February 16, 2017

Vacherie, Louisiana: Laura Plantation + B&C Seafood; things to do + restaurant review

Laura Plantation  

2247 River Rd./Hwy. 18, in VACHERIE, (888) 799-7690, (225) 265-7690.  Guided tours daily 10am-4pm; $20.  No lodging. 

Based on 5,000 pages of documents from the French National Archives that are related to both the free and enslaved families who lived on this centuries-old sugar cane farm, and also incorporating original resident Laura’s own book “Memories of the Old Plantation Home,” the tour at Laura Plantation features professional guides who share compelling, real-life accounts of seven generations of Creole inhabitants.  This plantation has the largest collection of family artifacts original to a Louisiana plantation.  Life here wasn’t all hoopskirts and mint juleps or convoluted relationships and intrigue.  Here it was Creole-style austere.  For instance, by tradition marriage was proposed with a fan, not a diamond ring.  Twelve buildings are on the National Register, and many are 19th-century Creole-style that are raised off the ground on square brick pillars while others are 210-year-old West African bricks-between-posts construction.  Built in 1805 and situated on a fault line with a natural ridge high point, this site never flooded.  The property has a tropical feel, with palm trees and a banana forest that is sometimes shriveled and dry from cold winter weather.  The west-African stories that inspired “Tales of Brer Rabbit” were originally recorded in this region and are thought to have been originated in cabins here.

Laura Plantation store in Vacherie, Louisiana
Laura Plantation store in Vacherie, Louisiana


cat's-eye view from plantation house at Laura Plantation in Vacherie, Louisiana
cat's-eye view from plantation house at Laura Plantation in Vacherie, Louisiana

 
dry banana forest at Laura Plantation in Vacherie, Louisiana
dry banana forest at Laura Plantation in Vacherie, Louisiana


19th-century Creole-style out building that is raised off the ground on square brick pillars, at Laura Plantation in Vacherie, Louisiana
19th-century Creole-style out building that is raised off the ground
on square brick pillars, at Laura Plantation in Vacherie, Louisiana


out building at Laura Plantation in Vacherie, Louisiana
out building at Laura Plantation in Vacherie, Louisiana


portraits of former residents at Laura Plantation in Vacherie, Louisiana
portraits of former residents at Laura Plantation in Vacherie, Louisiana


portrait of former resident at Laura Plantation in Vacherie, Louisiana
portrait of former resident at Laura Plantation in Vacherie, Louisiana

 
crawfish mound at Laura Plantation in Vacherie, Louisiana
crawfish mound at Laura Plantation in Vacherie, Louisiana



B&C Seafood  

2155 River Rd./Hwy. 18, (225) 265-8356, in VACHERIE.  M-Sat 11am-4:30pm. 

Located right next door to Laura Plantation, so close that you can easily walk on over, B&C Seafood provides some of the area's best Cajun and Creole seafood.  According to one regular, it is “the only restaurant in the state of Louisiana that serves Alka-Seltzer for dessert.”  Diners pass through the fish market in front to reach the large dining room in back.  Fried plate lunches are primo and include combos—I had catfish, prawns, and particularly delicious hushpuppies—and the menu also offers fried alligator, boudin balls, stuffed potatoes, gumbo, po-boys, and plenty more. 

exterior of B&C Seafood in Vacherie, Louisiana
exterior of B&C Seafood in Vacherie, Louisiana


fish market at B&C Seafood in Vacherie, Louisiana
fish market at B&C Seafood in Vacherie, Louisiana


fresh crawfish at B&C Seafood in Vacherie, Louisiana
fresh crawfish at B&C Seafood in Vacherie, Louisiana


dining room at B&C Seafood in Vacherie, Louisiana
dining room at B&C Seafood in Vacherie, Louisiana


owner of B&C Seafood in Vacherie, Louisiana
owner of B&C Seafood in Vacherie, Louisiana


Abita root beer at B&C Seafood in Vacherie, Louisiana
Abita root beer at B&C Seafood in Vacherie, Louisiana


salad at B&C Seafood in Vacherie, Louisiana
salad at B&C Seafood in Vacherie, Louisiana


fried combo at B&C Seafood in Vacherie, Louisiana
fried combo at B&C Seafood in Vacherie, Louisiana





More nearby plantations.

More ideas for exploring the U.S.

 

images ©2017 Carole Terwilliger Meyers

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