What do you LIKE about Baton Rouge ? (New Orleans, Lafayette: car insurance, lofts)

[Gil3]

Originally Posted by ndrone1

I like Chelsea's underneath the Perkins Rd. overpass
I like the LSU Lakes
I like the dog park near the lakes
I like Towne Center
I like Perkins Rowe
I love that there are so many CC's Coffees.
I love Arzi's on Government. The food is the best I have ever had.
I like that our economy is fairly stable even though the country's is "rough" at the moment.
And lastly, I like that I finished college at LSU! I am not very fond of LSU or football or anything, but of course I'm proud I finished and therefore happy that LSU exists.

That and damn! While Acme Oyster house is a N.O. instituation, we ate at the one on Perkins when I was in BR a few weeks ago. Great place and excellent food. I'm drooling just thinking about the fried oysters and beer I had there that night.

[Rosinante]

Originally Posted by BRMan

One thing, too, about the water is that it's soft. Meaning you need less soap when doing the laundry, and Cokes and tea taste better.

Cokes and tea taste better????????????

There's so much chlorine in the water here that even the ice cubes we make taste like a swimming pool.

[Rosinante]

Originally Posted by BRMan

Ah, well. At least there was some positivity

Seriously, folks, Baton Rouge is in a metro area of about 700K. There are bad parts, and there are good parts. And, yes, we received some less desirables from New Orleans after Katrina, like the panhandlers that have the franchise on pestering at I-10/Essen, I-10/Siegen, and Siegen by the Target. But all this talk about BR being full of crime is too silly. And as such I'll rebut each and every "Baton Rouge is full of crime" postings.

Now, "Baton Rouge is full of bad traffic" is kind of true, but there are back roads you can take to get around some of that. And the state IS planning to spend $$ to widen I-12 to Denham and I-10 to Siegen.

Aren't you the very guy who denigrated the area I live in (not too far from Gardere) precisely BECAUSE of the high crime?

Well, maybe because I've lived in Baton Rouge for a mere 30 years my answers wouldn't qualify, but, in fact, there are far fewer quality restaurants in the city than there were 20 years ago (they've all been replaced by chain food). That Chinese buffet on Bluebonnet would be the last place I'd recommend. Crime really is a problem here — you needn't look further than auto insurance statistics that explain that auto theft is rampant here, making us the second highest auto insurance state in the country. Traffic is horrendous. My wife won't drink the water... 'nuff said.

[BRMan]

Originally Posted by Rosinante

Aren't you the very guy who denigrated the area I live in (not too far from Gardere) precisely BECAUSE of the high crime?

In fact I did. I also said "....There are bad parts, and there are good parts..." I'm sure there are Gardere type neighborhoods in EVERY town. There's also another aspect to your neighborhood besides Gardere being at the front door - it's a transient neighborhood. Just something for those of you wanting to live in BR should consider. I would definitely have recommended your neighborhood in 1985. Not today, I'm afraid.

Originally Posted by Rosinante

Well, maybe because I've lived in Baton Rouge for a mere 30 years my answers wouldn't qualify, but, in fact, there are far fewer quality restaurants in the city than there were 20 years ago (they've all been replaced by chain food). That Chinese buffet on Bluebonnet would be the last place I'd recommend. Crime really is a problem here — you needn't look further than auto insurance statistics that explain that auto theft is rampant here, making us the second highest auto insurance state in the country. Traffic is horrendous. My wife won't drink the water... 'nuff said.

Again, I partially agree and partially disagree. We have a greater variety of restaurants (national chain, local chain, and otherwise) than we did in the old days. Crime IS a problem in certain parts of the city, but we're hardly the Wild West. Traffic isn't the best, but then again, we're a metro area of 700K. And our Mayor has an ambitious program called the Green Light Plan which involves 40 road widening projects. Oh, and with the Obamastimulus, I-10 and I-12 are getting widened. And the water is pretty good - I've lived in places where the water is either hard or chlorinated, and the water in those places is that nasty.

In short, I'm afraid I take quite a few exceptions to what I see as a negative portrayal of Baton Rouge. But, like anything else, come on down and give us a try ! Especially now - it's crawfish season !

[Caa]

Originally Posted by BRMan

In fact I did. I also said "....There are bad parts, and there are good parts..." I'm sure there are Gardere type neighborhoods in EVERY town. There's also another aspect to your neighborhood besides Gardere being at the front door - it's a transient neighborhood. Just something for those of you wanting to live in BR should consider. I would definitely have recommended your neighborhood in 1985. Not today, I'm afraid.

Again, I partially agree and partially disagree. We have a greater variety of restaurants (national chain, local chain, and otherwise) than we did in the old days. Crime IS a problem in certain parts of the city, but we're hardly the Wild West. Traffic isn't the best, but then again, we're a metro area of 700K. And our Mayor has an ambitious program called the Green Light Plan which involves 40 road widening projects. Oh, and with the Obamastimulus, I-10 and I-12 are getting widened. And the water is pretty good - I've lived in places where the water is either hard or chlorinated, and the water in those places is that nasty.

In short, I'm afraid I take quite a few exceptions to what I see as a negative portrayal of Baton Rouge. But, like anything else, come on down and give us a try ! Especially now - it's crawfish season !

