Cajun cuisine and music ragin’ outside of Eaton

We’re eating out more these days.

As of Nov. 14, data from the Colorado Department of Revenue show that Colorado restaurant industry sales in the second quarter of 2005 increased 6.5 percent, to about $1.62 billion, over the second quarter last year. That increase is slightly lower than sales growth for the entire United States, which increased 7.5 percent, to $462.4 billion. Nevertheless, those numbers show a comfortable strength in the sector.

The Colorado star in the increase sweepstakes was Douglas County (home to booming Castle Rock) at 16.6 percent. But Northern Colorado’s numbers are up as well. Larimer County showed an increase of 3.6 percent, while Weld County beat the national average with a 7.6 percent increase.

SPONSORED CONTENT

Select your Republic Services residential cart now!

In preparation for Republic Services becoming the primary provider of residential recycling, yard trimmings, and trash, residents should now select the best cart size and service schedule for their household needs.

Doing its part in Weld County’s sales performance is an unassuming, low-slung roadhouse that sits on an unremarkable stretch of U.S. Highway 85: in Lucerne, to be exact, just north of Greeley and just south of Eaton.

The sign that went up on June 23, says, “Doug Kershaw’s Bayou House: Restaurant & Concert Hall.” But locals have known the place by various names and sundry reputations.

“In the early ’60s, the Farm Fair Cafeteria opened in this location,´ said Lisa Archibeque, the restaurant’s manager. “Then it became the Red Steer, a successful steak house that featured polka night for entertainment.”

Archibeque’s list continued with the Lucky Star, a country-and-western dance hall; the Club Romance, and George’s Lucky Star, each of which took a turn at filling the 12,200-square-foot space.

“There were some others that didn’t last very long,” she said. “But the location is probably best known as a place where farmers would come in to drink coffee at the coffee bar and talk. The coffee bar is gone, but the farmers are back. And since we are one of the few places in the area where you can book a big party, we are doing well.”

This incarnation of the roadhouse at 33131 Highway 85 was created to fulfill a purpose slightly different from those of its predecessors. It is still a restaurant, and there is still a big hall for live entertainment and dancing. But this time the owners had a mission: to find a suitable venue for Doug Kershaw-the “Ragin’ Cajun”-to play his fiddle.

“There are three partners in the restaurant,” Archibeque said. “Bill Hall, the majority owner, is a friend of Kershaw’s. John Delay owns the Pegasus Restaurant in Castle Rock. Our chef, Chris Keys, is his nephew. The third ‘partner’ is a group of investors.”

Music lovers of a certain age (remember “Louisiana Man” or “Jambalaya on the Bayou”?) understand that Kershaw’s Louisiana roots are deep, warm and lush, even though he makes his home in Northern Colorado these days. So it will come as no surprise that a restaurant with his name on it is of the Cajun persuasion, has George Rodrigue’s Blue Dog art on the walls and takes Paul Prudhomme as the designated advisor to the young chef from South Carolina.

“Chris went and spent some time with Paul, “Archibeque said. “They worked in his experimental kitchen and knocked out a couple of special recipes for our roux.”

Keys acknowledged that it would take some time to adjust the Colorado palate to the unique bursts of authentic Cajun/Creole/Southern flavors.

“Real gumbo isn’t that common here,” he said, “but we’re working on it. We don’t want to have things too spicy.”

Meanwhile, for those disinclined to dig into crawfish étouffée or jambalaya, there are good country versions of meatloaf and chicken fried steak. Red beans and rice seems almost universal in its appeal to basics, and the sauce on the Po’ Boys, both oyster and shrimp, is Eastern Plains friendly.

Crawfish and étouffée aside, the Bayou House’s reason for being on Highway 85 is the spruced up concert hall next to the main dining room. It’s Doug Kershaw’s room. Las Vegas in Lucerne.

“Doug performs once a month with the Bayou House Band,” Archibeque said. “The ticket includes dinner, entertainment and dancing.”

But the really big show of the year will be at the end.

“We are planning a full ticket deal for New Year’s,” Archibeque said. “For a $25 cover charge you get Doug Kershaw performing, appetizers, champagne and party favors at midnight, and breakfast at two in the morning. There will be a cash bar.”

Breakfast is a nice touch for winding the evening down and sending revelers home safely into 2006. It would be hard to walk home.

For directions to The Bayou House and information, go to www.dougkershaw.com or call (970) 356-6262.

Looking forward to 2006

Speaking of the ride home from the revelry, remember that the “Heat is On! for New Year’s Eve.” This year, the Colorado State Patrol has designated Dec. 30 through Jan. 3 for major enforcements to get drunk drivers off the road.

Jane D. Albritton is a contributing writer for the Northern Colorado Business Report.