Author: Jyl Benson

Roadside Dining: River Life

Several factors make Roberto's River Road Restaurant in Sunshine memorable. For starters, the location — it is nearly impossible to find to the extent that it can start to feel like a prank as you drive and drive, seemingly going…

Roadside Dining: Touch of Brass

Justine, the sprawling 200-seat French Quarter restaurant is the third from spouses Mia Freiberger-Devillier and James Beard Award -winning Chef Justin Devillier, following the quietly elegant La Petite Grocery on Magazine Street and the now-shuttered downtown gastro pub, Balise. This…

Roadside Dining: Easy Does It

A gardener, I came a across Southern Gateway garden center a couple of years ago. A sign reading “90,000 square feet of greenhouses” caused me to slam on the brakes and make a sharp turn off of Belle Chase Highway…

Roadside Dining: Luck of the Draw

I was traveling through north Louisiana with a worldly friend skilled in cooking many cuisines with a concentration in the foods of Asia. I had long heard rumors of a sensational Chinese restaurant in Bossier City with a voluminous wine…

Roadside Dining: Bowled Over

  With 10 bowling lanes, a stage for live music, a full-service restaurant, multiple bars, a rooftop deck and a beer garden, Red Stick Social, Baton Rouge’s newest hot spot, defies definition. Robert Lay was the developer who reimagined then…

Calendar: Festival International de Louisiane

Festival International de Louisiane April 24-28 // Lafayettefestivalinternational.org Held in downtown Lafayette, the 5-day, Festival International de Louisiane sees over 300,000 festivalgoers celebrating international music and the connection between Acadiana and its French roots. The festival features performance art, music,…

Calendar: Carnival Time

GREATER NOLA Sunday, Jan. 6 Krewe of Joan of Arc. 6 p.m. French Quarter. New Orleans. Phunny Phorty Fhellows. 7 p.m. Uptown. New Orleans. Saturday, Feb. 9 Krewe of Chewbacchus. 7 p.m. Marigny. New Orleans. Saturday, Feb. 16 Krewe Bohème.…

Calendar: November/December

GREATER NOLA Nov. 2–4. Bucktown Seafood Fest. Metairie. bucktownseafoodfest.com Nov. 2–4. New Orleans Accordion Festival. New Orleans. nola-accordion-festival.com Nov. 3–25. Louisiana Renaissance Festival. Hammond. larf.org Nov. 4. Algiers Folk Art Festival. New Orleans. folkartzone.org Nov. 9. Boudin, Bourbon and Beer.…

Calendar: September/October

Greater NOLA Aug. 30-Sept. 3. Southern Decadence. New Orleans.southerndecadence.net Sept. 10-16. Restaurant Week. New Orleans.coolinaryneworleans.com/restaurant-week Sept. 20-23. Burlesque Fest. New Orleans.neworleansburlesquefest.com Sept. 22. NOLA On Tap. New Orleans.nolaontap.org Sept. 22-23. Fried Chicken Festival. New Orleans.friedchickenfestival.com Sept. 28-29. Bogalusa Blues &…