CLICHE WARNING; Good things come, yes, in small packages. When traveling on the road, we find these small packages, sightsee-ers joy, best kept secrets, you’ve got the idea. The latest find is a small “artisan” goat farm in the heart of Moreauville, Louisiana, In the campground office (of a very large Casino/hotel/spa/ complex, I picked up a flyer directing us to the farm. And what was better, it happened to be their farm market day.
From the sound of the information card, we expected a large, commercial operation. After all they promised 2 hour tours of the farm and facilities with advanced reservations, except on Thursday, Market Day. We drove from Marksville southerly a few miles to the farm. Crossing a bridge over the Bayou we immediately faced the farm, a rustic, un-manicured entrance, the driveway a mix of dirt, rocks and gravel, some spanish moss overhead and an unpolished-style charm of the old south. No fancy, over the top commercial facility here but a warm southern welcome with coffee, fresh pecans, generous samples of the Goat Feta, and the Brie that Marguerite Constantine (The Mar in WesMar) is developing. We were invited to sit under the rustic shelter to join their friends and some customers having coffee and treats. One gentleman was holding a 2 day old goat. As cute as could be, of course.
We resisted the delicious truffles but purchased two containers of the garlic and herb Chevre — kept frozen until ready to use, a container of Goat Feta and a quart of the Goat Milk. It is all delicious and we were restricted solely by the space in our RV’s refrigerator. We chatted some more and grabbed some more PR fliers to take back to the RV park office for others to find. We said our goodbyes and Marguerite stopped us on the way to the car and handed us a full, round 4″ wheel of her new Brie. She asked us to “taste-test” it and to email feedback to her. How delightful to be part of the response team. We will indeed follow up with our opinions and are so delighted to have met the Constantines. They are hardworking and devoted to their work.
The towns of Marksville and Moreauville, LA are another fascinating story. Marksville survives mostly on the back of the huge Native American Casino run by the Tunica Biloxi Tribe and was the first land based Casino in Louisiana. Casinos are not our usual haunt, we don’t gamble and the smoking is overwhelming. However, Casinos are famous for having wonderful RV camp sites at very reasonable prices (such as $8 to $10 a night for full hookups).