16th Annual Holiday Arts Tour - November 21-24

The Ruston Lincoln Parish CVB is happy to have Jessica Slaughter on our blog today! Jessica is the Executive Director of the North Central Louisiana Arts Council and is going to tell us more about the the Holiday Arts Tour coming up November 21-24 in Downtown Ruston.

This year is the 16th annual Holiday Arts Tour for NCLAC, and we have a wonderful year lined up. I’ll start our “HAT web tour” at the Dixie Center for the Arts, corner of Alabama and North Vienna in downtown Ruston, where the Tour itself will begin on November 21-24. Tour-goers should make their first stop at the DCA to view the group exhibition, sponsored by Landry Vineyards, featuring each of the participating Holiday Arts Tour artists. You’ll be able to see the well-crafted variety of works available, from calligraphy to photography, handmade books to oil paintings, soaps to wood-turned jewelry.

In addition to the exhibition at the Dixie Center, there will also be a voting box for the People’s Choice Winner. In an effort to reward our talented artists, we will be offering two awards this year: Juror’s Choice and People’s Choice. Upon looking at the Dixie Center exhibition, and/or after making stops at each Tour site, be sure to cast your vote for your favorite artist. Awards will be announced at the end-of-Tour artists’ party on Saturday.

The Tour will begin again this year on Thursday, in partnership with the City of Ruston’s Main Street Christmas Open House. Artwork will be on display for special Open House hours of 5-8pm. Stop in and visit with merchants and get a jump on the weekend.

Friday’s Tour hours will be 4-8, so you’ll have time to head downtown after work. At the Dixie Center, Landry Vineyards, north Louisiana’s own vineyard and winery, will be holding a wine tasting. Artists will be on site in each Holiday Arts Tour location, ready to chat about their work. From 5-8pm at seven downtown Tour sites, musicians will be performing for visitors. These will be small ensembles who perform short sets so that you may talk with them about their music. At Pastry Moon, there will also be a round-robin style Poetry Reading at 6pm.

Saturday will be the big shopping day, with artists present in each of the Tour sites from 11-5. Many will be offering demonstrations, such as screen printing, spinning, flint napping, and calligraphy. Holiday Arts Tour is really a special event, as it gives you a unique opportunity in a relaxed setting to see and hear about art processes that may be unfamiliar.

Sunday will be a special day for the family. Three studios will be offering Sprout Sunday activities, which are free art projects for children. Stitchville, Brush Hour and Pastry Moon will each offer a unique activity for Tour-goers from 1-4pm. When Tour hours end, head over to the Dixie Center for the Arts for a free Community Variety Show at 4:30. Dancing, singing, theatre and more will be on the Dixie Center stage as a perfect ending to a big extended weekend. This is your perfect opportunity to check out the beautiful Dixie Center Theatre if you haven’t been in in a while.

Artwork from the Tour will make wonderful gifts; how much better to spend your holiday shopping money in locally owned businesses?!

Here is this year's route:
Makers Union, featuring Jake Dugard and Joey Slaughter. Screenprinting demonstration on Saturday.

Kelly Moore Bag, featuring Nicole Duet and Stephanie Dugard. Olsen String Trio on Friday.

Serendipity, featuring Leigh Buffington. Grace Notes Quartet on Friday.

Lewis Boutique, featuring Christiane Drieling.

Chartreuse Pear, featuring Dorene Kordal.

Embellishments, featuring Suzy Berry and Shannan Inman. Calligraphy demonstration.

The Frame Up, featuring Hooshang Khorasani.

House of Flowers and the Cake Shoppe, featuring Julie Crews and Casey Parkinson.

Sundown Tavern, featuring Todd Cloe and Emily Ezell. Ken Carter Quartet on Friday.

The Fabric Shop, featuring an embroidery class on Thursday and a quilting class on Saturday.

Rodeo Boutique, featuring Whitney Caskey

Patton’s Downtown, featuring Allen Tuten and Geri Taylor. Cain Budds on Friday.

