Before I moved to Louisiana....

I didn't know really about Cajun cooking. My extent of tasting it was gumbo. Other than that I'd never really had Louisiana cuisine.

Since I've moved here I've tried numerous dishes with names that hard to pronounce and found out what a few other Cajun/French dishes were.

I've had the best spicy Bloody Mary ever, they really know how to make them down here. I've tried all kinds of Po'Boys at my favorite deli in Lake Charles. I've also had the biggest, freshest shrimp of my life down here.

I now know what boudin, kolaches and beignets are. I've eaten alligator in several different forms and had some very spicy crawfish too. You have to suck on their head to get the real spicyness out.

There are two spices down here that are pretty much added to EVERYTHING. I'm talking on popcorn, on crawfish, baked potatos, on grilling meat, even on tortilla chips.

They are:



Tony's being the most popular. Our turkey last Thanksgiving was basted in this.

AND



Slap Ya Mama, which is made not too far from here and is a more local spice.

They are similar and both quite good. Sean prefers to season with Slap Ya Mama though.

Before I moved down here I'd never heard of either of these. People talk about using Tony's all the time though. I even heard it at lunch today.

I recommend to everyone to come down to Louisiana and try the food down here. It's seriously amazing!