Cajun French: la chevrette (la shuv-ret) – shrimp
New Orleans BBQ Shrimp does not have BBQ sauce or anything related to BBQ. In fact, no one is sure how the name came about. What is sure, the original BBQ Shrimp was developed at Pascal’s Manale Restaurant in New Orleans in the 1950s. The recipe was based on a dish had by Vincent Sutro, a regular at Pascal’s, while visiting Chicago. Unfortunately Sutro could not remember the exact ingredients; something about shrimp, butter and pepper. So chef Jake Radosta went into the kitchen, came out with a dish and served Sutro. Sutro said it was not the dish he had in Chicago, but it was better than the dish he had. BBQ Shrimp was born and has been on the menu ever since. Today many restaurants and home cooks prepare BBQ Shrimp, each having their own twist.
Being Cajun, we add our own twist to the recipe. To be honest, it is the way it was prepared in Laurie’s family. The Cajun Trinity is smothered down in olive oil before adding anything else. We like it this way because the trinity gives the gravy some substance, especially when dipping bread.
We admit there is an enormous amount of butter. But then that is what makes the gravy so good. Don’t shortchange on the butter. It is not an everyday dish, so make it and savor every bite.
Mais C’est Bon!

Railroads built our country and we observe that heritage wherever we travel. Not only in towns and cities, but also in buildings. These railroad buildings are now home to a variety of businesses and some are even homes. The White Timber Logging Company operated in
After a day of hiking and walking piers looking at antique boats, a barstool sounded great. A brewery in a state park sounded even more interesting. So after viewing Tahquamenon Falls from various angles and lookouts, we headed to
Michigan is amazingly very rural. Because of this there are great number of farmers, or people who live on lots of land and raise large gardens. The makes for great Farmers Markets and our last market to shop in Delta County was Rapid River Farmers Market. The market is on Wednesday afternoon in downtown Rapid River. For a small community, the market offered a good variety of items along with entertainment.
We were camped on the Eastern shore of Little Bay de Noc, way up at the North-Western end of Lake Michigan. Across the bay is the small town of Gladstone which hosts a
Arriving in
Friday Night Fish Fry is a big event in Michigan’s UP and we wanted to enjoy the festivities. These are not your regular restaurant menu items. You find a fish fry at local churches, VFW Halls, bars and various organizational benefits. It was not until we reached Rapid River that we were able to enjoy this UP tradition.
After enjoying breakfast at B’s Cafe, we headed over to the
The sign simply said, “FOOD”. John said, “Looks like my kind of place.” B’s Country Cafe was recommended by a local we’d met and it looked like it was a good recommendation.
We travel the US in our RV and are always looking for local spots to visit. Breakfast out is one of our favorites and we thought we had found the perfect spot. Did our research, read reviews and headed to La Pines Cafe. Arrived to a crowded parking lot, another good sign. Walked in and found the seating more than we expected and were told to sit anywhere, another good sign. We had hardly warmed our chairs when the server brought menus and took our coffee order, another good sign. Coffee arrived bold and hot, another good sign. At this point we are thinking we are really going to like this place. Placed our order and enjoyed our coffee.