Chuck Eats Hits the Food Scene: January 20-29!

Grab your stretchy pants and get ready for Chuck Eats Restaurant Week, coming to Lake Charles January 20 – 29! From fresh seafood and sizzling steaks to global cuisine and down-home gumbo, Chuck Eats Week has it all. Visit Lake Charles and local restaurant owners united to bring this annual event to the area to help showcase the talent, ingenuity, and top-notch flavor of the best dishes around.

Timothy Bush, Visit Lake Charles Chief Marketing Officer, is a newcomer to the Lake Area, and for him, hitting the food scene is the perfect way to get to know a community. “Since moving to Lake Charles in February last year, I’ve discovered several favorites,” he said. “I love the Tuna Cassidy at Luna Bar & Grill and the Blue Crab Bisque at Calla is another dish I love.” Both locals and transplants can benefit from exploring the symphony of local flavors during Chuck Eats Week. When life, work, and family take up so much of our time, it’s easy to forget how special Lake Charles is. Chuck Eats Week is a great time to get back out there and take a bite of our culture.

After starting Chuck Fest in 2014, Dave Evans of Luna Bar & Grill reinvented a way to be proud of being from Lake Charles, and this love of “all things Chuck” helps promote the city’s continued growth and rebirth. “The following year the discussion started on Chuck Eats, and we wanted to emphasize the food scene and what we have to offer,” said Evans. It took a trip to Atlanta with Visit Lake Charles in 2019 to start finalizing the concept. 

“As our community continues to recover, several of our local restaurant owners came together with Visit Lake Charles believing that now is the time to start this program,” added Bush. In addition to Evans, Mike Sperandeo of Villa Harlequin and Jay Ecker and Frank Randazzo of Panorama and Rikenjaks also got on board. “Lafayette, Baton Rouge, Shreveport all have restaurant weeks that have been happening for years. It’s time Lake Charles has one that celebrates our culinary scene.”

“I’m excited about the diversity of cuisine options that people can experience, which really speaks to the fact that Lake Charles is a foodie destination with options for a variety of tastes,” said Bush. “Bold, fresh and unique flavors come together in Lake Charles to create a culinary scene unmatched by any other destination.” 

So what exactly is Chuck Eats Week? 

An extensive list of local restaurants will offer everything from special fixed price menus, buy-one-get-one deals, and percentage off meals during the week, and you can explore the flavor trail across Lake Charles as much as you want. All you need to do is visit www.chuckeats.org to see which restaurants are participating and take note of their tasty offers. 

While Evans is a bit biased with his own dishes – his favorite is Luna Bar & Grill’s Redfish Apollo – you can also see him chow down on James 710’s trout, Peking Garden’s egg rolls, or Villa Harlequin’s lasagna. Lake Charles is a place where chefs come together to support each other, and Chuck Eats exemplifies this collaborative culture where restaurants get excited to see neighbors succeed. “The food made here has its local flair, and it’s created by the people here,” added Evans. He suggests everyone localize their taste buds with Chuck Eats. So get out there and enjoy! Save us a seat at the table.