Food:

Cajun cuisine slips into most Beaumont menus; especially when it’s intermingled with downhome cooking and barbecue. Creole is another popular flavor here. Expect some dishes to come with French names and if you’re in the mood to have (or try) frog legs, crawfish, or barbecued crab with your gumbo, this is the place. But Beaumont has enough restaurants (including ubiquitous chains like Chili’s and Fuddruckers) to satisfy everyone. Steak is here in quantity, sometimes cooked Cajun style, and there’s Italian and Mexican food aplenty.

Music:

Beaumont is home to old piano genius Moon Mulligan and to, well, the funky chicken. More seriously, this is home base to Texan Cajun music and the East Texas blues scene. Of course, Beaumont is not without prestigious honky-tonk dance halls, but it balances live music performed by country-western legends out with live music performed by blues legends.

Many of the live music venues line Crockett Street and many offer food (as well as karaoke), too. For a change of pace, Beaumont does also have ballet (two companies), an opera company, a symphony, and a grand ol’ Opry.