With a mix of hilarious quips and poetic observations about local traditions, the Cajun Mardi Gras episode of Parts Unknown really showcases Bourdain’s strengths as a travel writer. It’s a great reminder of how funny that late author/TV star could be, while also showing respect to his hosts and tour guides around the world. Here’s a roundup of the best meals and moments from the second-to-last episodes of Parts Unknown Season 11, which was filmed in southern Louisiana earlier this year:
Best restaurant meals: The top honor goes to the lunch at Laura’s II in Lafayette that Bourdain shared with historian/DJ Herman Fuselier, “Creole cowboy” Dave Lamelle, and local musician/business owner Sid Williams. While discussing the history of Creole culture, the guys ate fried fish, rice and gravy, ribs, and smothered-and-stuffed turkey legs, which Bourdain was “all over like a heat-seeking missile.”
The concluding meal of the episode, a post-Mardi gras breakfast of crawfish etouffee and an oyster po-boy at Suire’s Grocery in the town of Kaplan, also looked fantastic on screen. “One of the more awesome locations I’ve ever found,” Bourdain said about the grocery store. “The kind of breakfast spot I just love deeply.”
And an early morning feast of fried sausage balls, cracklins, and brown-bagged Budweiser at Billy’s Boudin in Opelousas also stood out as one of the episode’s highlights.
Best non-restaurant meals: On Bourdain’s first, rainy night in Cajun country, he attended a massive party under a tent organized by his host Toby Rodriguez. Bourdain and his new friends feasted upon mounds of boiled crawfish and thick jambalaya as they listened to a local band perform a pre-Mardi Gras concert. Later in the week, Tony also enjoyed a meal of shrimp and okra as well as “heirloom peas from Grandpa’s garden” in the home of accordion maker Larry G. Miller and his family.
Most surreal scene: That’s a two-way tie between Bourdain’s (fruitless) airboat pig-hunting excursion through the swamp, and the epic, roving Courir de Mardi Gras celebration that made up the second half of the episode. Bourdain introduced the latter scene by saying: “I feel like I should be giving you some sort of parental advisory about disturbing imagery and behaviors, along with a caution not to try any of this at home.”
Best historical hot take: After discussing the history of creole culture with the guys at Laura’s II, Bourdain explained: “I almost want to dig up John Wayne to tell him this: Creoles are widely believed to be the first American cowboys, herding cattle in the plains and bayous of Louisiana long before white dudes in ass-less chaps started showing up in the West. In fact, zydeco music was born out of cowboy culture, the rhythm of the washboard, mimicking the trot of the horse on the trail.”
Best poetic Bourdain moment: Tony narrated the scene on the morning of Courir de Mardi Gras: “Traditional costumes and revelry; a contrasting streak of bright color set against the wet, gray landscape of late winter. This is grand Mamou Louisiana, early morning of the last day before lent. And in Cajun country, that means it’s time to run Mardi Gras. Men on horseback, men on foot in search of chickens, presumably for the evening’s ritual gumbo. House to house they will go, bringing mirth, mockery, and mayhem.”
Best quotable Bourdain moment: As a group of costumed Mardi Gras revelers ran through a muddy field, trying to catch a live chicken, Tony remarked: “It’s kind of like trick or treating, if your Halloween candy moved at high speed and all the other trick-or-treaters were drunk and competing for the same peanut butter cup, like it was the last peanut butter cup on earth and they didn’t care if they killed you to get it.”
And the epic Bourdain kicker: After a curbside Ash Wednesday ceremony, and a rejuvenating breakfast at Suire’s, Tony reflected on his trip: “On balance, my Cajun Mardi Gras experience was memorable, if nothing else. And through the parting clouds of cruel winter, there is light and hope and the onset of spring.”
Head over to Explore Parts Unknown for essays and travel guides about southern Louisiana, plus notes on the making of this episode. Next Sunday, CNN will air the season finale, chronicling Bourdain’s trip to Bhutan with filmmaker Darren Aronofsky.
CNN has not yet announced what will happen to the episodes of the show that Bourdain was filming when he died earlier this month. Stay tuned for more updates on the future of Parts Unknown as they become available.
• Explore Parts Unknown [Official]
• All Parts Unknown coverage [E]