Baton Rouge LA Archives - There Goes Connie

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The main house of the Magnolia Mound Plantation was built around 1791. At that time, it was in the center of 900 acres of a busy agricultural enterprise. Now, it is on a busy street in Baton Rouge. The grounds and additional structures provide a great place for a self-guided tour or you can join a narrated tour to get the full story. The property also makes a beautiful wedding and event venue. Visit the website for hours, prices and upcoming special programs. Steve and I arrived at the end of the day and missed the guided tour, but we enjoyed strolling the grounds on our own and peeking in the windows and doorways. There is so much fascination history to learn and understand about the French Creole culture.

Open hearth kitchen in a separate building on the grounds.

Looking toward the highway from the sprawling front porch.

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Galatoire’s Bistro, located at the corner of Perkins Road and Acadian Thruway, is an elegant place for lunch or dinner, and the food is EXCEPTIONAL. The decor features lots of taupe and gold with black and white accents, glass, mirrors and chandeliers. I particularly liked the black napkins since I love bright lipstick! Our server was a delightful girl who was attentive and extremely helpful. Read an article I wrote for Epicurean-Traveler.com here for pictures and details. In the meantime, here a few additional photos. White tablecloths and scrumptious bread pudding, anyone?

I have also written an article for Trip101.com about a wonderful B & B in Baton Rouge, The Stockade. Read about it here.

Baton Rouge has a funny French Acadian name that means “red stick.” As in New Orleans, there is plenty of Cajun and Creole food to be had, but Baton Rouge is also the Capital City of Louisiana and the home of Louisiana State University with its Tiger Stadium, a big SEC rival in sports of every kind. When Steve and I were driving around the campus a few weeks ago, we even spotted Les Miles, the head football coach, cruising around in his golf cart going from the stadium to the impressive football complex. We hoped he spotted the Aubie sticker on our car. Ha!

Anyway, we found several very enjoyable attractions and restaurants in Baton Rouge. I’ll share a couple today, and others in my next post.

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LSU has a Rural Life Museum that is something they can be very proud of. British Museum has even called it one of the “Top 10 Outdoor Museums in the World!” Wow! High praise indeed. Steve and I didn’t spend but a couple of hours there, but we were very impressed. We especially liked the vast display of antique cars, farm implements, and historical depictions of happenings in this part of the state. There is a nice gift shop, and this is a made-to-order field trip for area school children.

We also happened to be there when the azaleas of the gardens were in full bloom.

Alabama and LSU play IN Baton Rouge this fall (Saturday, Nov. 5, to be exact), so if you make the trip, maybe you can go a day or two earlier and take in some of these attractions I’ll be recommending. Auburn fans will need to wait until next fall.

EAT:

Who knew that two card-carrying Baby Boomers could enjoy something as trendy as tapas? We made our way to Restaurant IPO and had a wonderful dinner of tapas and desserts. Executive Chef Scott Varnedoe and his staff have an ever-evolving menu of creative and delicious menu items, and the decor is sleek and attractive. Feel young. Feel “with it.” Give it a try.

3 different tapas – duck poppers, hogshead cheese, and stuffed dates.

I wrote an article about it for Epicurean-Traveler.com that you can find here if you want to see more pictures that will make your stomach growl.

See and Eat in Baton Rouge, Part 2 — Magnolia Mound Plantation and Galatoire’s Bistro

See and Eat in Baton Rouge, Part 1 — Rural Life Museum and Restaurant IPO

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