I am an unabashed sauce guy, I love sauces, dips, and condiments of all varieties and flavors. From soy based dipping sauces to fresh pickle relish, I have not met a condiment that I do not like.  Sometimes I think I should be reborn in a place like India, Thailand, Vietnam, or China, where dipping sauces and condiments come with almost every dish.

Here at LaCuisine we also take our sauces, dressings, and condiments very seriously.  All items are made from scratch in small batches to preserve their freshness and flavor.  Each and every sandwich and salad comes with their own unique condiment or dressing.  These condiments are the final accent to lift what could otherwise be ordinary food and elevate it to extraordinary.  Lemon aioli, Pesto mayo, Chipotle mayo, Russian Dressing, Cuban Sauce, all add the final pop to our sandwiches.  Dressings and vinaigrette’s are the final touch to bring all of the wonderful fresh flavors of our salads together.

House Dressing, a mainstay at LaCuisine for 25 years and running, is buttermilk based with a variety of fresh and dried herbs.  Apple Cider Vinaigrette is the perfect balance between sweet and tart, it takes the Spinach Salad to new heights. Our classic Caesar, no we don’t use raw egg but I bet you would hard pressed to tell the difference, is rich and creamy with a slight hint of anchovy.  Finally the workhorse dressing, our Balsamic Vinaigrette, simple in name but complex in flavor, this dressing depends entirely on good olive oil and truly aged Balsamic.

The best part about our dressings is that they are now available to take home.  You can now complement your wonderful salads with our tried and true restaurant inspired dressings.  Taste the difference freshly made cand make.  Enjoy!

Tags: condiments, dressings, LaCuisine, mayo, restaurant, salads, sandwiches, take home, vinaigrette

La Cuisine is featuring barbecue on winter weekends.  Ribs, brisket and pulled pork are on the menu and in the case.

Barbecue, an inherently American tradition, is truly an art form.  There are an extraordinary variety of approaches, including brining, dry rubs, type of smoker, type of wood, baste or not, and then when you think you are finally done, the sauce debate begins, and has as many components as everything that preceded it.

Ben’s had an opportunity to taste the ‘cue in all of the meat mecca’s in the country.  Early trips to Kansas City opened the door to Arthur Bryant’s and the first taste of their infamous burnt ends.  Memphis brought an entirely new understanding of pork, and the zesty balance that vinegar can bring to the process.  The Hill Country of Texas is where beef is king. Brisket smoked for 12-18 hours is nothing short of a revelation.

We’ve had a smoker trailer, about 14′ long, for 12 years.  We buy beef, chicken, turkey and pork from trusted vendors, trim as needed, and begin with dry rubs tailored to each product.  About a day later, we load the smoker with a blend of hickory, oak and apple, and when the firebox settles down and the barrel is at about 200, we add the product.  Low (heat) and slow is the mantra.  Chickens and ribs smoke for about 4 hours, shoulders for 10, and brisket for 15 or so.

We make two types of sauce to enjoy next to your ‘cue.  The House Sauce is tomato based, a bit thicker and sweeter, perfect for chicken and beef.  We also make a Pork Sauce, vinegar based, tangy, perfect to cut the richness and accent the natural flavor.  Both are available to take home.

Stop in and give it a try.  Hope to see you soon.

Tags: arthur bryant's, barbecue, brined, brisket, cue, dry rub, memphis, pulled pork, ribs, smoked, texas

Since our opening last July we have been committed to using all natural chicken and beef.  Many of our new customers often ask me why we have made this choice. We here at La Cuisine truly believe that all natural chicken and beef simply taste better and are better for the environment than their conventional counterparts.  Read on for more details!

Does all natural protein taste better than conventional?

We believe this is a big yes and probably our number one reason for using these proteins.   We have found that all natural chicken has a deeper, earthier flavor, tasting in fact more like chicken. The breasts remain tender when cooked and do not have a tendency to dry out even when reheated.  All natural beef exhibits many of the same properties, the beef has better marbling (fat dispersed throughout a particular cut) and the flavor is deeper and richer than conventional products.

All natural chicken and beef are fed using feed that is exactly what the name implies “All Natural”.  That means no animal byproducts are feed to the animals, they eat corn, whole grains, grass, and minimally processed feed.  This also means that there are no antibiotics in the animals feed.  They fight diseases naturally and are not pumped full of hormones to mask real flavor.  This ultimately allows the animal to live a more normal life, as nature intended.  As the end consumer of a long natural cycle, we benefit from all that the animal has ingested.

Most conventional chickens and cows are kept in massive holding areas as they grow and are prepared for harvest.  Their feed is filled with antibiotics and hormones to protect them from being in such close quarters with each other and to artificially inflate their growth rates so they can reach weight faster.  As a result, meat does not develop the deep complex flavor of all natural proteins.  Often times we find conventional meat to be bland and flavorless.  Sauces and rubs easily mask the flavors of the product instead of working in harmony with it as with all natural chicken and beef.

Is all natural chicken and beef better for the environment?

We believe the answer is yes.  Animals are not kept in massive holding lots like their conventional counterparts.  Therefore, animal waste can be processed at normal levels instead of the massive amounts of animal by product that occurs from conventional husbandry.  Many farms actually use their own animal manure to fertilize crops on their land thereby keeping the growth cycle within the farm itself.  Animals eat natural feeds that their own manure originally helped to fertilize.  Sounds slightly graphic but the truth comes out when you taste the products.

All natural feed helps to support organic and all natural farming, minimizing the use of pesticides on the land.  Crops and feed grown organically and all naturally use natural pesticides and herbicides to protect against insects.  As a result farm run off is not toxic and does not contribute to the pollution of our creeks, streams, rivers, lakes, and ultimately the ocean.

All natural beef and chicken tastes fantastic, is better for the environment, and as a result is ultimately better for you the consumer. Stop by today and try our delicious all-natural chicken and beef dishes.  See for yourself what all natural is all about!

Please check out the following web sites for more information on all-natural proteins:

Our meat supplier: www.cambridgepacking.com

All-natural chicken farm: www.springermountainfarms.com

All-natural beef: www.brandtbeef.com

Tags: all-natural, animals, antibiotics, beef, chicken, conventional, environment, flavor, hormones, La Cuisine, pesticides, proteins, taste