(Eunice, Louisiana)
    Mel’s is like stepping back in time a little . Where else can you still pump gas at a mechanical pump? Inside is a meat market selling all varieties of Cajun Prairie specialties |
Ambiance: This
little store has more to offer than first appearances might lead you
to believe. There is a full service specialty meat shop in the
back and they're producing some delicious pounce, rabbit, tasso and
the like. Still, the overall feel is a little rundown.
It works with setting on the outskirts of Eunice and next to Fred
Bellow Lake. Location: 1894 Veteran's Memorial Hwy, Eunice, LA
The Boudin
Price: $2.99 lb.Presentation: The folks keep the hot boudin in the back. They'll wrap it and send you to the front of the store to pay. Casing: A thin and pliable casing. Meat/Rice Ratio: More meat than rice. Texture: A pulverized meat blend envelops whole and partial grains of rice. It is moist with bits of crunchy green onion. A good link, but a little too mushy. Spice: Medium/Hot Overall Flavor: Hearty, fresh, and tasty. Comments: Step inside Mel’s and you’ll be greeted with signs proclaiming that they have a new boudin recipe (as of Oct. 2009 anyway). I asked the clerk what was “new” about the recipe and he said, “Well, it’s totally different than the one they had before . . . . Not the same at all.” Okay, that certainly counts as “new.” Later, in town (Eunice) at the DQ, I mentioned that we had a link from Mel’s and a couple of locals said they had gotten the famous Johnson’s Grocery recipe for boudin from a former employee. I know that the Johnson family is now in Lafayette and are making their famous boudin themselves at Johnson’s Boucaniere. When I asked Wallace Johnson (the former owner of Johnson's Grocery and now behind the counter at Johnson's Boucaniere in Lafayette) about the folks at Mel's making his family's boudin recipe he simply said, "We lead, they follow." True words. Mel's might have the recipe, but they don't have the passion.   |
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Overall Rating = B+ Reviewed November 2009 |
Return to Home Page: www.BoudinLink.com |