Anderson enjoying life on the farm

• By ANNABELLE ARMSTRONG
• Special to Food
• Published: May 1, 2008 - UPDATED: 12:05 a.m.

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JACKSON – Mention Mike Anderson, and most Louisianians recall his stellar football career at LSU or his popular seafood restaurants. Not well known is Anderson’s enthusiasm for gardening.

“Farming is in my blood,” he said.

“My father, Howard W. Anderson, was head of the LSU Cooperative Extension Service and managed dairy farms throughout Louisiana. Dad always had a large home garden, and my mother liked to put up vegetables and fruit.”

A year and a half ago, Anderson and Dr. Gayle Sanchez, a dentist in Denham Springs,  bought a 90-acre farm near Jackson. Anderson turned a 100-year-old corn crib on the property into a studio home and embarked on his gardening/farming projects.

One of his first crops was green onions. His intention was to grow green onions to supply his flagship restaurant, Mike Anderson’s Seafood Restaurant & Oyster Bar on West Lee Drive in Baton Rouge. The crop did well, and he grew enough green onions to supply the restaurant for three months.

 Mike Anderson’s Seafood Restaurants are located in Baton Rouge and Gonzales as well as in the recently reopened post-Katrina Riverwalk in New Orleans. The restaurants are known for their Louisiana-inspired cuisine highlighting fresh seafood and Louisiana specialties, including Mike Anderson’s original recipes.   

The peace, beauty and remoteness of the rural and rolling terrain attract Anderson.

“I’ve been around people all my life, and I love it out here,” he said.

Commuting to work part time, he is daily supervising construction of a new home that will incorporate the corn crib, which has been remodeled into a 400-square-foot efficiency apartment.

The corn crib interior reminds guests of the rustic interior of the West Lee Drive Mike Anderson’s restaurant. Some 2,200 square feet will be added, of which 1,100 square feet are a wrap-around porch affording a panoramic view of the farm.

Nearby, on another small hill, is his half-acre garden of 10 rows, each 40 feet long.

‘It’s like Green Acres,” he said, smiling, pointing to the signs lettered by his preschool-age grandchildren.

“My daughter from Mobile (Ala.) came to visit, and the children helped me plant the spring crop.”