It’s been an incredible year for the Baton Rouge food scene, with the addition of more than 20 new restaurants and plenty of menu innovations. Here are a few of the year’s highlights, according to 225 readers. These are the stories you clicked on and shared the most from Jan. 1, 2017, to now, and in many ways your picks provide a year-in-review of the local food scene.
All the new restaurants that opened in 2017
We don’t know about you, but we may have spent a little too much of our disposable income dining out this year. It’s just been too hard to resist trying all the new spots around town. Count ’em: More than two dozen new bistros, bars, bakeries and restaurants have opened this year. The “First Looks” we published of these openings claimed the majority of the top-read spots on our list. To simplify things, we’ve compiled them all into one year-in-review article of all the places we showed you before they opened to the masses. And if you want a real throwback, revisit our roundups of 2016 restaurants openings or restaurants we couldn’t wait for in 2017, which were both among our top stories this year.
Best of 225 Awards: Food + Drink winners
We’ll admit it: The 225 Dine team is just as eager as you are to learn who 225 residents will vote as winners of the annual Best of 225 Awards. Though the results were published in July, the food and drink category winners—including awards like Best Sushi, Best New Restaurant and Best Bar—keep readers coming back to our site all year. Psst! Check back on our site next month to get involved in nominations and voting for the 2018 Best of 225 Awards.
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Fast Break: Braving the lines for The Blue Store’s popular fried chicken wings
If you think long lines for food only happen in big cities like New York and Los Angeles, think again. “The Blue Store” is a local hidden gem, drawing around-the-block lines for its fried chicken wings. Although, it may not be “hidden” anymore: This story was published nearly a year ago and has been popular with readers ever since.
What’s new in Baton Rouge king cakes 2017
Christmas is over, which means the official countdown to Mardi Gras is on. Each season, we look for fresh ways to cover king cake season. Thankfully, local bakeries and restaurants keep upping the game. This year’s roundup of new offerings featured everything from king cake fudge and macarons to sweet-meets-savory desserts like bacon praline king cake and boudin king cake. What do local businesses have up their sleeves this year? Well, there are 47 days left until Fat Tuesday, so we shouldn’t have to wait much longer to find out.
Meet the new owner of MJ’s and Tin Roof’s new CEO
When two of the most beloved establishments in town come under new leadership, we all have burning questions: Is Tin Roof still going to host cool events? Is MJ’s still going to serve my favorite soup? What happens next? Yes and yes, and for the answer to the third question, scroll back through these Q&As.
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UberEATS launches in Baton Rouge
We’re big Waitr fans at 225—just hang around our office on a magazine ship day and watch as the deliveries come flying through. But the UberEATS local launch back in September was exciting, too. Uber’s restaurant offering list is a little different than Waitr’s. That means if you don’t feel like getting in your car but have a craving for a restaurant not on Waitr (like District Donuts or Chicken Shack), this app still has you covered.
Açai bowls arrive in Baton Rouge
Who knew frozen fruit could be so exciting? We’d been waiting a long time for trendy açai bowls to make an appearance on the local scene, and the Big Squeezy’s bowls were worth the wait. The healthyish desserts combine fruits like açai, blueberries, bananas, strawberries with the business’ juices and toppings like shaved coconut, granola and agave. Sounds like a guilt-free way to treat yo’self.
Thanks for reading 225 Dine this year! We’ll see you in 2018.