There is nothing better than sharing a great meal with neighbors, and our latest Neighborhood Night Out gave us the perfect opportunity. We gathered at Poor Boy’s Riverside Inn, where the service was wonderful, the drinks were flowing, and every course gave us something new to talk about.

Dinner began with homemade bread, fried boulettes, and Caesar salad, followed by gumbo, étouffée, and stuffed shrimp. Just when we thought we could not eat another bite, sweet potato beignets and bread pudding arrived for dessert. Naturally, we found room.

One of the best parts of the evening was hearing how the Poor Boy’s family helped shape Acadiana’s dining scene. The story began in 1932, when Hulo “Poor Boy” Landry invested $1.30 in sugar and flavoring and started selling snowballs from a hand-pushed wagon. The poor boy sandwiches he packed for his own lunches soon became a hit, inspiring him to open the original restaurant on St. John Street. Its popularity quickly outgrew that location, so in 1939, Hulo moved the restaurant to a scenic spot overlooking the Vermilion River near the Pinhook Bridge.

After surviving a devastating flood in 1940, the restaurant continued building a reputation for doing things differently. It became Lafayette’s first fully air-conditioned restaurant, and Larry Hurst was credited with bringing crawfish étouffée, once considered primarily a home-cooked dish, into a restaurant setting. He also introduced local diners to blackened redfish topped with crawfish and offered adventurous options such as alligator and emu, along with one of the area’s first live lobster tanks.

When the Pinhook Bridge was scheduled to close for an extended expansion project in 1977, the family knew it was time for another move. Hulo’s son-in-law, Larry Hurst, built the restaurant’s current location with help from family and friends. Today, the third-generation family business is owned and operated by Richard and Lori Hurst, who continue the commitment to quality food, personal service, and genuine hospitality that has kept Poor Boy’s thriving for more than 90 years.

The evening felt less like an event and more like a relaxed dinner with friends. We left full, happy, and even more appreciative of the history behind one of Acadiana’s longtime restaurants. Thank you to the team at Poor Boy’s Riverside Inn for taking such great care of us and to everyone who came out and made the night so much fun!