When you think of great American food cities, New Orleans is often at the top of the list.

I’ve made the 5- to 6-hour drive from Houston many times, drawn by the promise of delicious Creole rewards at old standbys like Domilise’s, Mr. B’s Bistro and Antoine’s.

But in the past few years, my trek down Interstate 10 has stopped well short of New Orleans, in the city of Lafayette, the center of Cajun country.

Walk into any convenience store on even the most obscure back road and you will often find links of boudin — the traditional rice-and-pork sausage of this area — made with the decades-old recipe of the family that owns the store. Like barbecue tours of Central Texas, boudin tours of south-central Louisiana are becoming more popular among adventurous food explorers.

In the spring, long-dormant “boiling pot” restaurants flicker to life as crawfish begin to surface. At Cajun Claws in nearby Abbeville, locals and tourists line up early to get a seat for arguably the best crawfish in the area. Just as Texans love to line up for barbecue, so do Louisianans line up for crawfish.

Until recently, one cuisine you would not find in Cajun country is Texas-style barbecue. But on a trip there this month, in between overflowing platters of crawfish, fried shrimp and seemingly endless strings of boudin links, I stopped by Blanchard’s Barbeque, the first Central Texas-style craft barbecue joint in Cajun country.

Blanchard’s Barbeque 2023 W. Pinhook Road, Lafayette, La. 337-322-1674 Open 10:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m. or until sold out Tuesday-Saturday.

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Owners Matt and Christy “Kissy” Blanchard took a long and circuitous path to opening a Texas-style barbecue joint in a nondescript shopping center in Lafayette.

Matt was born in Sulphur, La., and lived in various cities throughout the southeastern U.S. growing up. As one of five children, his parents decreed that each child had to do chores one day a week, either cooking or cleaning.

“I didn’t like to clean,” says Blanchard. “So I learned to cook.” He took cues from his father, a dedicated backyard griller.

Blanchard and family eventually landed in Baton Rouge, where he graduated from St. Amant High School and spent a few semesters at Southeastern Louisiana University in Hammond. He met his wife during his time in Baton Rouge.

After taking various jobs there, including as a chemical plant technician, Matt and Kissy moved to Memphis, where he took a job as a cook in a large church. Tasked with feeding crowds as large as 800 people, he improvised by building a 6-by-16-foot cinder-block pit and cooking dozens of pork shoulders for a pulled-pork dish.

“I thought ‘now this is fun,’” says Blanchard.

In 2014, Matt and Kissy moved to Lafayette, where his family had settled. A friend offered him another job in a chemical plant, but he wanted to pursue his passion for barbecue and knew it was probably his last chance before settling down and starting a family.

At the time, food trucks were all the rage in American cities, so the Blanchards started by cooking Texas-style barbecue from a trailer, with Matt as pitmaster and Kissy working the order window.

Over the next few years they built up a loyal following, as well as a savings account that allowed them to open the brick-and-mortar location in mid-2018.

Blanchard’s barbecue menu is faithfully Central Texas-style. On my recent visit, Blanchard’s prime-grade brisket was skillfully cooked with excellent smoke flavor and a classic peppery bark. Side dishes are all made from scratch — the green chile corn casserole and smoked beans were standouts.

He makes all his sauces in-house, and the Creole mustard sauce is certainly a worthy homage to local cooking traditions.

Though a few Texas-style barbecue joints have opened in New Orleans in recent years, Blanchard’s is the first foray of craft barbecue into deep south-central Louisiana. By all accounts, the locals in Lafayette have responded favorably, with Blanchard cooking up to 10 briskets a day — a significant number for a newly opened barbecue joint.

And there are always plenty of expatriate Texans in the local oil-and-gas industry who will appreciate a taste of home.

jcreid@jcreidtx.com

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