Rogers Furniture and Gifts, featuring Cindy Gibson and Julie Roane.

Fine Line Art Supply and Stitchville, featuring MC Davis and Frank Hamrick. Elizabeth Vidos on Friday.

Pastry Moon, featuring Bonnie Ferguson, Lora Lee and Frank Kelley, Jr. Poetry Reading on Friday.

Rumo’s Barber Shop, featuring Rachel Johnston. Bethany Raybourn on Friday. Spinning demo on Saturday.

Turbo Goat, featuring Peter Hay.

The Lodge, featuring Sonny Monteleone. Fred Beavers and Sara Sullivan on Friday.

Studio 301, featuring work by Kit Gilbert.

Art Innovations, featuring an on-site art installation.

Percussive Arts Institute of Ruston, featuring sculpture created during a collaborative workshop.

Townsend House Gifts, featuring Laura Glen Lawson and Michelle McGeehee.
NCLAC’s Holiday Arts Tour is supported in part by a grant from Louisiana Division of the Arts, Office of Cultural Development, Department of Culture, Recreation and Tourism in cooperation with the Louisiana State Arts Council as administered by the Shreveport Regional Arts Council.

It's time to rock out, Ruston!

Friday & Saturday, February 21-22

 
All you music lovers are in for a treat this weekend! It's time again for the 15th Annual John Simoneaux Memorial Jam in Historic Downtown Ruston! 

We have two nights of nonstop entertainment in Ruston's favorite hotspots. Friday is the pre-jam warm up starting at 8:30pm at Sundown Tavern. The Ruston Road Kings and the Mistreats will be on stage getting things kicked off for Saturday!

Saturday has quite the lineup for you. Opening performances include local guitarist Cain Budds on stage at Ponchatoulas, Cruise Control on the inside stage at Sundown Tavern and Honeybee recording artist Buddy Flett out on the patio at Sundown. After these opening acts, the stage is open to anyone interested in playing! Fun runs from 5pm-12am.  

Tickets are $10 per person and cover entry into the event and a food plate! Food items include BBQ, jambalaya, potato salad, beans, chicken, dressing and desserts. You just can't beat ten bucks for hours of music entertainment AND awesome food. 

   

Photo credit:
johnnyjam.com

Along with a silent auction, there will also be a raffle for a $2,698 Taylor Electric Guitar! Raffle tickets are $5. Contact Ken Carter at 318-278-3705 for more information. 

For those who don't know, this is an annual fundraiser created in memory of Ruston's own 

talented John Simoneaux who died in a car accident 

in 2000. Proceeds go towards scholarships for 
Louisiana Tech University guitar students. 

Don't miss the great night of music, food and FUN! See you there!

Makes plans to be town for Friday and Saturday night! Book a room and enjoy a weekend trip. Check out our website for travel information or click here for hotel accommodations. 

          

Louisiana Military Museum | Ruston, LA

Veterans Day - Monday, November 11th

Although we are thankful every day for their dedication and sacrifices, this is the time of year we all think about the service men and women who have fought for this country. With Veterans Day just around for corner, let’s take a moment to also celebrate a local treasure, the Louisiana Military Museum.

Since November 11, 1995, the Louisiana Military Museum has been reliving 150 years of military history through the lives of local heroes and unknown enemies. The museum is home to approximately 10,000 artifacts and showcases U.S. conflicts from the Civil War all the way to the Afghanistan War.

The exhibits are unique to the area and feature an expansive weapons collection, flags, training gear and apparel, as well as personal items like diaries, letters and Bibles. Outside the museum you’ll also find aircraft and vehicles from almost every conflict in American history. Museum Director Ernie Stevens is quite knowledgeable of, not only the wars, but of every artifact on display.         

Iraqi Redayeen
The helmet design is a copy of the
Darth Vader helmet from Star Wars.

