Fire-grilled artichokes, shrimp and perfect pepperoni pizza: Best things we ate this week

Fried shrimp at The Chimes, Lafayette

The Chimes is quickly gaining a reputation as the newest place to be seen in Lafayette. (Think LaFonda on a Friday night.) On a recent Friday evening, there were just as many people sharing drinks on the outdoor patio as there were folks there for dinner. It had rained earlier in the day, which dropped the temperature a bit, and the patio, surrounded by moss-draped live oaks, was beautiful during the golden hour.

Also beautiful — and golden — was the fried shrimp platter I enjoyed while my mom feasted on shrimp and catfish. I have yet to have a bad dish at The Chimes, and the shrimp were delicious. The meal starts with a salad, topped with one of the restaurant's homemade dressings. I chose the pepper jelly dressing, which was perfect on the mixed-greens salad. The shrimp were lightly battered, which is key, and the batter had a slight Cajun kick to it. The accompanying hush puppies also came with a little spice and were slightly sweet and cooked to perfection.

The Chimes, 1400 Camellia Blvd., Lafayette (Kristin Askelson, Acadiana managing editor)

Fire-grilled artichokes at J. Alexander's Restaurant 

OMG. That was the first word out of my mouth after I tried the fire-grilled artichokes at J. Alexander's, along with wide eyes and a smile. Paired with a rémoulade sauce, the artichokes were charred to perfection and drizzled with butter and herbs. The sauce — typically made with a combination of mayonnaise, Dijon mustard, lemon juice, garlic, paprika, salt and more — was an excellent dipping vessel for each piece of the warm artichoke. 

After the dish was finished, our waitress brought warm towels to the table to clean our fingers. It's the little things. 

I can't say enough nice adjectives about this starter. Artichokes are only in season for so long, so head to J. Alexander's to try them.

J. Alexander's, 6457 Bluebonnet Blvd., Baton Rouge (Lauren Cheramie, features writer) 

Lil' Peppa at Pizza Art Wine

I succumb to my pizza craving far less often these days, but on Saturday, I gave in — and I have no regrets about that decision. Every now and then, I just need a piece of pepperoni pizza. For me, the pizza at the oddly named Pizza Art Wine may be the best pizza in town. They've got that big, fancy pizza oven that works its own magic on the crust.

Overall, Pizza Art Wine's pizza hits all the marks for me — a thin crust, really tasty pepperoni, delicious mozzarella and cooked right up to the point that cooking it anymore would be too much. 

Sidenote: The side salad at Pizza Art Wine could be a meal within itself. It has lots of pine nuts and an array of greens and other vegetables. Highly recommend. 

Pizza Art Wine, 7673 Perkins Road, Baton Rouge. (Jan Risher, features editor)