1910 Restaurant & Wine Bar

949 Ryan St., (337) 602-6278.

Located downtown in the Phoenix Building that commemorates the Great Fire of 1910 that burned several city blocks, the 1910 Restaurant & Wine Bar serves a refined Cajun and Creole fusion cuisine with a French backbone. I savored my dinner of rich crawfish bisque, a spinach salad with gorgonzola and pecans, and grouper with a cremini mushroom puree. King Cake bread pudding provided a festive, colorful, and delicious conclusion.

interior of 1910 Restaurant & Wine Bar in Lake Charles, Louisiana

crawfish bisque at 1910 Restaurant & Wine Bar in Lake Charles, Louisiana

spinach salad at 1910 Restaurant & Wine Bar in Lake Charles, Louisiana

grouper at 1910 Restaurant & Wine Bar in Lake Charles, Louisiana

King Cake bread pudding at 1910 Restaurant & Wine Bar
in Lake Charles, Louisiana

Pujo Street Café

901 Ryan St., (337) 439-2054.

Located in the Historic Downtown, this popular restaurant is within a building that has a history as rich as the tasty food. Cajun and Creole dishes at Pujo Street Cafe are all freshly prepared. For lunch, I very much enjoyed a cup of creamy shrimp bisque followed by a crab and avocado salad with housemade potato chips (pub chips). Oysters, burgers (including a veggie version), and po-boys are also available.