About
It Happened Like This…
Tchoup’s MIDCITY Smokehouse was a dream that lingered for many years, and in 2020 that dream finally became a reality. Lafayette is a great community with a remarkable restaurant & culinary scene, but it lacked a full-service BBQ restaurant + bar like so many other cities take for granted. During our travels to discover noteworthy BBQ restaurants across the country, our favorites were always those that had a very comfortable and homely feel – especially ones with a pleasing outdoor environment.
To accomplish this critical ambiance, we found a 70ish-year-old home flanked with magnificent oak trees and a really cool backyard. We worked really hard to leave absolutely as much of the house intact as possible to keep the charm that it provided. From keeping as many original light fixtures as possible, the kitchen cabinets in place and the same color, to using the original pantry shelves to build the back-bar bottle display – there are so many areas where MIDCITY paid homage to this wonderful structure.
Upon entering the front door, you will enter what was the original main living room – and it still feels like one. There is an opportunity to eat in the living room, dining room, or bar area – if staying inside. But, every home also has a great backyard for the family to spend time together. We improved this existing backyard under the oak tree by constructing a big deck illuminated by string lights and filled with picnic tables to hang out at. We fenced in the remaining yard to allow our guests to hang out in lawn chairs and even chill with their puppy if so desired. (Speaking of puppies, our girl dog's name is Tchoupitoulas, and yes this is technically HER restaurant).
When in the backyard or on the deck, you will notice the smokehouse that we constructed to house our smoking equipment required to smoke all of our meat in-house daily. Of course, grandma’s kitchen required some major equipment upgrades to produce some of your favorite BBQ sides, but the food will still come right out of the kitchen’s windows facing the original living room – just like they did years before.
Then the bar – Nanny’s Bar at MIDCITY Smokehouse. While my Nanny wasn’t a big drinker, she always had a comfortable environment for our family to spend time together in. We wanted to duplicate that inviting, elevated environment at MIDCITY. Tucked behind the open bookcase upon entering the front door, you can catch a glimpse of a place in time that is remarkably warm & cozy.
When the conversion was completed, we took a step back, and while we were clearly looking at a restaurant, it is absolutely impossible to not be charmed by the original house’s charisma – it just glows. We are very proud of the culinary experience and ambiance we have created at MIDCITY, and will let you find some of the other secrets on your own…