7/24/2019 American Press - Scene - Sept. 10, p. 2
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SCENE
LA Star offers hibachi, seafood andsushi in a buffet-style
dining venue
Top left: Each dish at LA Star is meticulously prepared and
despite being a buffet, still retains all the great flavors Chinese
food isknown for. Top right: My lunch plate was a little tame when
considering all of the options available at the LA Star counters.
FromHibachi to the regular buffet trays, there is something for
everyone. Above:The sushi station at LA Star is one of the unique
aspectsof the establishment where a chef prepares the rolls fresh
on a regular basis.
B2 AMERICAN PRESS THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 10, 2015
Justin Phillips / American Press
Justin Phillips / American Press
Its hard not to feel like a
kid in a candy store when you
walk into LA Star Buffet onRyan Street.
Everything is new andclean. The smells wafting fromthe dining
area are fresh and
appetizing. The employees arepolite and helpful. Everythingabout
the restaurant screamsstay awhile. On Tuesday, Idid just that.
LA Star opened a little
over a week ago and is stillwelcoming first-time custom-ers.
Located at 3539 Ryan St.,the building is in a familiarspot for
locals. Over the lastfew months, weve all watched
as that lot went from a pile ofdirt and rumors to a
pristinechapel of high-quality buffet-style dining.
The truly interesting thingabout LA Star is that it issqueezing
itself into a Lake
Area food scene that alreadyhas several Chinese restau-rants,
hibachi places and sea-food joints. Still, that doesntmean we arent
fully capableof embracing a new face in the
market. Ill be the first to saythat I am looking forward toLA
Stars addition.
Look, my family lives inAlexandria the city that hasa Taco Bell
across the street
from a Taco Bueno. I definitelydont mind adding to a catego-ry
of restaurants that many
think is already oversaturated.
LA Star can not only carve outits own niche, it can create
out
its own dining experience.
What sets the place apart
is that along with an incred-
ibly diverse buffet, it also hasa fully stocked sushi
section
as well as a hibachi station.
Youre basically g etting three
restaurants in one trip by go-
ing to LA Star, all for the price
of one meal.Ill preface describing my
trip Tuesday by letting you
know that I usually need adult
supervision when I go to buf-fets. Seriously, if there isnt
someone there with me that
has the slightest bit of com-
mon sense, Im going to end up
eating myself into a coma.At a buffet, there is no
one there to tell you to make
sure you get some of those
vegetables. There arent notes
attached to the serving spoonsthat remind you about portion
control. No, at a buffet, youre
free to run wild.
Untuck that shirt, loosen
that belt buckle and eat what-
ever you want, however you
want, in whatever order you
want it in. Think LA Starsdelicious peppered chicken or
crunchy and addicting sweet
honey chicken go well with ba-
nana pudding and a pineapple?
Go for it.Think the crab rangoon,
pork egg rolls, spare ribs and
french fries would pair nicelywith that stack of California
roll? Youre not crazy, youreabsolutely right they would!
Since I made sure to bring
adult supervision on my lunch
trip, my plate was a little more
tame. I picked out the thingsmost Chinese buffets should be
pretty solid at cooking fried
rice, pepper chicken, sweet and
sour chicken, shrimp and a
honey-glazed chicken option.LA Stars kitchen is excep-
tional. While dishing out tray
after tray of food, the items
never lose their flavor. Each
option is as delicious as if you
ordered directly from a menu.
Its everything you could ask
for in a buffet delicious
simplicity.
For two lunch buffets, my
bill was around $21.
So, if you want my advice
on how to best enjoy LA Star,
I say you should go without
adult supervision. That way,
free of judgement, you can
see how many pieces of sushi
you can eat in one sitting. Oryou can make that fried rice
volcano youve always wanted
to. You know, the one stuffed
with shrimp thats supposed
to be the lava. Maybe you can
even get five egg rolls and do
a whole Edward Scissorhands
thing except with...
You know what, Im project-
ing on you now. Im telling you
to do the things I c ouldnt do.
How about you just go to LA
Star and enjoy it the way you
want to. Youll see, its hard
not to feel like a kid in a candy
store in that place.
By Justin B. [email protected]
LA Star Buffet
Sushi, Hibachi and Seafood3539 Ryan St.
Hours:Sun-Thurs - 11 a.m.-9:30 p.m.
Fri-Sat 11 a.m.-10:30 p.m.Phone:
602-6070 602-6071
Museum office, or online at
www.brimstonemuseum.org,
and Trahan urges everyone
whos int erested to get one
fast.
We are only able to accom-
modate 500 people at the event,
so tickets are very limited,
he said. In previous years, we
quickly sold out of tickets, so
if anyone is planning to attend,
we strongly encourage them to
get their tickets ahead of time.
Tickets are only $10, which will
allow you to sample boudin
from every entry. Its truly a lot
of food.
Boudin Wars runs from 11
a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday at the
Brimstone Historical Society,
923 Ruth St. in Sulphur. The
event will take place in con-
junction with the citys Stars
and Stripes in the Park celebra-
tion.
BOUDINContinued from B1This years event will
be dedicated in memory of
Cajun fiddle player Milton
Vanicor, who died in June at
the age of 96.
The competition is open
to Cajun-style fiddle players
of all ages and performance
levels. Categories are youth,
age 12 and under; junior, ages
13-18; adult, age 19 and older;
visitor, for those who live
more than 500 miles away;
and professional, for all ages.
Several amateur and
professional fiddle players,
including some from Canada,
have shown interest in the
event, but more are expected,Dugas said. Contestant appli-
cations are already coming in
in all categories, he said.
The response so far has
been pretty exciting, Dugas
said. I am really impressed
with the talent we have here.
The contestants will com-pete for their share of nearly
$4,000 in cash prizes and
trophies.
A panel of three people
selected from the Cajun
music industry will judge the
competition.
Their decisions will be
based on competitors Cajun
music knowledge and their
accuracy of noting and
intonation, along with other
techniques involved in play-
ing the fiddle Cajun style.
Each contestant will be re-
quired to play a Cajun waltz
of their choice and a Cajun
two-stop of their choice as
listed on the entry form.
There is no registration
fee for the event, but contes-tants must register by 3 p.m.
Friday, Sept. 25.
Registration forms are
available at www.jeffdavis.org
or by calling 821-5521.
I am looking forward
to hearing all the different
fiddle players coming in fromall over and the different
styles that evolve out of all
the different fiddle players,
Dugas said.
Tickets for the event will
be available soon at the Jeff
Davis Parish Tourism Office
at the Louisiana Oil and Gas
Park in Jennings and the
Tupper Museum, 311 N. Main
St.
Advance tickets are $8 for
adults, $6 for senior citizens,
and free for ages 12 and
under. Proceeds from ticket
sales will be used to support
next years event.
After the competition, the
Southwest Louisiana Acous-
tic Cajun Music Jam sessionwill be 1-3 p.m. at Java Joltz,
115 E. Shankland in Jennings.
Musicians of all levels and
ages are invited to join. A free
accordion-making workshop
will also be held.
BATTLEContinued from B1
CuisineSCENE
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