I had the pleasure of visiting the museum this past month with a group of travel writers. I had not been there in a couple of years and didn’t realize what I'd missed. I’m a bit of a history enthusiast and enjoyed a good two hours browsing the displays. (I’ll also tell you now, two hours wasn’t nearly enough time to see everything.) World War I and II, Korea, Vietnam and the Gulf Wars are particularly well represented. And the machine gun display is also a must see for any military history buff. 

I was unusually excited by the variety of military-issued gas masks. I’ve always found them strangely fascinating.

Jackpot!

Iraqi Gas Mask

Copy of a

U.S. M-9 gas mask

I also found this photo of a gentleman from my hometown. Private Robert H. Scott, 8th Louisiana Volunteer Infantry from Winnsboro, LA.
Side note: Does anyone else see the John Cusack resemblance?

Caption reads: Pvt. Robert H. Scott, Winnsboro, Louisiana,
Co. E (Franklin Sharpshooters) 8^thLouisiana Volunteer Infantry, C.S.A.
(Image courtesy Mark Hadley, Capt. Leon Polk Camp
Sons of Confederate Veterans, Bastrop, La.)

Have you been to the museum lately? These displays are a standing honor to those who served our country. They are here for us to appreciate and are important in the fight to keep history alive.

If you’d like more information on the museum, visit their website or call (318) 251-5099. The museum is open Tuesday-Saturday, 10:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m. and admission is free. It’s located at 201 Memorial Drive in Ruston. Stop by and see Ernie and spend some time exploring one of Ruston’s hidden treasures.

Also, if you’re interested in learning more about Louisiana in war history, check out articles from Dr. Terry Jones in Louisiana Road Trips. 

FALL CRAWL IS NEARING…

Written by Jessica Slaughter, NCLAC Executive Director

Now that we have passed Labor Day, I find myself yearning for Fall. Most of September is officially the fall season, even though Louisiana weather often disagrees. However, everyone is back in school, football has begun, and our minds begin to wander toward pumpkins and cooler weather. To celebrate this new season and enjoy an early evening outdoors, be sure to come downtown for the Fall Crawl. Several arts-businesses in downtown Ruston are joining together for a great evening on September 19, from 5-8pm.

  

Painting by Frank Folino, OFM

Fine Line Art Supply will be featuring Frank Folino, OFM, of St. Thomas Aquinas. Father Frank’s mixed media paintings, with bold color and deep relief, are expressionistic and engaging. Kelly Moore Bag will be featuring husband and wife photography team Hannah Cooper McCauley and Zachary McCauley. These artists are Masters Candidates at Louisiana Tech and each has been recognized, awarded, published and exhibited nationally in the last year. This is a great opportunity to buy works by artists on the rise. Kelly Moore Bag will also be hosting music by Josh + Jenn.

Be sure to stop by Main Street Exchange, who will be featuring toys created by Christiane Drieling, whose craftsmanship is impeccable. Main Street Exchange’s featured nonprofit of the month is NCLAC—so sales at the shop will support our organization this month! Makers Union will have James Gilcrease from Day Old Blues Records with a pop-up shop chock full of vinyl. He’ll be spinning records, of course, so head over to treat your ears.

Works by Andi and Robert Moran

Just down the street at Studio 301 is another husband and wife team, Robert and Andi Moran, who will be exhibiting sculptural works. Robert and Andi are a creative powerhouse, with experience as designers of furniture, ceramics, lighting and more. Around the corner at Pastry Moon, owner Bonnie Ferguson will have her new autumn soaps as well as the artists she regularly features, such as Dorene Kordal’s felt, Whitney Caskey’s photography, and Lora Lee’s jewelry. I hear a buzz about a musician at Pastry Moon as well… Frame of Mind will be exhibiting new works by artist Peter Hay, who recently graduated from LA Tech’s MFA program, but has since moved back to Oklahoma. Peter is a fine printmaker and painter, with a style rooted in surrealism, often depicting beautifully illustrated animal imagery.

