Golden Oldies: The Fried Fixings of Old School Shreveport-Bossier

Through filming Louisiana Culinary Trails for Louisiana Travel, I found there is something to be said for vacationing within the state. I was invited to join a few other food journalists on a trip around Shreveport-Bossier with Chris Jay, a guy I met last time I was in town. This was a unique trip because Chris wanted to take us places he which he feels embody the area--and not in a touristy way that involves us hitting every "famous for..." place in town, but some places even locals don't know about. While we hit some well known spots, Chris gave us a real taste of Shreveport-Bossier in a way that spoke to the character and stories of the community. After settling in at 2439 Fairfield: A Bed & Breakfast, we kicked off the weekend at Shockley's Fish & Fixins!

Mr. Shockley

Shockley's has been in operation for over 33 years and is only marked by a hand painted sign hung up on an abandoned building about two miles from the restaurant. Mr. Shockley is still in the kitchen and there are only three things you need to know about him: he loves the Tigers, he loves Miller Lite, and he knows how to fry some catfish. While there's a little bit on the menu, you can't pass up their all you can eat whole and fried catfish!

Sweet & Tangy Coleslaw...and lots of it.

Pickled Green Tomatoes

Mr. Shockley's Whole Fried Catfish

Theresa Gullo

Gullo's Fresh Produce & Bake Shop has been handed down through the family for generations. Still family owned and operated, Gullo's provides fresh produce to the neighborhood in addition to canned preserves, local honey, frozen meals from their family recipes, and of course, Italian pastries.

While I was in the store I grabbed some of the last of Theresa Gullo's fig preserves of the season and her husband's pickled habanero's!

Fried Apple Pie

The Shreveport-Bossier Convention and Visitor's Bureau set us up in a very pleasant B&B for the duration of the trip. We had the pleasure of staying at 2439 Fairfield: A Bed and Breakfast, and that Saturday morning the owner, Jimmy, made us his famous southern decadent breakfast. There was an array of tomato grits, eggs, bacon, ham, jams, breads...you name it! Don't even get me started on Jimmy's famous fried pies. That's right--dessert at breakfast and it was amazing!

Herby K's Shrimp Buster

A trip to Shreveport wouldn't be complete without a Shrimp Buster at Herby K's! Simple and delicious, the Shrimp Buster consists of four flattened, battered, and fried shrimp on a toasted poboy bun and served with a side of slaw and buster sauce (a spicy tangy sweet concoction). Everyone attacks them differently, but I like to make a little poboy taco out of mine and top it with slaw and sauce. Herby K's has been around since 1936 and the Shrimp Buster has been a part of its history for almost 70 years!


The places mentioned in this post are a little taste of old school Shreveport-Bossier...it's always cool to see where a place has been, but we also got a taste of where they're going. Check back in and see some of the up and comings of Shreveport-Bossier's food culture!