Pronia's Market & Deli

A colleague from New Orleans was in town this week for some business.  While we were out and about, we passed a restaurant where she had dined on her last visit.  She had the muffaletta.    I quickly proclaimed, "Oh no! If you want the best muffaletta in Lake Charles, we have to go to Pronia's."

Pronia's is my favorite place to eat in town.  I have said before that I actually prefer to eat at home over eating at a restaurant, but there are a few exceptions: sushi, Darrell's, good mexican, and Pronia's.   If Guy Fieri were in town filming Diners, Drive In's, and Dives, I would send him to Darrell's and Pronia's.

My love affair with Pronia's is mostly due to their divine muffaletta sandwich.  (If you don't know what a muffaletta is or are interested in how this Italian sandwhich became a Louisiana institution, read this wikipedia article.)  I am certain Pronia's muffaletta rivals any deli in New Orleans.  After all, my New Orleans colleague approved!

Even though I order a muffaletta evey single time I patron Pronia's, they have other things on their menu that I have sampled.  Mostly sandwiches.  My mom used to order a tray of sandwiches for her Pokeno group when it was her turn at yearly hosting duties; I always looked forward to the leftovers!  

I also look forward to my best friend's annual Mardi Gras ball (which is next weekend!), because he always purchases a tray of sandwiches for our table.  Once, I waited too late to eat (I was surely busy dancing...I danced a hole in my shoes one year.) and all the muffalettas were gone!  I cried.  Seriously.  (It just might have been a whiskey induced drunk cry, but these muffalettas are tear worthy!)

There is an in house bakery that makes cookies, cakes, and brownies.  For my mom's birthday this year, we bought her a German Chocolate cake.  It was a very fair price at $12.95 for a 7" round cake triple layer cake.  I might mention that it was also about 10" high!  The cake was moist and delicous and the frosting was smooth and creamy.  My mom said it was a "true" German Chocolate cake, but I'm not even sure what that means.  In addition to being tasty, the cake was beautiful!

One Saturday, I had a late lunch with a friend.  Since Pronia's closes at 2:00 PM on Saturday and does not reopen until Monday, they were giving away all the cookies left in the display case.  Yum!  I think I ate 5.  The one that stands out in my mind is a lemon tea cake like cookie, not overly sugary but soft and buttery.

I spied a King Cake while there this week.  I can only assume it as delicious as every other item I have eaten off their menu.



Menu pictures from urbanspoon.com.

  So to sum up Pronia's, it is a family owned local Italian (with a touch of cajun) deli and bakery with a warm, home-like, family atmosphere, which serves delicous sandwiches and sweets that never disappoint.

Unfortunately, Pronia's is only a block away from my office, therefore I have to restrain myself from going on a daily basis.  I save it for special occasions, like out of town visitors, my birthday, or Mardi Gras balls.

Where would you take an out of town visitor to eat?