At the Dixie Center for the Arts, Dubach artist Nina Stephens’ oil paintings will be featured. As a self-taught artist, Nina channels her emotions and energy by creating pieces that represent personal journeys along with locally inspired pieces and animal portraits. Art Innovations is joining the Fall Crawl, and will have an installation titled A Walk in the Woods, featuring bird houses and bows by Francis Carson, and small paintings by Jackie Cochran. Alexandria Bozeman will be on site creating “Energy Portraits,” and there’s rumor of hot dogs and s’mores!

Plans are still begin generated, with conversations about food, music, and book readings, so be sure to mark this date on your calendar. If you remember, there was a Spring Crawl earlier this year, and there were people everywhere! It was a wonderful night. Let’s make it happen again. Grab a friend and head downtown after work. Join our facebook event for continued details.

 Tell us about your adventures in #RustonLA!

            

Ruston to Host Half Marathon Event

Runners will need to be in tip-top shape if they plan on participating in the Piney Hills Half  Marathon on Feb. 10 because unlike most races, which are run on flat courses, Ruston’s race will be throwing in some “hilly” landscape to give runners an added challenge.

This Piney Hills Half Marathon will be Ruston’s first half marathon event, and is expected to attract as many as 250 runners in its first year. Doug Harvey, one of the event organizers, said he wanted to put together a marathon event in Ruston for a couple of reasons. Among those is the fact that North Louisiana has no marathon events in the first half of the year. He also wanted to offers runners something different from races hosted in other cities.

“We know people are running races this time of the year, but they are having to go to Dallas, New Orleans and Little Rock for those events, and we wanted to give them a local option as well as a half marathon that is different,” said Harvey. The difference in this half marathon is that it has embraced its landscape and will be known as a “hilly” half marathon. Not many races are willing to deviate from a primarily flat course.”

The Ruston Lincoln Convention & Visitors Bureau, a sponsor of the event, says the race has the potential to attract overnight visitors to Lincoln Parish.

“Running is a very popular sport for a lot of people, said CVB President/CEO Travis Napper. “We are thrilled to have this new event that will attract people to Ruston and Lincoln Parish. The event is generating tremendous buzz from the running community and the CVB is proud to be a supporter of this event.” 

The races starts in downtown Ruston, heads north and then west through the residential area, before taking the service road to Tech Drive and then snaking through the Louisiana Tech campus before returning downtown.

The registration cost is $60 per person. Harvey said entries will be accepted all the way up until the day of the race or until the number of participates reaches 250.

“We definitely feel that an athlete should come here and challenge themselves and walk away with a sense of accomplishment of not only conquering a half marathon but a hilly one.” Harvey said. “Another reason to support this event is our partnership with 4 Paws Rescue. They are our charity partner of this event and we want to do our part to help their dreams of having a permanent shelter built come to reality.”

For more information about the Piney Hills Half Marathon, visit the website at www.pineyhillshalf.com.

Let's get a drink!

After a long drive into town, a busy day shopping and exploring, or after an hour of being cooped up in a hotel room, who doesn't want to get out and sit down for a drink?

What’s your “go to” concoction? A Jack and Coke or an Apple Martini? Something dry or something fruity? What about locally brewed beers? I’m a Merlot lady, myself.

If you don’t know your way around, no worries! We’ve put together the ultimate guide to drinks and happy hours in Ruston and Lincoln Parish!

At the top of the list is Sundown Tavern. Located downtown and known for its laid back atmosphere, Sundown has been a local hot spot since 1975. Sit at the bar and visit with Eric and Maria or take a seat outside on the patio and enjoy the unique décor. Try award winning Bloody Mary (voted Best of the Delta!) or a Fresh Mint Mojito.

