So against my better judgment - I dislike heat, detest humidity and am mortally afraid of crawfish - I have agreed to about four months' location work in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. I'm still gathering tips and tales from colleagues who have worked there but I'd like to know what recommendations and/or warnings anybody might have, considering that it looks like I'll be there in a few weeks...
Baton Rouge
- Thread starter Sad Max
- Start date
Paul Hudson
Vacuum Tube Member
Well, you had better get over that fear of crawfish! It is a great town and only an hour from New Orleans.
You are right hot and humid but a lot of fun.
You are right hot and humid but a lot of fun.
Paul Hudson
Vacuum Tube Member
Here is another phrase for you Les bon temps roule! Let the good times roll!
Yes. Lagniappe, which does mean "and then some," is a well-known dish in those parts. At Don's, I recommend the crawfish lagniappe. Basically, it's crawfish etouffee served over fried catfish and rice. And it's darn tasty.
Paul Hudson
Vacuum Tube Member
Etoufee is a close to food heaven as you can get. Here try a batch yourself this weekend ;-)
1 stick unsalted butter
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 cup chopped yellow onions
1/2 cup chopped celery
1/2 cup chopped green bell peppers
1/4 cup chopped green onions
1 tablespoon minced garlic
2 bay leaves
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cayenne
2 tablespoons dry sherry
1 1/2 cups shrimp stock or water
1 pound crawfish tails
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves, plus more for garnish
Cooked long grain white rice, accompaniment
Directions
In a large pot, melt the butter over medium-high heat. Add the flour and cook, stirring, to make a light roux. Add the onions, celery, bell peppers, green onions, garlic, bay leaves, salt, and pepper and cook, stirring, until the vegetables are soft, about 5 minutes.
Add the sherry and cook for 2 to 3 minutes. Add the stock and crawfish tails and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer until thickened, about 5 minutes. Add the lemon juice.
Stir in the parsley and remove from the heat.
Adjust the seasoning, to taste. Serve over rice, garnished with additional parsley.
1 stick unsalted butter
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 cup chopped yellow onions
1/2 cup chopped celery
1/2 cup chopped green bell peppers
1/4 cup chopped green onions
1 tablespoon minced garlic
2 bay leaves
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cayenne
2 tablespoons dry sherry
1 1/2 cups shrimp stock or water
1 pound crawfish tails
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves, plus more for garnish
Cooked long grain white rice, accompaniment
Directions
In a large pot, melt the butter over medium-high heat. Add the flour and cook, stirring, to make a light roux. Add the onions, celery, bell peppers, green onions, garlic, bay leaves, salt, and pepper and cook, stirring, until the vegetables are soft, about 5 minutes.
Add the sherry and cook for 2 to 3 minutes. Add the stock and crawfish tails and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer until thickened, about 5 minutes. Add the lemon juice.
Stir in the parsley and remove from the heat.
Adjust the seasoning, to taste. Serve over rice, garnished with additional parsley.
You could have just told him it's about the best thing he'll ever eat. Oh, you did! First sentence. And heaven is not an exaggeration!
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We'll be shooting a Universal feature, Battleship.
Blaine
Mr. Hollywood
Ah, but to make an authentic roux you really need to use lard instead of butter. :happy:
Captain Pierce
Veteran
I would beg you to tell me that this is not a movie loosely based on the classic game, but I just Googled, and I already know better.
My Japanese wife spent a year in Baton Rouge going to Louisiana State University. I finally went to BR last year and we stayed with her host family from way back when. Had a ball, and went to New Orleans for the French Quarter Festival. The food in Louisiana is just heaven. I could go for a crawfish party right now. Don't miss the university hangouts "TheChimes" and "Coffee Call".
Mark Harris
Pain in the ass
Interesting. Max why baton rouge? Are you guys building sets there or is it actual location work?
We're doing our stage work in Louisiana and our location work on Oahu, and with the big Navy Pacific fleet exercise coming up in August.
It's purely a financial decision. Since Louisiana offers all kinds of incentives to bring a production to their state, and since California offer all sorts of incentives to remove one's production from their state, we're just going where we can get things done for the cheapest.
Unless there are major policy changes in the future, California is effectively finished as a meaningful center of major-budget feature production. Hell, the fellow over at Marvel Studios whose job is basically to work on keeping production here, just announced that Captain America will be done in England (oh, the irony).
Gotta hand it to California's leadership: their program to wreck the state is proceeding faster and with much greater efficiency than I would have ever expected.
It's purely a financial decision. Since Louisiana offers all kinds of incentives to bring a production to their state, and since California offer all sorts of incentives to remove one's production from their state, we're just going where we can get things done for the cheapest.
Unless there are major policy changes in the future, California is effectively finished as a meaningful center of major-budget feature production. Hell, the fellow over at Marvel Studios whose job is basically to work on keeping production here, just announced that Captain America will be done in England (oh, the irony).
Gotta hand it to California's leadership: their program to wreck the state is proceeding faster and with much greater efficiency than I would have ever expected.