Shadetree Guest Guide
Local Area Restaurants:
Many folks drive for miles to eat at the Oxbow Resaturant. The menu is mostly classical Creole favorites and since it changes daily, many times it includes dishes with an Italian and/or Asian flair. Great seafood and steaks. Fine wines and a bar. No matter what the dish, it’s always consistently excellent. They’re open Tuesday through Sunday for Lunch, from 11-1:30 and for Dinner from 5-9 Tuesday through Saturday. The lunch menu during the week is limited, but at Sunday lunch, they have their full dinner menu. To get there, just drive up Ferdinand back towards town. At the red light, take a left (in front of the St. Francisville Inn) and follow Commerce Street until you get to the three way stop. Go one more block and take a right onto Wilcox street. There’s a small concrete drive behind the Sonny’s Pizza that will take you back to the bright turquoise & white building. The restaurant phone number is 225-635-6276.
The Bluff's on Thompson Creek's Clubhouse Restaurant is open Tuesday through Saturday for lunch from 11-2 and dinner from 5-9 and for Sunday Brunch 11-3. Excellent cuisine in a beautiful atmosphere with views overlooking Thompson Creek and the 18th hole of the golf course. Although a very elegant restaurant, dress is casual and prices are reasonable. Take Highway 61 South towards Baton Rouge and turn left at Highway 965 (signage for Audubon State Park-Oakley House just before turn). The Bluff's is about 7 miles down the highway on the right. There's a sign at the turn into the development. Just follow the "clubhouse" signs. There's a nice piano bar and verandas overlooking the beautiful views. Phone 225-634-3000.
The Magnolia Cafe’, the local’s favorite for lunch, is on Commerce Street, behind the Birdman Cafe', just past the main red-light intersection in town. They are open daily for lunch and Thursday through Saturday, they are open for dinner. Great poboys, burgers and salads as well as very good dinner specials that usually include seafood and steaks. Wines by the glass & a bar. On Friday nights, you’ll find an interesting mix of locals enjoying live music on the screened porch while dining (& dancing). Phone: 225-635-6528.
The Carriage House at the Myrtles Plantation is open for lunch (11-2) and dinner (5-9) and Sunday Brunch from 11-2. They are closed Tuesdays. Located in a charming cottage on the grounds of The Myrtles Plantation, their menu offers down home southern favorites and plantation recipes from the olden days as well as numerous daily specials and po-boys, salads and burgers. Fine wines and a bar. Phone: 225-635-6278.
Eight Sisters Restaurant promises "a soulful experience" and serves excellent soul food from recipes they honed feeding their own families on church days: crispy-fried catfish, bread pudding, fried chicken (cooked when you order) and chitlins. Eight Sisters also rotates its fresh vegetables — turnip, collard, mustard greens and cabbage. Located at the town's 3-way red light across from Birdman Coffee & Books. They are open Monday through Saturday for lunch and dinner and Sunday for lunch when it can be very crowded with locals after church. Phone 225-635-4000.
Que Pasa Mexican Grill is just across the street as you head left towards the ferry right next to the Bayou Sara Market. They are open Monday through Saturday from 11 am -10 pm for lunch & dinner. Good Mexican food & margaritas. Outdoor deck seating or indoors. Wines by the glass and a bar. Phone: 225-784-0161.
Wing-It Sports Bar & Grill is in the Spring Creek Shopping Center on the corner behind Sonny's Pizza on Hwy. 61. In addtion to hot wings, they have good burgers, po-boys, soups and salads in an LSU-Saints Fan atmosphere. Open daily for lunch and dinner. Wines by the glass and a bar. Phone: 225-635-0015.
Audubon Café is open Thursday through Sunday for breakfast and lunch. They have good home cooking along with soups, salads & sandwiches. "Amazing food, with friendly, down-home service. We like it so much we drive there from Baton Rouge about once a month. Try it, you won't be disappointed." is why online reviewers give it 5 stars. They are across the parking lot from the large grocery store and Fred's Dollar Store at Highway 61 & Highway 10. Phone: 225-635-5446.
Birdman Coffee & Books located just behind the Magnolia Cafe’, is our town's popular hangout in the mornings, offering a great breakfast menu with omelets, huevos rancheros, waffles, as well as an assortment of coffees, pastries, scones & homemade ice cream (in warm weather). It’s open daily, Monday - Friday 6am - 8pm and on Saturday & Sunday from 8am - 8pm. Sometimes on "Blue Mondays", Birdman serves homemade supper (bring your own wine) with local musical entertainment from 6-8. Phone: 225-635-3665.