Red Wine Sangria
Portico Bar & Grill of Ruston

Next is Portico Bar & Grill. It’s another great place to sit and sip. Tuesday nights are 2 for 1 Pint Nights and Happy Hour is from 4 p.m. til 7 p.m. Stop in for $4 wells and $1 off draft beers. Or beat the Louisiana heat with a guest favorite – the Red Wine Sangria made with red wine, brandy, cranberry juice, pomegranate juice, Sprite and fresh fruit. I’ll take a pitcher, please! Portico also offers outdoor seating with refreshing cool-air misters and live music on the weekends.

Around the Louisiana Tech campus? Stop into the Dawghouse. They’ve been in business for twenty years and have earned a reputation for tasty food and great drinks. Play a game of pool or darts while you’re there, or check out any number of sporting events on their thirteen TV’s. They have a large selection of bottled and keg beers. They also carry premium liquors and can whip up anything your heart desires. And there is always something new to try with their seasonal beers!

    

The Bob Marley
Ponchatoulas

And of course, there’s Ponchatoulas. Also located downtown right next to Sundown Tavern, Ponchatoulas is a Cajun/Creole restaurant with a great bar featuring daily specials. Try the Bob Marley, the layered martini made with vodka, rum, melon liqueur, pineapple and cranberry juice. They also serve locally brewed beer like Abita and Great Raft. And of course if you get a little hungry, their menu includes burgers, gumbo, seafood and more. And I get the white chocolate bread pudding with my wine. Try it; it’s fantastic.

Also on the list is another restaurant with great bar and drink options. RAW, located in Downtown Ruston, serves a variety of wines, Saki and mixed drinks alongside their delicious sushi and Japanese cuisine.  

Beau Vines & the Revelry

Beau Vines and the Revelry are a great combination for fine dining and specialty spirits. Beau Vines offers an extensive wine list that guarantees something for everyone. Try one of their specialty drinks like the “manly, yet smooth as honey” Honeycomb made with Maker’s Mark, local honey and served on the rocks. Their counterpart – The Revelry is a more laid back “bar and grill” atmosphere. It’s the ideal place to grab some beers and catch some live music. Check out the Revelry’s calendar for upcoming shows.

Trust a local on the right place to go!

“I really enjoy Ponchatoulas because of the great Cajun food they work hard to cook and provide by a very friendly staff. Not to mention the wide variety of local brew, my favorite being Abita Andygator on tap! Nice people, good location and great food and beverages! I highly recommend!” – Joey S.

“Dawghouse is the place to be. Play some pool, throw some darts. They have awesome burgers and plenty of beer.” – Lee R.

“RAW is a great place to grab cocktails with the girls. The location is ideal, very trendy and upscale, and the staff is friendly.” – Jessica E.

“I love Beau Vines. Go in, get a great steak, then walk over to the Revelry for some beers and live music. The Justin Moore show out on the outdoor stage was incredible. It’s one of my favorite places to go.” – Jeffery C.

Let us know your favorite place to go!

            

Rosemary's Kitchen - Simply Unique

Written by Erica Clark, CVB Interim Administrative Assistant

Rosemary’s Kitchen, along with the mother-daughter duo Rosemary Thomas and Sara Corley, are celebrating their second year of business at the end of September. Rosemary’s Kitchen is a restaurant unlike any other. Using old family recipes and new world flavors combined with the freshest ingredients, they serve some of the best homemade food around.  I was asked to write a little something and was overwhelmed with excitement because Rosemary’s is one of my favorite places to have lunch

Rosemary Thomas and Sara Corley

To help me learn more about what goes on at Rosemary’s Kitchen, I met with long-time employee and Wait-Staff Manager, Ansley Judd. Ansley has been with owner, Sara Corley since just after the grand opening in September of 2012. When asked what she thought has made Rosemary’s so successful, Ansley responded, 

"When you eat at Rosemary’s, it feels like you are coming home for Sunday dinner."

