Selling the Tri-parishes

Best Buy didn’t have him. The girl at Circuit City, I suspect, didn’t know what I was talking about.

LA Cajun Stuff had a couple of his CDs, but the most recent was missing from the stack. By far, however, the Southland Mall shop was the most promising.

So, my search for a couple of Tab Benoit CDs – gifts for a couple of Oklahoma friends met during the Great Evacuation of 2005 – left me wondering: Are we doing all we can to sell the Tri-parishes’ riches?

Sure, you can find fresh seafood across the region. And ask anyone what immediately comes to mind when you mention Terrebonne, Lafourche or St. Mary parishes and, after alligators, they’ll usually say, “Fresh seafood.”

We’re also home to some of the best gumbo and home-cooked dinners you’ll ever have.

And if a tourist wants to take home a sample of pralines, hot sauce, authentic art or other local goodies, a number of restaurants and shops have a small offering.

But finding the legendary sounds of the Tri-parishes – without venturing into cyberspace’s Amazon.com – is a bit trickier.

The Gumbo Entertainment Guide’s staff prides itself on tracking down information about the happenings around the Tri-parishes. And most organizations are only too happy to spread the word about events. But finding the items that best say “I’ve been to Houma [or insert your community here]” tend to elude us.

We’d like to hear from you. If we were to fill a capsule for Tri-parish residents 100 years from today, what items most associated with our region would you include? And, just as importantly, where can we find them?

Drop us an e-mail at editor@tri-parishtimes.com or a line at 4924 Hwy. 311, Houma, LA 70360. We’re anxious to learn where the good stuff is!