Korean Swamp Cows

It's Baton Rouge: Out to Lunch

In some ways, there are two Louisianas.

There's the one the tourism marketing folks sell to visitors, centered on New Orleans on one side of Baton Rouge and Cajun Country on the other. And then there's the Louisiana that we live in, which is Baton Rouge. Maybe to tourist salespeople it looks like there's nothing very exciting going on here, but that is far from the truth. Baton Rouge is anything but a civil-service seat of government town like other state capitals.

Though we do have a decent number of people who work in government departments, we also have people who create a unique Louisiana culture that's a tapestry made up of all kinds of threads that are drawn together here. This tapestry is created by people like Stephanie's two lunch guests: Oscar Tickle and Kimberly Szuszka.

Oscar is a multimedia producer and content editor at Melara Enterprises, which publishes the Baton Rouge Business Report and 225 magazine, among other publications. And in his job there, Oscar gets to help tell some of those interesting Baton Rouge stories through videos and podcasts.

Oscar joined the company in 2023, after graduating from the LSU Manship School of Mass Communications as a journalism major with a focus on environmental reporting. He also has made his own documentary – a fascinating 45-minute film about the Hunt for Louisiana’s Swamp Cows.

Kimberly Szuszka is adding to the unique cultural tapestry in Baton Rouge with Okki Tokki, the city’s only Korean restaurant. Kimberly opened the restaurant in 2024 in the heart of downtown and specializes in a casual, build-your-own bowls model, with a focus on exposing customers to the kinds of authentic Korean ingredients diners from around here may not be accustomed to seeing. Kimberly grew up in Baton Rouge and opened the restaurant because she said she always wanted to have a Korean restaurant in her city and after graduating from LSU, decided to fill the void herself. She is also active in promoting Asian culture through organizations like the Asian Night market, which we talked about on this show previously.

Out to Lunch is recorded live over lunch at Mansurs on the Boulevard. You can find photos from this show by Ian Ledo and Miranda Albarez at itsbatonrouge.la.

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