Opelousas food is Cajun and Creole — rice-based, pork-heavy, and well-seasoned. Plate lunches are the backbone of weekday eating: a main, usually a stew or étouffée, served with rice and bread. The options on and near the main square are mostly local and unpretentious. Look for cracklins (fried pork skin) at gas stations and butcher shops — in this part of Louisiana they are made fresh and sold warm, not as a packaged snack.