Lent in the Bayou State cracks me up.
Here in heavily Catholic south Louisiana, there’s a rush to self-sacrifice every Ash Wednesday, the day after Fat Tuesday. Lots of people give stuff up — from chocolate to gossip to alcohol — to signify their piety and, for sure, to make up for the sins of Carnival. And the other big part of the Lenten experience is the Friday meat fast, when burgers and pepperoni pizza are out, and fish of all sorts is the seasonal rockstar.
What this means for all of us, Catholic or not, is that Friday restaurant menus are dripping in delicious, creative and indulgent seafood dishes using local crawfish, crab, seafood and fin fish.
What sacrifice. Poor us.