Someone once told me, “Zachary is a fried chicken town.” It wasn’t exactly a compliment—it was more of a warning. The implication was clear: don’t get too fancy, don’t overthink it, and whatever you do, don't try to open a small-plate, tapas-style wine bar. The people just want fried chicken, and lots of it.And maybe they were right—Zachary is a fried chicken town. But we’re also a heavy-lunch-loving bunch of seafood gobblers and burger connoisseurs, loyal to our favorite servers and proud patrons of plate lunch counters, gas station kitchens, and unfussy restaurants that haven’t been updated in decades.

That’s not to say folks around here don’t appreciate the finer things, but Zachary’s just not a highfalutin kind of place. When we spend our hard-earned money at a restaurant, we wanna leave with full bellies and a Styrofoam box of leftovers.

In this issue, we’re celebrating the hometown foodie favorites, nominated and voted for by more than 1,200 individual, local voters in our monthlong contest. So get your little chicken fried and cold beer on a Friday night, and settle in to these pages that salute our town’s most celebrated people, places and dishes.

Oh, and the comment was made about a decade ago. I do think the population would support a vibey wine bar these days—what do you think? Wanna open one?

If you’ve ever daydreamed about trading your 9-to-5 for a career that feeds your soul, solves a problem, or lets you be your own boss, you’ll love our section on career pivots. We talked to locals who’ve done just that—people who took the leap, rolled up their sleeves, and found new purpose, long after their first careers were set in stone and the so-called window for starting fresh had quietly closed.

We hope you enjoy this issue and these long summer days in Z!