St. Francisville Inn puts on a delightful breakfast buffet from 6:30 - 9:00 Monday through Friday and from 7 to 10 on Saturday & Sunday. They are located in the Victorian Gothic Bed & Breakfast at the 3-way red light on the corner of Ferdinand and Commerce. The restaurant has views of a landscaped courtyard and pool. The Wine Parlor, located in the Inn, is open until 9:00 every evening, offering a wide selection of wines from around the world (also available to take home by the bottle). Phone: 225-635-6502.
East Dragon in the Springcreek Shopping Center located on the left, rear side of the shopping center. Very good Chinese & Cantonese food. There are “take-out specials” which are plentiful and include your choice of main course and comes with a wonton, egg roll & fried rice. Prices for the specials range from $5.95-$7.95. Only beer is served. East Dragon is open Monday through Saturday from 11:00 AM - 9:00 PM. Phone: 225-635-6777.
Sonny’s Pizza, on Highway 61 in front of the Spring Creek Shopping Center has very good pizzas, in addition to po-boys, hamburgers and other Italian specialties. Only beer is served. They have a drive-thru window in addition to indoor seating. Phone 225-635-4771.
Feliciana Seafood Market & Deli at Highway 61 and Commerce Street is in the Exxon-convenience store at the corner of Highway 61 and Commerce Street. It has a variety of gumbos, soups and fried seafood to go, in addition to po-boys, pizza, hamburgers, etc. They also have a fairly wide selection of wine and are open everyday. They are open Mon. -Thurs. 7-9, Fridays 7-10, Sat. 8-10, Sun. 8-8. Phone: 225-635-4279.
All area restaurants are very casual and welcome folks in shorts and sandals as well as coats & ties.
Natural Attractions:
The Clark Creek Natural Area, commonly known as the “Tunica Falls” is definitely worth the 30 minute trip by car for a hike & a picnic. Clark Creek is a 700+ acre mixed hardwood and pine forest highlighted by some 50 waterfalls, ranging in size from 10 to more than 30 feet in height. You’ll also see many trees uncommon to the area, two world record trees (Mexican Plum & Bigleaf Snowbell) along with a variety of colorful migrating and resident birds. It’s located 13 miles west of Woodville in the Pond Community. Take Highway 24 and at the Clark Creek sign near the outskirts of Woodville, turn left onto the Woodville-Pond road. From Woodville, drive about 13 miles to the community of Pond, turn right and proceed across the cattle gap up toward the large white building that serves as the Pond Store. The Clark Creek parking lot is about 200 yards down the road on the left. The Pond Store has a unique history and offers a small museum, food, soft drinks, and other merchandise, in addition to a map of the Clark Creek Area showing the location of waterfalls and types of trails. Due to the erodible nature of the loess soil, only foot traffic is permitted. The terrain is physically demanding so visitors should be medically fit before going afield.
The Mary Ann Brown Nature Preserve has a 2-mile trail through one of the few protected forests in West Feliciana parish’s Tunica Hills. The 109-acre preserve, recently opened to the public by the Nature Conservancy of Louisiana, is just 5 miles east of St. Francisville. On Highway 964 on the left just across from the entrance to the Bluffs. The trail, through a mixed hardwood forest dominated by magnolia and beech trees, courses up and down over shallow ravines eroded from a silt plateau deposited by the wind of thousands of years ago. Blazed and easy to follow, the trail can be slippery at the small creek bisecting the preserve. The preserve includes butterfly and hummingbird gardens and a pond stocked with fish, all free and open to the public. There are also covered picnic areas.
Historical Attractions:
The historic district of St. Francisville boasts over 140 structures on the National Register. The Historical Society Museum located on Ferdinand at the other end of Royal Street has a “Walking Tour” map which we highly recommend, in addition to brochures and other literature on the area, including a map to the Tunica Falls. There are also several antebellum homes open for tours: The Myrtles Plantation complete with resident ghosts, Greenwood’s magnificent architecture & grounds, Oakley, The Cottage, Butler-Greenwood and Rosedown Plantation and Gardens.
Rosedown Plantation and Gardens is our most spectacular home on tour and should not be missed. Oakley, where John James Audubon stayed when he was here is another interesting historical site. Both are now owned by the State.