"That is what people expect and that is what we give them. We really get to know the people we serve and it creates an overall ‘homey’ and safe atmosphere. People really like that.” She followed up with this statement: “But I can honestly say that the community and the customers make the business for us. Without you guys, we wouldn’t have the extreme success we have had.” I would like to elaborate a bit of here. I agree with Ansley “Sunday Dinner” comment. I am a college student at Louisiana Tech and for many of us, it is nice to have a place where we can feel at home – especially when we cannot be at home for extended periods of time. Personally, I love seeing familiar faces and being treated with a bit of southern charm and warming hospitality.

Homemade bread is available for purchase.

Moving forward on the topic of success, I asked Ansley since Rosemary’s has grown a great deal over the years since their opening whether she foresees them needing to relocate to accommodate more people. 

Ansley said, “We actually just added seating, we can now serve a little over seventy people. But to address your question more directly, would we like to expand? Eventually yes, who wouldn’t want to expand…? I don’t think any of us (the staff or even Sara) expected Rosemary’s to grow so popular so quickly. Right now, we are taking things as they come. We are all very excited, I am happy for Sara and Mrs. Rosemary.” 

"So you enjoy working at Rosemary's?"Judd surprised me again with her response. She said, “I love working there, I love the people I work for and the people I work with. Sara is not just our boss. If we are short-handed, she will be out there waiting tables with us.” 

Only the freshest ingredient are used daily!

I then asked her to walk me through the daily routine at Rosemary’s. She told me the day can start as early as 5am. All of the food is fresh daily, so there is a lot of prep that goes into lunch. Everything served to customers is locally grown; they use local vendors - when we don’t get things from Rosemary’s own garden, of course. Even their beef is local. “We strive the have the most natural products for our customers, ones without additives. Some of our goods come from the Ruston Farmer’s Market too.”

"Would you believe that the Farmers Market is actually where Rosemary's originated? Most people don't know that Sara and Rosemary sold goods there."  

As if any of that wasn’t surprising enough, Ansley told me that Rosemary’s Kitchen is actually the first restaurant that the two have owned. When asked about the recipes, Ansley said, “Their recipes are original and their own, if they share them with you it’s a big deal… Most of our staff doesn’t know anything about the recipes. Sara has given me one of my favorite recipes - the Carmel Latte Cake, but even when I try to make it on my own it just doesn’t turn out like hers.” I couldn’t get her to spill anymore about their recipes; however, she did tell me some interesting facts about the most popular dishes. One of which, is a personal favorite of mine - the Chicken Salad. I was shocked to learn that Rosemary’s goes through 70-90lbs of chicken a week! Can you imagine? She also mentioned that they have various knickknacks to purchase around the restaurant including dish clothes, aprons, and bags. Much emphasis is placed on everything being made by hand and by locals.

Goodies on the go!

After interviewing with Ansley, my heart for Rosemary’s grew (like it needed help). I am sure after reading this blog, others of you will feel that way too. In closing, I would like to thank Ansley Judd for being so open with me. 

On behalf of Rosemary’s Kitchen, she would like to invite you to attend their upcoming event – Utterly Sweet Tasting. This unique taste testing will be held on site Friday, October 3^rd beginning at 5:30pm. There will be a live music, along with a chance to tasting some of the local products they sell and use in the store. If you are not able to attend this event, do not fret. They host events every few months and they are always serving lunch from 11am - 1:30pm (and open until 5:30pm) Monday through Friday.  

Beef and Bean Chili

Rosemary’s Kitchen is located at 400 South Bonner Street, Ruston, LA 71270. The menu items change weekly and can be found at rosemarys-kitchen.com. For more information, check out their website or call 318-202-5951.

 Tell us about your adventures in #RustonLA
and remember to #EatLocal!

          

Louisiana Military Museum | Ruston, LA

Veterans Day - Monday, November 11th

Although we are thankful every day for their dedication and sacrifices, this is the time of year we all think about the service men and women who have fought for this country. With Veterans Day just around for corner, let’s take a moment to also celebrate a local treasure, the Louisiana Military Museum.

