French Twist

Maison Lacour offers traditional French cuisine with southern hospitality.
By Jamie Craig
February 2010

InRegister Magazine

   “There’s nothing pretentious here,” Chef Michael Jetty says about Maison Lacour. “No snooty French food.”
Patrons of the restaurant agree… so much so that the 60-seat restaurant housed in a cottage on North Harrell’s Ferry Road now welcomes second-generation diners (greeted with a hug and a kiss by Jetty’s wife, Eva).
    Michael Jetty began his career as a chef at Maison Lacour in the early 1990s, studying under Chef Jacqueline Gréaud, who opened the restaurant in 1986 with her husband John. As Michael developed his talents in the kitchen, he and Eva, the Gréauds’ daughter and Maison Lacour’s hostess, fell in love. Today, the Jettys run the restaurant, treasuring French culinary traditions as well as the Gréauds’ legacy.
    Be sure to try the Carré d’Agneau, a New Zealand rach of lamb (chosen for its full flavor and size) rolled in herbes de Provence, baked and sliced into chops. The dish is served with your choice of mint or mustard sauce. All entrees are accompanied by freshly baked French bread and a salad with the house vinaigrette- a dressing so popular that many diners can’t leave without their own bottle.
“My lovely bride has been making case after case, and it just flies out the door,” Jetty says.
   For starters, try the artichoke hearts topped with jumbo lump crab and hollandaise saice, or warm up with Soupe Jacqueline, a velouté of brie, lump crab and asparagus.
    For dessert, you can’t go wrong with a lemon, chocolate or vanilla soufflé- best ordered 30 minutes ahead of enjoyment. Or consider The Clam, a split puff pastry filled with homemade vanill ice cream on a bed of raspberry purée. The sweet treat shaped like an open clam shell is Maison Lacour’s most popular dessert.
    Reservations are recommended, especially for one of the restaurant’s Baton Rouge Nights, a tradition started by the Gréauds. Since 1987, these events have raised several hundred thousand dollars for various local charities.
    “Winston Churchill said, ‘We make a living by what we get and make a life by what we give.’ Eva’s parents felt that way, and we’re happy to carry that on,” Michael Jetty says.