The Blue Dog Cafe provides a classic example for Louisiana's widely known Cajun-French culture. Southern hospitality and heart-warming environments are what most people come to know and love about Louisiana's culture. One of the most distinct features of the cafe is the walls filled with paintings composed by a local artist named George Rodrigue. These Blue Dog paintings have been seen and made famous from the jazz festival in New Orleans to a restaurant right here in Lafayette. A well put together combination of a heart-warming atmosphere, well-seasoned food, and informal service at the Blue Dog Cafe provides all the right ingredients for a taste of Cajun-French culture. This restaurant is located in the heart of Lafayette and is very…show more content… The absolute first thing that one recognizes is a large variety of George Rodrigue's famous art works that cover every nook and cranny of this place. Carefully placed larger artistic pieces tell stories, and represent Lafayette's heart-warming culture by capturing unique characteristics of the southern people. This type of environment is very enjoyable; it makes me feel relaxed and at home. A rather large restaurant with majority of the tables seating anywhere from two to eight people. Unfortunately, there were no booths throughout the entire restaurant. Apparently, not considering that booths would certainly raise comfort levels for their beloved customers. Although placed near a college, this is not an area one would go to kick back and focus on college assignments. The placement of the restaurant causes a crowd, and this results in a lot of noise. On the weekends there is a variety of zydeco and Cajun…show more content… For an appetizer choice, choosing one of the items was just not enough. Thankfully, there was an appetizer combination listed at the very bottom of the menu. Upon ordering the appetizer, the most appealing were the two crab cakes, the smoked duck quesadilla, six shrimp brochettes, and the shrimp remoulade. This appetizer combination is definitely one of my favorite things to order here because it comes with a variety of dishes to choose from. Appetizer combinations are typically large enough to serve as an entree, and give a few samples of the different cuisines there. The appetizer was large enough, and replaced the entree I had considered before. These four selections took about fifteen to twenty minutes to arrive at the table, and served on beautifully decorated plates. The shrimp remoulade was the most decorative, and served in a small bowl like dish including red sauce inside with six boiled shrimp hanging off of the edges. Although a little on the pricey side at thirty dollars for the appetizer combination, I would say it was well worth it if they were all served hot. The duck wasn't exactly the temperature one
