Lafayette , LA
Though most visitors to Lafayette might sooner associate the area with our more famed Cajun and Creole culinary fare ( jambalaya , crawfish , and gumbo ), it is the rice and gravy-centric plate lunch that fuels the people of Louisiana ’ s Acadiana region . Consisting of meat , a gravy-covered starch , a pair of vegetable sides , and a simple piece of bread — and often all served on a single plate — the plate lunch emphasizes speed , affordability , and caloric heft .
A close cousin to the meat-and-three restaurants found throughout the South , the history of Lafayette ’ s plate lunch houses is rooted in the marriage of rustic , homestyle cooking with the convenience offered by the buffet line . In the late nineteenth century , cafeteria-style lunchrooms appeared throughout America , introducing patrons to self-service , the steaming lunch counter , and the ubiquitous plastic tray .
In South Louisiana , rural meat markets were likely the first to sling portable plate lunches to a hungry working-class crowd . Instead of disposing of their scraps and other unsold cuts , butchers smothered these meats in a rich , roux-based gravy for tomorrow ’ s lunch . With the addition of rice — a regional commodity and staple of local tables — and a stewed vegetable or two , the plate lunch was born .
Growing up in his great-grandfather ’ s butcher shop , David Billeaud remembers learning how to grind meat for sausage , prep pork chops , and debone steaks as soon as he was tall enough to reach the butcher ’ s block . He ’ s taken that expertise to T-Coon ’ s , his plate lunch restaurant , located in central Lafayette . There ’ s meatball fricassé , smothered pork , and smothered beef , all immersed in a peppery , brown gravy . Appearing alongside these everyday standards , daily specials round out the menu .
At each and every plate lunch house scattered throughout Lafayette , variety is crucial . The menu at Landry ’ s Café resembles a labyrinthine board game of weekly standards , daily specials , side dishes , and additions .