Catalpa Plantation, the most popular home on tour for many years, is once again open for tours. Beloved “Miss Mamie” Thompson, owner and tour guide, passed away not long ago, but the home remains in her family. Her daughter Mary would love you to see her lovely home full of fine antiques and decorative arts. Tours are from 10 to 4, Wednesday through Sunday by Appointment. $6 admission includes a glass of sherry. Phone: 225- 635-3372.
Other Attractions:
We have two very good massage therapists in town. Rena Sturgeon is located behind the Magnolia Cafe'. Phone: 225-721-2304. Lori Johnson is located right down Ferdinand Street next to Michael Miller Pottery . Phone: 225-784-2838.
Cross Creek Stables located just 20 minutes north of St. Francisivlle at 7623 Old Tunica Road, offers 3 hour trail rides through the Tunica hills. Their “gaited” horses are gentle, but some experience is required. They supply saddle bags if you want to bring a picnic. Rides are either from 9-12 or 2-5. Phone Matt & Donna Metz at 225-655-4233 for reservations and other information.
Local naturalist/artist Murrell Butler gives “bird walks”. He has a checklist of 138 species--78 of which nest on his property. Call Murrell at 225-635-6214 for reservations.
This area is one of the most popular among bicyclers. Backroads Bicycle Tour Group comes several times a year. Shadetree has two bicycles for guest use.
If you’re a jogger, walker or bicycler and prefer a trail other than an in town jaunt, try Tunica Street which we call “Chipmunk Alley”. Turn left at the bottom of Shadetree’s steps, then right onto Tunica Street at the bottom of the hill.
Bs sure not to miss Afton Villa Gardens (recently featured in Travel & Leisure and Victoria Magazine) about 4 miles north of town on Highway 61 on the left side of the highway, just past the turn-off to Angola Hwy. 66. Open Fall & Spring. Fall season is October 1st to December 1st daily from 9:00 am to 4:30 pm daily. Spring season is March 1st through June 30th. Phone 225-721-2269 or 225-635-6773 for more information. Picnicking on the grounds is permitted.
Hemingbough, a cultural arts center, is open to the public and hosts an annual Easter Sunrise service outdoors in the amphitheater every Easter morning at 7:00 a.m., complete with a continental breakfast and music. It’s a non-denominational service. Admission is free. If you haven’t been to Hemingbough you must stop in and view this breathtaking property (238 acres) created by developer Arlin Deese. Hemingbough is available for weddings, parties, family & corporate events as well as many other functions. Phone: 225-635-6617.
Grace Episcopal Church and Cemetery just down and across Ferdinand Street is quite beautiful and the view from Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Catholic Church hilltop stunning. Both churches welcome guests. Sunday services at Grace are at 10:00 a.m. and services at Mt. Carmel are at 5:30 Saturday evening and 10:30 Sunday morning.
Shopping:
Don't miss Grandmother’s Buttons, featured in Victoria Magazine, Southern Living and Southern Accents Magazine, and just 2 blocks down Royal Street. It houses a Button Museum and in addition to offering their vintage button jewelry which is sold to stores all over the country, they also have home accessories, teen & women’s clothing, children’s toys and gifts.
In addition to a wide variety of clothing and lingerie for ladies, Shanty Too just across from the Historical Society, has many gifts and a candy shop with sinfully decadent chocolate truffles. Sage Hill Antiques & Gifts, further down on Commerce Street across from the Post Office, has an eclectic collection of gifts, including original Amsterdam Audubon prints. Local potter Michael Miller has a shop on Ferdinand showcasing & selling his pottery. For antiques, Bohemianville Antiques (by the Magnolia Cafe') and an Antique Mall at the town's red light, have quite a melange of interesting things. Hillcrest, at the intersection of Commerce and Highway 10, is another great home, garden & gift shop. For things like film, toilet articles and medicine, try Fred’s Dollar Store (on Hwy. 61 North) and the Elliot's Pharmacy, just up the highway in the Spring Creek Shopping Center. Radio Shack (same shopping center) has video tapes and batteries. In case you’re unprepared for rain, Pat’s Hardware on Highway 61 has Lacrosse rubber boots and both Dollar Stores have rain ponchos. We have umbrellas you can borrow.
Audubon Package Liquor and Ricky’s Lounge are located on Highway 61 just North of where it intersects at Commerce Street. They are open Tuesday through Saturday and the bar is open til late at night. Quite the “quintessential local dive bar” where many locals hang out. The package liquor store has a good selection of wines and liquor.
Don’t forget to check out the latest issue of Country Roads Magazine in your suite which features a calendar of events and other attractions in the area.
