My husband and I love to road trip. With my family being from the New Orleans area, we made many trips to New Orleans and back. We personally enjoy riding and exploring the different states versus taking the plane. On our many trips from Dallas to New Orleans taking the Shreveport Highway 20 to 49 route, we have come across many new places to try! Some of the best places we have come across have been more hidden and not right off the high way like many places you would naturally stop by and try. So if you are more adventurous like us or if you are just in the area looking for a new place to try; these are our top 5 places to try that has amazing food and great prices as well.
CAJUN LANDING – ALEXANDRIA, LA
We came across this restaurant by chance looking for a good creole/Cajun food after long hours of fast food stops. At first, we didn’t really know what to expect nor were we completely sure about the decision we made to eat there. It was one of the best choices we made! It was very homey and cozy even with its bigger size place. It had travel eatery awards on the wall that also satisfied us in our choice to eat there. We went during the week and it was very slow; Between us and 2-3 other couples, there weren’t many people dining in at the time. It had a very old school thick linen on each table. we were presented with our menu, which we honestly expected to be expensive and to our surprise, it wasn’t! they had lots of great options which made it more difficult for us to make a decision! Overall my husband and I played it safe and ordered pasta. I ordered the Cajun shrimp and crawfish alfredo and my husband ordered the Cajun crawfish alfredo pasta. I also ordered the crawfish bisque which tasted amazing! It was the best bisque I had ever had and even my husband how never tried bisque before and was normally reluctant to try it even enjoyed it. So that’s saying a lot, with him being an extremely picky eater. The pasta far exceeded our expectations, the portions were huge and were enough for two people to get full off one plate! That’s how big the portions were and the price was great at $11 definitely a steal for a great cheap meal.
NOTHING BUT A COFFEE SHOP- ALEXANDRIA, LA
This place is more ducked off from the high way and almost in camouflage with the neighborhood around it. Slightly easy to miss but totally worth it once found. This is place is great for a quick morning meal and they have really good coffee. It’s a small craftsman 2 story house made into a coffee shop, that’s turned into a coffee shop on the first story of the house. Seating and parking are limited but definitely a place worth trying in the morning. They do not have long hours and do close before 12pm. I ordered a white chocolate mocha coffee with hazelnut and an everything bagel with cream cheese. My husband ordered a coffee with toast, eggs, and bacon and it was the best breakfast he had in a long time and he would eat there every day if he could. It made it to our go-to place list really quickly and easily. All the staff was super nice and it was a family-owned business that also came from the New Orleans area along with Alexandria, La. If you add this place to your list drive slow and keep your eyes peeled you definitely don’t want to miss it!
BILLY’S BOUDAIN AND CRACKLIN- SCOTT, LA
I first Tried this place riding with my family way before I ever moved to Dallas. Believe it or not, the only way I was able to remember where this place was because my aunt got a speeding ticket every time she passed this place and she always got pulled over right in front of Billy’s boudin and cracklin. The first time she ever got pulled over was the first day we tried it. The funny part is the officer was taking so long she told us to go inside and see if they had anything good to eat and by our surprise they did! Everything we ever have got from their hot kitchen has been tasty and flavorful and it has become a must stop place for me and my family every time we travel to and from Dallas or New Orleans. If you have never tried boudain before this is the place to use as your first experience! That’s how great this place is, and another great thing about them is that they offer a bunch of different taste options for the fried boudain which is great if you like trying new things, the fried crawfish balls are great and super spicy. They have great flavor and definitely not meant for anyone that can’t handle the heat! The fresh homemade cracklin is great too I have tried it on numerous occasions from my mom and aunt ordering some but my personal favorite that I like to chow down on would be the boudain for sure! If your driving they have a very high steep bridge directly before it (if your coming from Dallas) so if you go over the bridge coming down it will be the first gas station food stop at the base of the bridge and (if your driving too Dallas ) the bridge will be directly after it Billy’s. So if your planning to give this place a try be sure to take it easy going over the bridge cops like to hide by the base of the bridge on both side! Definitely a hot spot for speeding tickets.
MR. PO BOY- BATON ROUGE, LA
This place ended up being a random food stop we found while being stuck in traffic on highway 190. This particular place does look shut down and is very old. Honestly, we thought we pulled up to a closed down fast food place. After noticing a small paper menu we decided to take a chance on this place. I ordered a hot sausage poboy and my husband that never had a Louisiana poboy before ordered a crawfish poboy. Our food was cooked at a decent time and they offered can drinks. We loved our sandwiches and we got full off of them very quickly. They won us over after the first bite and you would have never known it was a random hole in the wall that we found on the side of the high way in traffic. If you ever pass through baton rouge on high way 190 and in the mood for a bomb poboy stop by and give them a try!
CREOLE BAGELRY- SLIDELL, LA
This busy little bakery is as good as the name sounds. We noticed this little place next to a popular restaurant and Christian bookstore in the city. We were looking for a breakfast spot for something quick after our stay at a nearby hotel. This place was very welcoming and had lots of traffic. They had plenty of options to choose from. From bread to bagels and muffins to hot plates; they had it all. I really wanted to try one of their tasty looking bagels before they started to sell out. I ended up ordering an everything bagel and eggs, bacon with cheesy grits. My husband order ham, eggs, bacon, hash browns with a side of toast. The food was great and the eggs were delicious and creamy. This hidden gem is definitely worth your time if you are in the area but this place closes early a 2pm every day so get in there early and fast! They do also serve lunch as well!