Korean Swamp Cows

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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