Nancy came back from Louisiana on Friday. Over the weekend, we discussed the sights, sounds, and flavors of her two-month stay in the Lake Charles area. She did not get to sample king cake, which, apparently, is like a big bundt cake.

As some know, I am fond of food, and especially fond of anthropomorphized food. Hearing the words "big bundt cake" made me think of Big Bundt Cake, a barrel chested Mardi Gras krewe chief who is actually an anthropomorphized bundt cake, walking and talking with a face and arms and legs and everything. Big Bundt Cake (or "BBC", as he is known throughout the lower 9th ward) is a sizeable, but affable, fellow who has no problem throwing his weight around when he needs to. He struts around town with stacks of festive beads ringing his "neck". BBC has a penchant for rap, particularly the flavor in whose development he played a crucial role: "Zydeco Thug."

If BBC had a posse, I think it would be a ragtag assortment of Louisiana regulars: Tony Chachere; a crawfish; a creepy Mardi Gras clown with porcelain face, feet, and hands; a body-less, pupil-less mask.