Cajun French: la patate douce (la pa-tat doos) – sweet potato
Google had assured us that we could find fresh local bread at Southern Sweet Potato Pie Company. We were not sure we really believed Google but the name was inviting and we were interested. The non-descript building set back off Lapalco Boulevard was nothing special yet walking in all our senses were on alert, the cases were full of sweet pies, cakes and cookies of all shapes, sizes and colors. But no bread could be found.
How we found ourselves at Southern Sweet Potato Pie Company is our Saturday tale. Saturday is Farmers Market Day for us. This Saturday was no different and we were headed to a Farmers Market that we shopped a few years ago, Westwego Farmers and Fisheries Market. Only problem there was no Farmers Market at the site and none found in the area. Knowing Gretna, LA has a farmers market we headed there. Once again disappointment was our reception. Only three farmers with vegetables and one with fruit; the rest was art/crafts and prepared food items. We purchased creole tomatoes and we were in need of fresh bread yet none was found. We had had luck before finding a bakery in other areas so we googled “bakery” and none looked appealing except Southern Sweet Potato Pie Company. When we arrived we found no bread but lots of sweets. As we do often, we just take advantage of what we find. This was going to be out of the ordinary for us as we purchase very few ‘sweets’.
Patrick Peaden was welcoming, friendly and knowledgeable about his sweets, just no fresh bread. Patrick was a great ambassador for his business and eager to tell us all about it and guide us through the never ending samples. We enjoyed tasting his various products and learning about his business. Sweet dough is used in all their products and according to Patrick the taste varies depending on the item. Patrick’s parents started the business 16 years ago and his dad makes the deliveries while his mom has moved on to other family business ventures. . Their products can be found in various locations around the New Orleans area including some vendors at the Superdome. The products can be ordered on line along with other Louisiana products from www.nolafoodshippers.com.
We left with a sweet potato pie, their signature item, sweet dough cookies and a chocolate ooey, gooey cake. We bombed out on the fresh local bread that Saturday but a new local dessert location will be on our itinerary for our next visit to Bayou Segnette State Park.
