There is a small number of quintessentially Louisiana things-to-do that I have yet to tick off of my list. That probably sounds pretty grandiose but it is sort of my job to ferret out and explore the treasures of our riparian state. This is not to say that I am not interested in hearing about new things to do or am at all jaded by the cultural offerings to be had. This is really more of a backdoor excuse for never having been to the Zydeco Breakfast at Café Des Ami is Breaux Bridge.
For years, years I say, I have been hearing about how you have to show up at the crack of dawn, shod in your best dancing shoes and are then treated to a visual and auditory assault that can only be created by spoons on a washboard, the accordion and hundreds of tooled leather boots slithering around a wooden floor in unison.
Well, consider the Zydeco Breakfast officially checked off of the list of things I am ashamed to say I have never done. My friend and dutiful traveling companion, the gelato maker, Luca and I left Baton Rouge at about 7:30AM and made our way west, a summer sun catapulting us towards we knew not what.
I have spent a respectable amount of time in Breaux Bridge, had some lovely meals there and browsed the amazing (and amazingly pricey) antique kitchen and dining room store around the corner from Café Des Ami, but I just never could seem to rally myself for the early morning voyage to the Zydeco Brunch.
Because five paragraphs is where current blogger wisdom tells me that people’s attention span begins to fray, I’ll just go down the list quickly. The cover is very fair at $5 (and you get it back if you order a decent sized breakfast). The food is wonderful, on this morning I had a boudin omelet with a side of Andouille cheese grits and the music is get-you-up-dancing-when-you-should-be-sleeping amazing.
A variety of zydeco acts play though Café Des Ami and I’ll have to leave it to those with a more specialized knowledge of the genre to tell you who the really good one are but Terry and the Zydeco Badboys are no slouches. So, what are you waiting for? The line forms early, the coffee is cast-iron strong and they make their bloody mary mix from scratch. The Zydeco Breakfast is simply a blast and I am poorer soul for having waited this long to go. Get to it already.
