Happy New Years from Burnside, Louisiana!

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Antebellum, Ascension Parish, Bernadette's Restaurant, Burnside, Cajun, Cajun food, celebration, champagne, Creole, Creole food, culture, Donaldsonville, history, Louisiana, Mississippi River, New Years, New Years Eve, Plantation, plantation country, Sorrento, Sugarcane, The Cabin Restaurant, The Cajun Village, Tourism, travel

It’s been a great 2013 here in Burnside, Louisiana. I started this blog a year ago in the hopes of exposing the classic charm and history of The Cabin Restaurant, The Cajun Village, and Bernadette’s Restaurant to the rest of the world. Each of these three businesses, and our little community here in the heart of Louisiana’s historic Plantation Country, is something I treasure dearly. The rolling sugar cane fields that hem in the Mississippi, the stately antebellum plantation homes, the charming towns like Donaldsonville in Sorrento – these form a perfect setting for a rich, Cajun culture that has flourished in Ascension Parish for nearly 300 years. I am glad you have taken the time over the past year to read, follow, and fall in love with the community I call home. Here’s to a great 2013 and even better 2014! I can’t wait to share more Creole/Cajun dishes, more Cajun culture, and more Louisiana history with you over the next 12 months.

Cheers!

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Christmas in Plantation Country

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alligator, Ascension Parish, Bayou, Bernadette's Restaurant, bonfires on the levee, Cajun, Cajun Village Antiques, Christmas, Christmas collectibles, Coffee House, crab claw ornaments, crawfish ornaments, Cypress, Decoration, Food, garland, Gatorville, gifts, log fires, Louisiana, Louisiana Wines, ornaments, Pieux Fence, pinecone firestarters, plantation country, poinsettas, Redfish scale magnolia, ribbonsg, River Parishes, Slave Cabin, sugarcane harvest, swamp, Tabasco ornaments, The Cabin Restaurant, The Cajun Village, wine bags

December has finally arrived here in Ascension Parish, and we have been busy decorating The Cabin Restaurant, Bernadette’s Restaurant, and The Cajun Village. All the stores in The Cajun Village have some kind of Christmas special or items to decorate your Christmas tree or house with. There are plenty of Christmas events in the River Parishes area, most notably the Festival of the Bonfires on the Levees.

So here’s a little photo gallery with some images of what Louisiana’s historic plantation country has to offer this Christmas, from gifts, to lights, to good Cajun food and traditions. Enjoy!

Bernadette’s Restaurant

Louisiana wine shop

Cajun Village Antiques

Christmas collectibles in C & C Treasures by Jim Shore

Christmas Decor at C & C Treasures

Christmas on the bayou!

The last of the sugarcane harvest across from The Cabin Restaurant

Pinecone firestarters

Garland and ribbons along The Cabin’s pieux fence

Santa in The Cabin

Santa themed wine bags!

The Courtyard, decorated for the holidays

Wreaths at The Coffee House

We’ll have a log fire going every day when it’s cold at The Cabin

The Cabin, decorated for the holidays

A Christmas Tree in The Cabin

Crawfish Christmas ornaments

Tabasco Christmas ornaments

Santa cypress!

Crab claw ornaments

The magnolia flower is made of redfish scales

Blue crab christmas ornament

Autumn in Louisiana

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Alligators, April, Ascension Parish, Autumn, Baton Rouge, beaucoup, beignets, Blue Ridge Mountains, Café au lait, Cajun, Cypress, Fall Fest, Gulf of Mexico, Humidity, hurricanes, leaf change, Louisiana, New Orleans, NOLA, October, outdoor festivals, pecan trees, Plantation, plantation tours, rustic outdoor wedding venue, social media, Spring, The Cajun Village, weddings, Winter

I stopped by the alligator pen at The Cajun Village the other day while I was wandering around snapping photos for the Village’s social media page. While back there, I noticed that the leaves had changed color and Autumn had officially arrived in South Louisiana. Although the colors aren’t as bright or varied as those of Blue Ridge Mountain forests, there is a subtle brilliance to blend of the yellow pecan leaves and burnt orange of the cypress trees.

Louisiana’s weather is generally characterized as “hot, muggy, and wet” to both Louisianians and tourists alike. That statement is true from April to October, but that description does not accurately describe the other five months of the year down here on the bayou. Autumn (and Spring) in Louisiana are absolutely perfect. The humidity disappears for the most part, temperatures hang around the mid 70s, and you don’t have to worry about hurricanes too much anymore. Even though cold fronts blow in from the north every other week, the warm breezes of the Gulf of Mexico invariably push them back and keep the temps mild and delightful.

