Welcome to the 2026 Lafayette Mini Meat-Up!

[58limited]

Whelp, this is really a mini meat-up. Something last minute prevented Uncle Bob and Lee from being able to attend and Panhead John couldn't convince Kevin klflowers to abandon his grand kids at the fire station so it is just me and John.

I rolled into town at 10:30 and was the first one at Laura's II but a dozen people soon followed me; most got their orders to go. I dined in. Madonna, the owner, remembered me and our group from the Lafayette Meat-Up last fall.

For lunch I got the crawfish fettuccine with catfish and a stuffed turkey wing (its huge y'all). Sides are rice and gravy and maque choux. I'm fighting a food coma as I type this and no, I did not eat it all - after I tasted it I got the turkey wing to go. Everything was awesome!

[Panhead John]

I’m in Sulpher, La. for a pit stop on the way. I texted David earlier and told him I stopped at a Jack in the Box for lunch. He told me he was at Laura’s and sent me this picture.





My reply was…….🖕

[58limited]

I won't post the picture John sent in reply...

[WI Bubba]

I'm dang near counting the days until I get to eat at Laura's. September can't get here soon enough.

[WI Bubba]

Panhead John. The New Mexico MeatUp. Laura's is just down the road from there and we are driving. We plan on stopping there on the way down. And maybe on the way back as well if it's as good as it has been made out to be.

[58limited]

If by "just down the road" you mean 1100 miles then yes it is.

[Panhead John]

Just down the road…….😂

[klflowers]

It's even worse. My daughter and husband have to go back to VA tomorrow to get the household goods loaded up, then they are coming back because they are flying from Atl (long story). So my oldest granddaughter (13) and a dog are staying with me for the next week. My granddaughter already has me promising things her mom won't approve of, starting with sleeping in a recliner in the living room. In front of the big TV. I think I figured out parental controls. I hope I did.

[CaptainMike]

Tough duty, Papa!

[dpearce]

We will be praying for you!

[realdocBBQ]

What, you didn't want to bring your teenage granddaughter with you to hang around a bunch of degenerates? Shocking. lol

[Panhead John]

David and I went to Don’s Seafood tonight, food was great and damn, they were packed! Great atmosphere and the minute we walked in we figured we made a good choice, the place was hopping!

They had a nice aquarium near our table…..

We ordered several different appetizers to split between us so could try different things. Our orders were cups of gumbo, blackened alligator, boudin balls, fried onion rings, a dozen jacked up oysters….grilled on the half shell with bacon, jalapeños and pepper jack cheese. 👍👍

Boudin balls


Blackened alligator


Gumbo



Onion rings…


Jacked up grilled oysters

[Dewesq55]

Looks great! Although I am spoiled by Chincoteague Salt Oysters, the very best there are, IMHO. Glad we're going back for the holiday weekend. Oyster fritters at the fireman's carnival on the 4th before the fireworks and single fried at Capt Zach's

[58limited]

Don's was excellent! I see why reservations are a must, the parking lot was jam packed, we parked near a snow cone stand across the parking lot from Don's.

This picture doesn't begin to show just how large and packed the parking lot was.

[SheilaAnn]

58limited how was the turkey wing compared to yours?

[Panhead John]

The food at Don’s was overall good to very good! As mentioned, the atmosphere was awesome….. loud, crowded but with a festive atmosphere. The only minor disappointment was the boudin balls, they were ok but not as good as I’ve had elsewhere…..such as our last visit here in Lafayette to Bon Temps. My cup of seafood gumbo was good, but to me it tasted just like standard gumbo at most of your better Cajun places…..small white frozen shrimp with a standard tasting roux, the shrimp was the only seafood in it. Anywho, the blackened alligator was a hit with both of us. It started out good and then went to very good the more we ate, the seasoning and juices hit a little harder with every bite…. The grilled jacked up oysters were also a hit! David had 3 and I had 9. 😵💫 Now for something you might find interesting, the onion rings were killer! These were the best onion rings I remember eating. They had a great tasting crust which perfectly matched my criteria of …..batter to onion ratio. You tasted equal amounts of batter and onion. 👍 Didn’t even need ketchup. Anyway, I really liked Don’s and it’s hard to beat for a fun and festive dinner with good food to match.

[Jerod Broussard]

I would not have guessed that those things were boudin balls.

[58limited]

Jerod Broussard They were pretty small. The ones at the deli counter of my local grocery store are better and bigger. Plus, I live near The Boudain Hut in Port Arthur which has some of the best so I'm pretty picky. The ones at Bon Temps here in Lafayette are tops.

