Cajuns—Fun-loving Acadians from Nova Scotia who settled in the south in the 19th century—are known for their pleasure-lovin’ nature and joy of living. They like excitement in life, and food is no exception. When they settled in the south, they created their own rustic style of eating known as Cajun, using local ingredients to create meals. Meal preparation is simple, easy, and real messy. That’s why we like it.

Ironically, Cajun cuisine first developed out of necessity. The Acadian refugees were pretty broke after their British expulsion. So they settled in the U.S. and learned how to live off the land and adapted their native French rustic cuisine to local ingredients including rice and sugar cane.

Many Cajun families were large, consisting of eight to twelve people—and you thought your family was big! Traditional Cajun cuisine grew from of supplementing rice with whatever meat, game or other proteins were available to serve such a big gang.

Adding some zest and excitement to basic ol’ seafood became the Cajun trademark. If you’ve never been down south before, experiencing the Cajun culture is like no other experience you’ll ever have. Really.

An authentic Cajun meal is usually a three-pot affair, and we here at The Singing Crab love our big kitchen pots. In keeping with tradition, one pot is dedicated to the main dish, one is dedicated to steamed rice, skillet cornbread, or some other grain, and the third pot cooks vegetables. These vegetables are finely diced and aromatic. The way they are preserved is inspired by French cuisine, which also blends onion, carrot, and celery. Our meals all have a Mediterranean feel and flavor to them.

We’re so happy the Cajuns wanted to add spices to their food by experimenting with herbs, spices and ingredients in the 19th century to create some of the tasty dishes that people throughout North America now enjoy today.

Today’s more modern Cajun chefs favor crabs or shrimp since they are easier to rip from their shell. Blending shrimp, sweet corn, crawfish, sausage, and other choice spicy ingredients into one big ol’ bowl makes a great South Coast meal!

So come on in, have a blast, grab a cold beer, and join the crowd at The Singing Crab. You’ll love it.