Laura Benton

The sign on the roof has been there long enough that the paint has faded the way people…

By Laura Benton · Jul 24

The building does not look like much from the road. Hand-painted sign, gravel lot, screen door that sticks.…

By Laura Benton · Jul 24

Walking into a nursery expecting a row of petunias and walking out with a ceramic planter, three candles,…

By Laura Benton · Jul 23

August in New Orleans does something counterintuitive to its restaurant scene. Instead of slowing down, the kitchens lean…

By Laura Benton · Jul 23

Some Southern meals just feel a little different when they come from a steam table lined with pans…

By Laura Benton · Jul 22

Walking into the right deli can transport you thousands of miles without ever leaving the state. The smell…

By Laura Benton · Jul 22

This Louisiana sculpture garden is truly unlike any place on earth. Nothing prepares you for what appears at…

By Laura Benton · Jul 21

Some meals stay with you long after the last bite. That perfectly smoked brisket, the roux that took…

By Laura Benton · Jul 21

Some food events feed you, this one pulls you straight into the rhythm of Cajun life. I arrived…

By Laura Benton · Jul 20

The lazy river hits differently when the sun drops, the string lights come on, plus the splash pads…

By Laura Benton · Jul 20

Driving past, you would not give it a second glance. The building looks like it could house a…

By Laura Benton · Jul 20

Pull into this tiny coastal town in mid-August and you will find a crowd that has been gathering…

By Laura Benton · Jul 19

The word on the street about this restaurant always comes back to the same dish: a savory cheesecake…

By Laura Benton · Jul 19

Word spreads fast in neighborhoods where the same family has been running the same takeout window for longer…

By Laura Benton · Jul 18

Long before the boat engine cuts and the swamp closes in around you, the stories start. A creature…

By Laura Benton · Jul 18

Most festivals in Louisiana center on gumbo, crawfish, or jambalaya. This one centers on masa. Hand-pressed, seasoned, wrapped…

By Laura Benton · Jul 17

The guide picks up the juvenile alligator, flips it over, plus shows you exactly where to place your…

By Laura Benton · Jul 17

Plates arrive fast and stacked: gumbo in each hand, plus a line of shrimp étouffée that moves faster…

By Laura Benton · Jul 16

Knives move fast, timers count down in full view of the audience, plus the pressure in the room…

By Laura Benton · Jul 16

You would drive right past it if you did not know better. The building is unassuming, the sign…

By Laura Benton · Jul 15

The doors open at eight in the morning and by half past the dance floor is already packed…

By Laura Benton · Jul 15

Tucked above one of the French Quarter’s most storied dining rooms lies a collection that most visitors walk…

By Laura Benton · Jul 14

Every August, a warehouse arts district turns into the kind of street party that makes you forget the…

By Laura Benton · Jul 14

Baton Rouge does not try to outshine New Orleans because it knows its own kitchen speaks loudly enough.…

By Laura Benton · Jul 13

Getting there requires a bridge, a long stretch of highway that narrows to two lanes, plus the kind…

By Laura Benton · Jul 13

Louisiana does not need to compete with Texas on barbecue, but it does anyway, and the results speak…

By Laura Benton · Jul 12

Leaving the tourist district behind is where the real Louisiana plates live. They are sitting behind a gas…

By Laura Benton · Jul 12

Downward dog takes on a literal meaning when a kid the size of a sneaker decides your spine…

By Laura Benton · Jul 12

National rankings have a way of changing a restaurant, but a pizzeria in the Bywater neighborhood of New…

By Laura Benton · Jul 11

A restaurant that opens in a converted soap factory on a residential street in Central City has two…

By Laura Benton · Jul 11

Nobody leaves Philadelphia talking about a cheesesteak they had somewhere else, but a small counter on a residential…

By Laura Benton · Jul 10

Most plant shops make you in and out in twenty minutes. A garden center in Metairie operates on…

By Laura Benton · Jul 10

A half address on a narrow street in the French Quarter is the only clue that a shop…

By Laura Benton · Jul 9

Louisiana knows how to keep a carousel spinning, and the one inside City Park has been turning since…

By Laura Benton · Jul 9

Crossing the Causeway takes almost an hour, and by the time the shoreline appears, the city behind you…

By Laura Benton · Jul 8

City Park has a way of swallowing the noise of the city whole, and this garden inside it…

By Laura Benton · Jul 8

The buffet line stretches longer than you expect, and every tray holds something that was made in the…

By Laura Benton · Jul 8

Louisiana truly does not do ordinary restaurants well. The dining rooms here double as museums, the kitchens serve…

By Laura Benton · Jul 7

Downriver from New Orleans, the food changes tone without losing any confidence. The dining rooms become more local,…

By Laura Benton · Jul 7