A Little Bit of New Orleans in Seaside

When you start exploring a town, you never know what place or jive hot spot you might encounter..Actually, I found a little newspaper in the laundry room that had a list of community activities going on in Seaside and the surrounding area. The magic words for me are "swing", "jazz", "blues", or "70's rock". The paper said there was music down at a restaurant called L'il Bayou in downtown Seaside. It's a "taste of Louisiana" in the town of Seaside. Cozy, intimate atmosphere...neat decor...beads, cool art/music prints on the walls, low lights. We sat in the Magnolia Lounge and listened to the group for a couple of hours. Very cool!

The New Orleans atmosphere was enhanced with the "Swing Cats" playing swing and jazz music at the restaurant. They were a GREAT band--there were two guitar players, a bass player, a drummer, a guy on the clarinet, a sax player, AND a terrific violinist. They played GREAT dinner music while we sat and kibbitzed with the lady behind the bar. She told us that the violinist, a stellar player who really shined in the performance tonight, was grateful for the Portland, Oregon school system, as he learned to play violin in the local schools on rented equipment. Hear, hear! for the school art and music programs that are barely hanging on these days due to budget cuts. I am so grateful for my mom and dad who pushed me to play both piano and flute for quite a few years. Even though I didn't seem to enjoy it at the time, I learned so much about classical music and concert band music through my school training and home lessons. I really developed an appreciation for all kinds of music through that exposure.

Boy, have instruments changed since my school days...check out the bass in this group. Skinny! Both of them! Loved the newsboy caps and hats these guys had, too.

There was a little girl there who really got into the music as most small children do. I love their exuberance and natural rhythm. She bounced and bounced to the music and was enthralled at what she heard. I don't think she was much over two. I hope she keeps that love for music with her all her life.

L'il Bayou is having live music on Thursday nights and Sunday nights for quite awhile. Looks like we will be back on Thursday night for "blues" night. This time we'll try out the food and support the restaurant for providing FREE entertainment--no cover charge! L'il Bayou serves New Orleans and cajun style food along with more traditional dishes as well. I'll have to leave a nice review on Yelp for them, we really liked their place.

We like to explore local restaurants when we travel. Chains are everywhere, but unique restaurants like this are gems waiting to be discovered. We're glad we found this one.....Thanks to Matt and Karen Goodrich for providing such a cool place, L'il Bayou in the small town of Seaside!