BR Man, once again, I agree with you! I am sooo tired of people saying how bad our crime is-take a look at other (even smaller) cities and you will see. BR Man, I am glad that someone else likes Baton Rouge-I think people are looking for the perfect place(like I can be like), but Baton Rouge has so many wonderful qualities! I like the food available here(our mild is what Floridianas call spicy), people here are nice, there is always something to do here, just look in Friday's paper and to family people out there, look in Baton Rouge Parents Magazine for many activities that are family friendly. Sure, only heaven is perfect, but Baton Rouge is great! Also, traffic is only bad during peak hours!!!! Travel on weekends and the traffic is minimal_except during LSU football!

[Gil3]

Originally Posted by Caa

BR Man, once again, I agree with you! I am sooo tired of people saying how bad our crime is-take a look at other (even smaller) cities and you will see. BR Man, I am glad that someone else likes Baton Rouge-I think people are looking for the perfect place(like I can be like), but Baton Rouge has so many wonderful qualities! I like the food available here(our mild is what Floridianas call spicy), people here are nice, there is always something to do here, just look in Friday's paper and to family people out there, look in Baton Rouge Parents Magazine for many activities that are family friendly. Sure, only heaven is perfect, but Baton Rouge is great! Also, traffic is only bad during peak hours!!!! Travel on weekends and the traffic is minimal_except during LSU football!

Like I have said before, I am proud of how far Baton Rouge has come and each time I visit it gets better.

It is by no means perfect and the crime rate is going to be a grim reality of any city, especially one that has not only dealt with the aftermath of Katrina, but continues to grow and re-invent itself.

I am also extremely elated that they are making a grand effort to get people back downtown at night and on the weekends. 3rd St. will hopefully get rocking again.

[darylwi]

Rosinante -
I still can't believe you make such a huge deal about the water here. Have you even drank water elsewhere (not bottled) or showered/washed clothes using water from elsewhere? Water in central Mississippi is pretty hard. It takes forever to wash the soap off of you in the shower. And NOLA water has always had this fishy taste to it, coming out of the river of course. Plaquemine had rust and arsenic in their water at one time. It still has a taste and sometimes nasty yellow color today. In Baton Rouge, we're lucky to be pretty much on the end point of the Southern Hills aquifer. All of that water seeps in from MS and flows 'down' towards Baton Rouge and the northshore area. We're lucky to have that source of groundwater.
Maybe you just have bad pipes!!! Then again, maybe the area around Gardere might have poor water utilities in general.

[darylwi]

Traffic on Saturdays in general can be a real pain in the neck in some areas. Baton Rouge has this niche of having bad traffic at times when traffic should be good and having good traffic when traffic should be bad. Some afternoons I can drive home on I-10 at 60mph at 5pm. Other days, it takes me an hour to get home, and it's not like I live that far from my office (maybe 7 miles). And somehow I always find the interstate stacked on a Sunday afternoon (between 4-7pm depending on when I'm driving through).
It's the nature of living in a big city, take it or leave it.

And we do have way more quality places to eat than most places I know. I'm able to impress friends and family each time they come over/down by taking them to someplace new/different each time they visit. The King Buffet on Bluebonnet does not qualify as being a signature restaurant of this city. But they do have good food. Personally, I prefer Great Wall on College or Super Taste in Brusly.
Point is, food in Baton Rouge goes way beyond chinese.
I can't honestly say that Baton Rouge has a unique cuisine however... something that identifies mainly with BTR. Can anyone think of anything, maybe I've forgotten?

[BRMan]

Originally Posted by darylwi

Traffic on Saturdays in general can be a real pain in the neck in some areas. Baton Rouge has this niche of having bad traffic at times when traffic should be good and having good traffic when traffic should be bad. Some afternoons I can drive home on I-10 at 60mph at 5pm. Other days, it takes me an hour to get home, and it's not like I live that far from my office (maybe 7 miles). And somehow I always find the interstate stacked on a Sunday afternoon (between 4-7pm depending on when I'm driving through).
It's the nature of living in a big city, take it or leave it.

And we do have way more quality places to eat than most places I know. I'm able to impress friends and family each time they come over/down by taking them to someplace new/different each time they visit. The King Buffet on Bluebonnet does not qualify as being a signature restaurant of this city. But they do have good food. Personally, I prefer Great Wall on College or Super Taste in Brusly.
Point is, food in Baton Rouge goes way beyond chinese.
I can'thonestly say that Baton Rouge has a unique cuisine however... something that identifies mainly with BTR. Can anyone think of anything, maybe I've forgotten?

No, you pretty much nailed it on the head. I will add that the really nasty traffic after noon Saturday/Sunday is on Siegen between Perkins and the Target - it backs up for miles. The solution to that is easy - don't be on that stretch of Siegen at those times

Yes, King Buffet is pretty mediocre. There are WAY better buffets: Thai Kitchen (Perkins at Stuart), Thai Pepper (Florida at Ardenwood), Nagoya (Japanese buffet at Sherwood next to the Piccadilly - has hibachi, all kinds of sushi, and calamari salad - awesome stuff), and Hunan (Sherwood at Lake Sherwood). And that's just the Asian buffets. Indias has a great Indian buffet and is at Essen near the Lake. Not to mention all the restaurants we have. So anyone who complains about the restaurant choices is not looking very hard !

[Gil3]

BRman or Darylwi..what exactly happened with Catfish Town and is there anything similar being planned with the revitilization of downtown? I did visit there a couple of times in the 80s before I moved away. Thanks