SxSE: Baton Rouge, LA

The South by Southeast road trip rolls into Baton Rouge, Louisiana, the home of LSU Tigers Baseball.

♦ Baton Rouge is the 10th closest SEC town to Columbia, 772 miles away (223 air miles).  LSU is in the SEC West Division. 

♦ There is an active New Orleans-Baton Rouge Chapter of the Mizzou Alumni Association

♦ Fun Facts about Baton Rouge, the home of Louisiana State University

• 2010 Population: 229,553 (city); metro area: 802,484
• Following Hurricane Katrina in 2005, approximately 200,000 displaced refugees flocked to Baton Rouge.  Many of them have stayed, as indicated by the jump in the metropolitan area population from 602,894 in 2000 to 802,484 in 2010.
  
  
• Baton Rouge is French for red stick, which would be merely odd if the true story wasn't disgustingly gross.
  

On March 17, 1699 Pierre Le Moyne Sieur d'Iberville, while exploring the Lower Mississippi River, saw on a bluff a pole decorated with bleeding heads of animals and fishes. Iberville then wrote “Baton Rouge” on his chart (French for 'red stick'). It is commonly believed that the pole marked a boundary between two Indian tribes, the Houma to the north and the Bayougoula to the south. (Historical Baton Rouge)

• A deer hunter checked his deer stand camera in the woods near Baton Rouge in 2010 and found a photo of an eerie alien creature.  "The hunter hopes its a vegetarian, if he runs into it in the woods again." (Story and photo at wdtn.com)

• Learn more about the history of Baton Rouge than you could possibly want to know by taking a tour through HistoricalBatonRouge.blogspot.com

James Carville
LSU alum

♦ There are 6 Chik-fil-a locations in Baton Rouge

♦ Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College is the actual official name of the school. For obvious reasons, they generally refer to it as simply Louisiana State University. Or, more often, just LSU.  According to RockMNation's Better Know an Opponent: LSU, "So, right off the bat, we can’t trust LSU. They’re not even forthcoming with their own name. That’d be like if I came up to you and said, "Hey, my name is Walter," only my name is not Walter, and yet here I am, starting our relationship with an untruth. Would you trust anything else that came out of my mouth?"


♦ Not sure what it says about Baton Rouge (or about me) that the most interesting blog I found relating to the city is Abandoned Baton Rouge, full of photos of the parts of "Red Stick" that are, well, abandoned and falling down.  Some great pictures.  The blog is actually itself appropriately abandoned and no longer updated.

♦ Some of you may be much more interested in The BR Beer Scene.

The tap canoe that we put together was probably the biggest hit of the festival, but even with all the taps numbered, the homebrew sign, and the two big signs listing all the beers, the tap handles still confused some (probably drunk) festival goers. At least once I was asked to pour someone a Dos Equis, and I had to explain that it wasn't Dos Equis beer, just a tap handle! And I definitely recall pouring someone a "Blue Moon" that shocked them when it didn't taste at all like the Blue Moon they were used to. Oops! That said, the set up could not have gone better, and the weather was outstanding. I'm already looking forward to next year, we might even need a bigger boat.

♦ Be sure to peruse The SEC Guide to LSU's Home Turf for ideas on where to go and what to do between games:

First, if you are looking for a spot or two close to campus, check out the Chimes on Highland at Dalrymple or WalkOn's at the corner of Burbank and Nicholson (opened by a couple of former LSU basketball walk-ons). Second, if you're in the night before and want to try a great steakhouse, check out Fleming's on Corporate Blvd or Mansur's.Third, if you make it to BR, make sure you head to Mike the Tiger's habitat before the game. Pay homage to one of the most well-cared-for animals in the country (the LSU vet school is on call 24/7 for Mike).

♦ HolyTurf.com's SEC Bucket List:  Baton Rouge

#46 Louie's Cafe:
A Baton Rouge staple since 1941, Louie’s Cafe is a 24/7 diner that serves breakfast, lunch and dinner around the clock. It’s the perfect place for students to find something to eat after late nights studying (and other evening activities) or if they are just looking for a great meal during the day. The old school diner set-up offers a bit of nostalgia of days past, and at times it can get pretty packed late at night with students returning from the bars around campus.

#52 Walk-On's Bistreaux: Walk-Ons Bistreaux and Bar has three locations, but the 3838 Burbank location is just outside Tiger Stadium. Walk-Ons was started by LSU basketball walk-ons Jack Warner and Brandon Landry. The atmosphere at Walk-Ons is second to none with large TVs all over the place, tons of Tiger fans, and attractive waitresses.