hit.

From a quick glance at the display counter, it looks like Old Tyme’s also does custom spun sugar sculpting as well as custom cakes and day-to-day sweets. There were a few shops in the same building as the “cakery” but I’m not sure if they were affiliated with Old Tyme; that being said, they had a lot of Cajun trinkets that were fun to peruse though. Although, we didn’t try the dessert at Nash’s, if you find yourself in a similar situation to us (being stuffed with no hope to eat dessert directly), then give Olde Tyme Cakery, Creamery, and Candie Shoppe a try. I think you won’t be disappointed.

Olde Tyme Cakery, Creamery, and Candie Shoppe is located at 210 N Morgan Ave, Broussard, Louisiana.

While visiting family in Louisiana this past week, we happened to be in town for my aunt and uncle’s wedding anniversary. To celebrate, we decided to grab lunch at Nash’s Restaurant in Broussard. Nash’s follows in the well established practice of converting an old home to a restaurant. For some reason, this seems to always give me the comfortable feeling of being in someone’s home rather than lost in a busy or non-descript building. Nash’s decor reminds me of restaurants such as the Veranda in Fort Myers and, the now closed, Strawberry Mansion in Melbourne. Nash’s is an Italian and Cajun restaurant with an Acadian influence who’s head chef is very well known. My cousins couldn’t recommend this restaurant enough to us, so I was stoked to try out the menu.

Even though we had been on a non-stop seafood eating marathon for the entire trip, you just cannot travel to Louisiana and eat anything but seafood; at least a true Cajun should not. I started with a cup of the Seafood Gumbo (~$6) and, trying to stay in the theme of the cuisine, ordered the Shrimp Creole (~$13) with the Italian Olive Mix (+~$2) salad. Others at the table ordered cups of the Shrimp, Crab, and Corn Bisque (~$6) and Chicken and Sausage Gumbo (~$6) along with the Crab Cakes (~$13), Mini Seafood Platter (~$13), the Open-face Roast Beef Sandwich (~$10), and the Seafood Salad (~$13). The seafood gumbo didn’t miss a beat although I did have to season it a bit more than expected. It was a combination of lump crab meat, shrimp, and crawfish made with a traditional roux. It was also served with a large de-shelled crawfish claw which was the perfect garnish for the dish. I heard similar comments about the other soups at the table. The salad was made from a bed of Italian greens with tomatoes, many different type of pitted olives, a quarter of a boiled egg, and dressed with a muffaletta olive mixture that brought every bite together. I will say that for the entree I was a bit disappointed. When I typically think of Shrimp Creole, I picture a sort of rustic dish made with large Gulf shrimp and generously cut portions of pepper and onion in a tomato-based sauce that has a bit of a kick to it. This dish had relatively small pieces of pepper and onion, the shrimp were much smaller than I expected, and without a spicy kick in the sauce, the tomato flavor was a bit more than I expected. That being said, the overall flavor of the dish was still good. The other meals at the table were extremely delicious. The crab cakes were served on a fried eggplant and I believe were made with blue crab meat, so they were had that savory and sweet combination going for them. The “mini” seafood platter was much larger than we expected having fried oysters, shrimp, and catfish. The seafood salad was also a good portion coming with grilled shrimp, salmon, and another seafood item over a bed of what looked like romaine and other veggies. At the end of the meal, our waitress brought out fresh-baked French bread rolls which she had forgotten to bring earlier. We were all full, but the bread was so fresh and hot, we each had to sample a bit of it, just so it didn’t go to waste.

We skipped out on dessert, but I have to say although the lunch entree wasn’t everything I expected, the meal as a whole did not disappoint. If you like spicy food, make sure you request it when you order, but don’t let that discourage you from the great flavors on the menu. The Amberjack with Seafood Au Gratin sauce looked amazing, so I’ll have to make my way back one day. I’ve been told that every occupant of this building has done an amazing job with their food, and Nash’s Restaurant is no exception. Although, it’s a bit of a hike for those Lafayette folks, it’s definitely worth the visit. Don’t be coo-yôn; give Nash’s a try.

Nash’s Restaurant is located at 101 East 2nd Street Broussard, Louisiana.