And because the climate is so perfect, it is the perfect time to visit Louisiana. Plantation tours are much more enjoyable when you don’t have to slog through what feels like a sauna outside. Outdoor festivals such as Fall Fest at The Cajun Village are scheduled for every weekend in cities and towns all over the state. Café au lait and beignets taste so much better when the heat index isn’t 110° outside. And if you’re planning a destination wedding, you won’t be able to find a better place than in south Louisiana at big fancy plantation or charmingly rustic outdoor venue like The Cabin Restaurant.

So what are you waiting for? The weather is perfect, there are “beaucoup” things to do in Ascension Parish, New Orleans, Baton Rouge, and other small towns, and you know you won’t go hungry with all this good Cajun food. Book a trip to Louisiana before winter sets in. You won’t regret it!

A Hidden Wine Cellar…

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Ascension Parish, Baton Rouge, Bernadette's Restaurant, Cajun, Cajun/Fren, chef, Chef Gerard Hemery, Cristal, dry air cooler, fine dining, French, French Food, Haute Cuisine, Historic Preservation, Louisiana, New Orleans, restaurant, Restoration, Slave Cabin, The Cabin Restaurant, Warres Port, Wine, wine cellar, wine list

Tucked inside a restored slave cabin on the grounds of The Cabin Restaurant and Bernadette’s Restaurant is an modern wine cellar. The cellar was originally an old dry air cooler, but was converted with painstaking care into a wine cellar, capable of storing over a hundred different brands of wine.

The cellar originally provided wine for Bernadette’s, a fine dining restaurant that featured Cajun/French fusion cuisine. Bernadette’s opened 5 years ago and has been a hidden treasure out here in Ascension Parish. Menus for the restaurant’s signature five-course and seven-course meals are featured weekly, along with wine pairings. A seasonal menu of distinctive a la carte selections is also available, along with an extensive wine list for even the finest palette that offered a wide range of selection from Cristal to 1976 Warres Port.

Unfortunately, we had to temporarily close the restaurant a few months back. Chef Gerard Hemery had to retire due to health concerns, and we have yet to find a competent replacement for him.

If you know of anyone in the Louisiana area (preferably between Baton Rouge and New Orleans) who is an experienced chef in hauté cuisine and French food, please shoot me a message or give me a call (225) 473-3007 ext. 4. It’s a shame that our eclectic wine collection at Bernadette’s has to sit unsampled by our devoted patrons. Please help spread the word! Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Burnside Station

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Adaptive Reuse, Ascension Parish, Bernadette's Restaurant, Burnside, Burnside Station, Dornier House, Gas station, Helvetia Plantation, Historic Preservation, ideas, Louisiana, Louisiana history, microbrewery, Moving buildings, Plantations, Restoration, River Road, The Cabin Restaurant, weddings

This year is The Cabin Restaurant‘s 40th anniversary. A lot has happened at The Cabin over the last four decades. Six buildings have been moved onto the property (not including The Cabin itself!), including the Schoolhouse, two slave cabins from Helvetia plantation, Bernadette’s Restaurant, and the Dornier House. All these buildings support the restaurant/wedding/event operations at The Cabin in one way or another. However, one building that often gets overlooked is the old Burnside Station.

The Burnside Station, featured in the picture above, was the first building on this property, which sits at the corner of Hwy. 44 and Hwy. 22. Built in the early 1950’s, Burnside Station was originally a gas station and auto shop. The station operated for about 30 years, but was eventually closed in 1984, which is when the property really became oriented around The Cabin and its restaurant activities.

Today, Burnside Station sits empty. We plan to begin restoration of the building soon, but first we need to find a proper use for it. So I am reaching out to you, blogging community, for help in finding the best use for the Burnside Station. I had considered a microbrewery, but we are limited by the space in the building (the building is about 950 sq. ft., with an additional 625 sq. ft. of space in the courtyard behind it).

I look forward to your brainstorming and your ideas. This is very neat building that has been a landmark in the Burnside/River Road community for the last 60 years. It deserves to be adaptively reused in its own, unique way. Thanks for your help!

Front of the station

Right side of the station, closest to The Cabin

Inside of the car bays (we’ve been using them for storage)

Inside of the car bays (we’ve been using them for storage)

Panorama of the car bays

A photo of Burnside Station and The Cabin, circa 1984