Zydeco for Breakfast, Cajun for Lunch

Hi Blog!

We woke this morning to peals of thunder and pounding rain. Our kayaks were threatening to take off without us. This would have been the perfect day to roll over and go back to sleep if it wasn't for the fact that we were scheduled to attend a Zydeco Breakfast in Breaux Bridge.

- Credit Heinz Bergann

Now most folks don't usually associate music with breakfast, but in Breaux Bridge, Louisiana, it has become a tradition. It started in 1998, when Cafe Des Amis was asked to host a group of French tourists for breakfast. The owner decided to bring in a Zydeco band. When the locals found out, they all showed up to dance. And, they have been dancing every Saturday morning since then. Unfortunately, Cafe Des Amis had to close. Not wanted to lose a good thing, Buck & Johnny's took over hosting Saturday morning Zydeco breakfasts. Ten brave souls from Betty's RV Park made the journey from Abbeville to Breaux Bridge. We had front row seats.

While the band tuned up, we ordered from the breakfast menu, which included such fun items as: Cajun Boudin Breakfast (2 eggs, grilled boudin, biscuit); Ti-Na-Na (6″ cajun boudin pizza with red sauce, pepper jack, spicy boudin, pork skins, steen’s syrup) and Big Hat (omelet topped with pepper jack cheese served with troubled water [a combo of grits and étouffée]). Pictured below is Kathy's Eggs Savoy (2 eggs, biscuit topped with crab portabella brie and a cajun crabcake)!

Did we mentioned the bottomless glasses of mimosa or bloody mary?

The music this morning was provided by Leroy Thomas and the Zydeco Roadrunners. Mr. Thomas, pictured in green below, is known as, "The Jewel of the Bayou." He entertained us with a mix of traditional zydeco, cajun, blues and country.

Folks packed the dance floor. We even got up and took a turn or two. Here's a little sample of the music.

After several hours of eating, drinking and making merry, it was time to sober up. Just a few store fronts down the street was the Joie de Vivre Coffee Shop. Having been up since 5:15 a.m., we thought a latte was sounding good about now. We were joined by George, Nancy, Dan and Merlene. Just as we arrived, the locals were setting up for a real cajun jam session.

The group was so large, they took up half the seats in the restaurant. They had all types of instruments, including a drum that is also a seat, a homemade base, at least six guitars and four fiddles. We didn't see a washboard (it normally is used only with Zydeco music), but there was a triangle player (customary for traditional Cajun music)!

This fellow came a little late, but his compatriots made room for him, telling him his fiddle and voice were essential:

We had great seats behind the youngest guitar player, who sad next to his dad, the accordion player. We could easily see over his head and watch the rest of the band members.

Here is a sample of their down home Cajun music.

We made it back to Betty's around 1:00 p.m. There was another jam session scheduled for 2:00 at Touchet's Bar in Maurice, but with Happy Hour at 4:30, we decided to pace ourselves. We still have two more weeks to swim, eat and drink through before Mardis Gras!