[58limited]

I agree with the food comments posted by Panhead John . The onion rings were a pleasant surprise, not only for John's reasons but the batter stayed on while you were eating them. I've been to a lot of places where the batter falls off the onions with the first bite. The batter was light and crispy with a good flavor that let the onions shine.

My ranking of the food:

Blackened Alligator
Jacked Up Grilled Oysters
Onion Rings
Gumbo
Boudin Balls

SheilaAnn The turkey wing was very good. The meat tasted like roast turkey but was tender from the braising like pot roast. When I bit into an area of the stuffing I got an explosion of garlic and red pepper in my mouth. Compared to the team cook: no veggies in the braise liquid, just water was used and the seasoning on the outside of the wings kinda washed off into the liquid which I'm sure was used for gravy. I liked Laura's a lot but I got it A la Carte with no sides. I served the team cook version with gravy on top and for that reason there was a bit more flavor to it. I think Laura's was better overall, probably because it is a whole (and big!) wing and not the chunks that my store had.

[58limited]

Well, me and John needed to do some laundry so we went to our favorite Laundromat. This is such a good Laundromat that we wash our clothes there every time we come to Lafayette.

Oh, we went to Laura's II while the clothes were drying

I got the shrimp and grits with catfish plus white beans. I also got a pint of gravy and a pint of white beans to go.

[Panhead John]

Finally got to try the turkey wings, they did not disappoint! One of my sides was her white beans we all raved about last year, they were just as awesome as before! Some creamed corn was also delicious. And damn, that rice with gravy! I bought a container of gravy and some of those beans to take home…

[randy.56]

Stuffed baked turkey wings? in the pic, they look fried. So what was the stuffing inside? Went to the web page say's , different menu every day. Cool place.

[58limited]

They are stuffed with a mix of minced garlic and some spices and herbs. They are then braised for several hours.

[Panhead John]

After Laura’s David and I hit 4 different Cajun meat Markets around town looking for some goodies. We looked like a couple of old ladies hitting antique stores. 🥸 The first one we went to was called NUNU’S. Great place, they had groceries as well as a big selection of Cajun meats and other assorted stuff.



They had some Cajun chorizo boudin, we just had to get some o dat! Stuffed turkey wings too….


Their pork chops stuffed with boudin and some smoked boudin links….


Frozen boudin balls…

[58limited]

NuNu's is great! I actually stopped at the one in Scott on my way into town to grab some boudin and beer. Some of you may remember that our waitress at Bon Temps told us that they use the boudin from NuNu's for their excellent pepper jack boudin balls. Nunu's has their own version of the pepper jack boudin balls.

Things I bought at the Scott location:

two packs of boudin and some stuffed bread.



The pictures below are the ones from the Broussard location where me and John just went to:

Nice amount of fat around these chops!






Things I bought at the Broussard location: stuffed turkey wings, pepper jack boudin balls, chorizo boudin, birria brisket sausage




Deal of the day! Me and John both bought three (not really)

[Draznnl]

Was that three total on the Wagyu ribeyes or three each?

[Panhead John]

3 each…..🥸🙄

[Panhead John]

The next stop on our meat market tour, not long ago that would have had a different meaning 🤓, was a place called Herbert’s Specialty Meats……in Louisiana it’s pronounced A Bears …with a long A. Anywho, this place was another winner! Everyone in Louisiana is nice and very friendly people, but especially when you hit the small towns. One of the ladies behind the counter called everyone “baby”. 😎 Like…..”sure baby come on over here and I’ll ring you up”. Luv it! We only encountered one unbelievably rude person, 😡 and that was at our last stop, a place called Chop’s Specialty Meats. We can guarantee you we will never step foot in that place again!!!

My haul from Herbert’s Specialty Meats and Chop’s….Rice dressing with shrimp


Smoked sausage and andouille sausage…


And, some mushrooms stuffed with pork sausage….

[randy.56]

So at the meat market these days we are getting Specialty Meats and side dishes. In the old days at the meat market we were after .....................

[Oak Smoke]

58limited Let me see how to do this in my best Cajun. I’m gonna told you a question. What do they flavor the grits with in the shrimp and grits. Is it just a shrimp stock or something more. Those look so good! I’d like to give them a go at home.

[58limited]

Honestly I'm not sure. I think they used a little stock but most of the flavor came from the sauce the shrimp are cooked in. Maybe John can elaborate.

[Panhead John]

I haven’t got a clue how she does her shrimp n grits, but it wouldn’t surprise me if it’s a seafood stock.