Camp cooking has a ceiling. One pan, a burner or two, and by day four you’re wondering just how creative you can get with the rest of those hot dogs.
Bryan has a fix. La Bougainvillea Kitchen & Lounge, “La Boug” to the regulars, sits at 2606 S. Texas Ave. It’s a café and bakery Friday through Sunday, 9:30 to 2, and the café side is known for Venezuelan empanadas. In the evenings, the kitchen turns into a classroom.
What the classes are like
Chef Annie Daylong has been running the fall classes, and the nights sound like a good dinner party. Recent ones include a fish night built around steelhead trout and shrimp scampi, and another for green chiles, roasted or not, mild or with a kick. Classes run from about 6 to 8:45 p.m. You should come hungry, because the evening ends around the table.
Prefer afternoons? There’s an empanada class too, led by Paula. You fold six yourself, then take home a boxed half-dozen with sauce and recipes.
How to sign up
Tickets can be obtained through Chef Annie’s website, and you can sign up for the empanada class through Eventbrite. You can also see all the upcoming classes on La Boug’s events page, and new nights get added as they open up.
Rig kitchens get small fast. Cooking next to a room of strangers who all happen to wielding knives is a lot more fun. And if you’re parked in Bryan for a month or more, an evening class is a great excuse to get out of the rig for a little bit..
Carry a box of empanadas you folded yourself back to camp, and you can rest your shells with us on a full stomach.