What Character?

We are BR!, um, 549

My sister passed this LA Times article to me:

Galatoire's, the celebrated restaurant that has long epitomized the epicurean pleasures of New Orleans, reopened last month in the French Quarter. But in a stucco shopping center 75 miles upriver, discriminating diners already were savoring its famous trout amandine.

Galatoire's Bistro opened here on the outskirts of the state capital in November, and New Orleans took the news as a civic shot to the gut. The story in the Times-Picayune began, "First the storm, then the floods. Now hell is apparently freezing over. Galatoire's is opening in Baton Rouge."...

Louisiana's capital historically occupied a spot in the municipal hierarchy similar to the relationship Sacramento has shared with San Francisco — languishing in the shadow of its bigger, more cosmopolitan neighbor.

One of Baton Rouge's top attractions remains the castle-like Old State Capitol. Built in the Gothic style in the mid-1800s, it was ridiculed by Mark Twain as "the ugliest thing on the Mississippi."

Twain evidently wrote that before the Chemical Corridor made the Old Capitol look pretty good in comparison; however, I'll let you judge for yourself:


Yet amid the boomtown hoopla, there is concern that Baton Rouge may be becoming too big for its own good. Many citizens fear the rapid growth that seems inevitable could change the city's character for the worse.

"So many people opened up their hearts and homes to people from New Orleans after the hurricane. But I think one of the reasons people live here is because of that small-city feeling, and it would be terrible if that changed," said Tina Wood, a Baton Rouge resident sitting outside a Whole Foods Market with her 16-year-old daughter, Sabrina.

Is that the Whole Foods over on Corporate Blvd? I think so, given that there's only one Whole Foods Market/Designer Grocery Store in the city...

Now, don't get me wrong: I live here in BR (549), and it looks like I'll be staying...but I've got no illusions. New Orleans, to me, is the northernmost extent of Carribean culture. Seventy-five miles--and a million light years, culturally-speaking--Baton Rouge isn't terrrible, but it sure isn't Carribean either. It's a southern town that benefits from proximity to New Orleans even if, at times, it seems like the city does its utmost to be more like Beaumont-upon-Mississippi than a smaller sibling to THE most unique metropolitan area in the United States. Which can be frustrating.

Having two major state universities in town is an added plus--literacy isn't necessarily a requirement for matriculation at LSU (don't know about Southern), but it doesn't hurt. The city is better off as a result. But again, this isn't NOLA.

Maybe--I'll repeat, maybe--with the added residents and decent leadership--by the way, I'm a fan of Kip Holden (despite some of his initial remarks in the immediate aftermath of the Katrina evacuation)--it's possible that a more symbiotic relationship could form between BR and NOLA...both could benefit, ESPECIALLY if decent public transit, that is, regular RAIL service, would start running between the two cities (alas, I'm not holding my breath).

For too long, I think BR--and the surrounding parishes--went out of the way to be the "anti-NOLA" without realizing that such a title will always be held by Shreveport. Also, Baton Rouge, despite the name, isn't a cajun town (Lafayette IS, and we could learn a thing or two from them as well). But one thing I'm sure as hell NOT worried about is "losing" any "essential character," because, c'mon, Baton Rouge ain't exactly a character mecca.

And Galatoire's up here might do ok...but I won't count that as "Friday Lunch at Galatoire's", which remains on my list of things to do before I die.