There’s always something to do in Baton Rouge. Geaux Rouge lives by this simple motto. You don’t have to look very hard to find community events that educate us, bring us together, and enrich us. Food, music, art, charity fundraising, and educational events. There’s always something going on. This week was no different. Geaux Rouge participated in three events this week that are emblematic of what our city has to offer.
FOOD, BOOZE, AND INNOVATION
Let’s start with BREW, The Baton Rouge Entrepreneurship Week. On Tuesday, November 15, 2016, Geaux Rouge participated in a BREW event entitled, “Food, Booze and Innovation” presented by Three Sixty Eight. In that event, I got to emcee and host a panel of various members of the Baton Rouge restaurant industry who provided insight on their experiences and advice to would-be entrepreneurs. The panel consisted of Alex Barbosa, Pitmaster and owner of Barbosa’s Barbeque, Ryan Grizzaffi, owner of The Cajun Spoon and Innovative Food Consulting, Chase Lyons, founder of City Pork and restaurant consultant, and Matt Sigur of The Advocate. The panel discussed what it meant to be an entrepreneur, the current client of the food industry in Baton Rouge, and provided advice on how to enter into the this arena. Attendees how these panelists got their start and how to tackle issues, such as financing and distinguishing your business in a competitive market, such as Baton Rouge. The event also allowed an interactive question and answer session. The program concluded by providing an introduction to an innovative new brewpub, Noble Wave, who provided samples of their beer and insight on how the their business model will improve the community (more of this in coming weeks).The event was held in the heart of Mid City at Curbside.
TIGERLAND AND CAMPUS GATES BURGER BATTLE
On Thursday, November 17th, Geaux Rouge co-hosted an event with Baton Rouge Burgers, The Tigerland and Campus Gates Burger Battle. This charity event was hosted by WalkOn’s and benefited Mary Bird Perkins and the Baton Rouge Food Bank. Attendees purchased tickets and got to sample burgers from participating restaurants and beer donated by Tin Roof and Mockler Beverage. All proceeds went to charity. The competitors were Canefield Tavern, Barcadia, Your Mom’s Restaurant and Bar, Fat Cow, WalkOn’s, and Breck’s Bistro. This was the second regional restaurant competition hosted by Baton Rouge Burgers and it consisted of two categories, The People’s Choice Award (voted on by attendees) and The Taste Award (voted on by a panel of judges). The judges were Harmony Hobbs, of Modern Mommy Madness, Nick Hufft, chef and owner of Curbside and The Overpass Merchant, Chef Chris Wadsworth, chef and owner of Gouter Restaurant, Daniel Schumacher, of Louisiana Cookin’, and Teresa Day, regular food columnist for The Advocate and City Social. Attendees voted Your Mom’s Restaurant as the People’s Choice Award recipient and the judges voted a three way tie, which I broke (I was the “sixth judge” with a tie breaking vote) and awarded Breck’s Bistro as the winner of the Taste Award. The event raised over $2000.00 for charity through ticket sales and raffle items. Thanks to all who volunteered, and special thanks to our key sponsors, Baton Rouge Printing, Goodwood Hardware, Mockler Beverage, Tin Roof, WalkOn’s, and Geaux Rouge. Look for the next regional charity burger event in January in the Perkins Road region.
Special thanks to event photographer Geauxgarcia Photography, who donated his services to capture this event.
WHITE LIGHT NIGHT
Lastly, Friday, November 18th, Geaux Rouge attended White Light Night.This is an evening event in the Mid City Art and Design Cultural District and consists of an evening of local art, food, wine and live music. We got to meet local artists and craftsmen at various local businesses and restaurants along the Government Street Corridor. The event was hosted by the Mid City Merchants.
We started the evening by dining at Gouter Restaurant and enjoyed the art of Chad Townson of Chad Townson Creations and Marc Fresh Art, live music, and some of the best food in Baton Rouge. Marc Fresh Art was spray painting one of his newest creations outside of the restaurant and we also enjoyed the Cupcake Allie food truck (try the gumbo cupcake!).
Continuing our Mid City White Light Night tour, we then went to the new art gallery, The Collective and the Pink Elephant Antiques, while also visiting with the folks from Red, White, and Que.
Last stop was at Curbside and Calandro’s. There we got to listen to some incredible live music, visit with Alex Barbosa, who was slinging some delicious BBQ, sample some jambalaya from The Cajun Spoon, drink some great coffee from CafeCiteaux Coffee Roasters, have a tasty beer at Curbside, and finish out the end to a perfect evening!
There’s always something going on in Baton Rouge. Frankly, sometimes deciding what to attend can be a bit daunting in such a diverse and competitive market of events. However, some events, like those attended by Geaux Rouge this week, are very easy decisions.