They are quite simply, the perfect crab cakes.
Amazingly crunchy on the outside, creamy, spicy and crabby on the inside. Do not try to drive and eat these, you’ll get lost in crab cake reverie and hit a curb or something. On the other hand, do not wait until you get home, either. Just sit in your car in the Gulotta’s parking lot this Friday, and chow down.
These, after all, are the most popular lunch item at Nel’s Creole Connection, which makes an appearance at this location every Friday. Nelson Boutte, owner of Nel’s and creator of the above-mentioned heavenly delight, says, “The crab cakes are the first to sell out every Friday. If you get here past 12:15, don’t expect to get crab cakes.”
Not that anything else he chooses to cook and serve is bad. No, in fact the fare at Creole Connection is uniformly delicious, from the fried fish and fried shrimp to the homemade tartar sauce (get the homemade tartar sauce with anything you order — it is tangy with lemon juice, smooth and a perfect complement to Nelson’s fried offerings. Besides, it takes three days to make, so you know it has got to be GOOD.)
Nelson Boutte has been cooking since he was 9 or 10 years old.
“My mother had leukemia, and she was not able to cook for us. My sister can’t boil water, so it was up to me to learn,” Boutte said.
It seemed natural for him to enter the hospitality industry, serving as McIlhenny’s hospitality coordinator, providing chefs for company events.
“How I wound up cooking was kind of an accident,” he said. “One day, I had a dinner to put together, and the chef didn’t show up. My boss said, ‘You need to fix this.’ I said, ‘Give me a little time, I’ll see what I can do.’ I called my mother. Between her suggestions and my ideas, I gathered what I needed and pulled off the event. Afterward, my boss would always ask to see the chef. He came back, asked to see the chef, and I told him I’d been the chef. He praised me and I started cooking for McIlhenny then. Today, Boutte serves as events marketing supervisor.
Several years ago he bought the vehicle he uses for his food truck.
“I bought the truck in 2015. It was kind of an accident, I had no idea I was going to buy a food truck,” Boutte said. “I was driving to Baton Rouge, and I saw this Little Debbie white panel van on the side of the road. I thought, ‘Hey, I might get myself a food truck’. I made the guy an offer, and I drove it home. My wife, Cindy, thought I was crazy.”
Boutte recruited some friends to help him fabricate the truck’s kitchen and all the other customization. The first several years were spent catering events for clients.
“It was great. I could pull up to an event, cook a 5-course meal, and roll off, taking the mess with me,” Boutte said.
But March 2020 happened, and Avery island basically shut down.
“With COVID, I had to shift gears and come up with new ideas,” he said.. “In April, we talked to the Gulottas and they were very kind, plus it was a win-win situation. The employees didn’t have to go anywhere else for lunch and we were doing business.”
Boutte also said he is looking for other places to set up on other days. He also has plans to open a wedding venue at the intersection of Avery Island Road and Highway 90.
“We’re in the Fire Marshal stage right now,” he said. “We’ve been trying for a year. Hopefully, we’ll get it going by the end of the year.”
Nel’s Creole Connection will be in Gulotta’s parking lot, 916 S. Lewis, this Friday, from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Outstanding seafood and other delicacies will be available. Call 337-380-3763 to make a phone order, or stop by for a great lunch, cooked fresh and served hot. Just come early if you want crab cakes.
March 17, 2021 at 07:15PM
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Nel's Creole Connection — Get there early for crab cakes - The Daily Iberian
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