Since November 11, 1995, the Louisiana Military Museum has been reliving 150 years of military history through the lives of local heroes and unknown enemies. The museum is home to approximately 10,000 artifacts and showcases U.S. conflicts from the Civil War all the way to the Afghanistan War.

The exhibits are unique to the area and feature an expansive weapons collection, flags, training gear and apparel, as well as personal items like diaries, letters and Bibles. Outside the museum you’ll also find aircraft and vehicles from almost every conflict in American history. Museum Director Ernie Stevens is quite knowledgeable of, not only the wars, but of every artifact on display.         

Iraqi Redayeen
The helmet design is a copy of the
Darth Vader helmet from Star Wars.

I had the pleasure of visiting the museum this past month with a group of travel writers. I had not been there in a couple of years and didn’t realize what I'd missed. I’m a bit of a history enthusiast and enjoyed a good two hours browsing the displays. (I’ll also tell you now, two hours wasn’t nearly enough time to see everything.) World War I and II, Korea, Vietnam and the Gulf Wars are particularly well represented. And the machine gun display is also a must see for any military history buff. 

I was unusually excited by the variety of military-issued gas masks. I’ve always found them strangely fascinating.

Jackpot!

Iraqi Gas Mask

Copy of a

U.S. M-9 gas mask

I also found this photo of a gentleman from my hometown. Private Robert H. Scott, 8th Louisiana Volunteer Infantry from Winnsboro, LA.
Side note: Does anyone else see the John Cusack resemblance?

Caption reads: Pvt. Robert H. Scott, Winnsboro, Louisiana,
Co. E (Franklin Sharpshooters) 8^thLouisiana Volunteer Infantry, C.S.A.
(Image courtesy Mark Hadley, Capt. Leon Polk Camp
Sons of Confederate Veterans, Bastrop, La.)

Have you been to the museum lately? These displays are a standing honor to those who served our country. They are here for us to appreciate and are important in the fight to keep history alive.

If you’d like more information on the museum, visit their website or call (318) 251-5099. The museum is open Tuesday-Saturday, 10:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m. and admission is free. It’s located at 201 Memorial Drive in Ruston. Stop by and see Ernie and spend some time exploring one of Ruston’s hidden treasures.

Also, if you’re interested in learning more about Louisiana in war history, check out articles from Dr. Terry Jones in Louisiana Road Trips. 

RAW - Big City Flair in Downtown Ruston

Where do you go for sushi in Ruston? We have a few options, but an area favorite is RAW, located in Ruston’s Historic Downtown District. Have you tried it?

114 West Park Avenue, Ruston, LA

The first thing you’re going to notice when you walk through the door is atmosphere. RAW gives off a relaxing, but contemporary and big city ambiance that you just can’t get anywhere else. 

I like to start out with one of their small plates like the Creamy Rock Shrimp. It's tempura fried shrimp dressed in spicy garlic mayo, crunchies, green onions and spicy seasoning. So delicious! 

Creamy Rock Shrimp

From here you can go several different directions. Their menu offers both cooked and raw dishes. All rolls and dishes are made to order, and they use the freshest fish available from local markets! 

Fresh!

Some of my favorite rolls include the Sunset Roll made with a crab mix, spicy tuna and cucumber and the Cajun Roll made with crawfish, avocado, cream cheese and eel sauce. Another favorite around here (Ahem - Travis Napper) is the Tech Roll, a tempura fried roll with a crabmix, avocado, cream cheese and spicy mayo. If you're feeling a little creative, perfect! Their chefs are trained in Japanese cuisine and can put together just about anything. And don't forget the selection of wine, cocktails and fine sake to complement your meal.    

Sunset Roll
(with Creamy Rock Shrimp & Tuna Nigiri)

So whether you're looking to unwind with a drink after work, gather with friends or have a romantic dinner out on the town, RAW can provide. Expect great sushi and great service. They're located at 114 West Park Avenue in Downtown Ruston. Open for dinner at 4 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday.  

Visited RAW recently? Leave your recommendations in the comments!