THE ADVOCATE NEWSPAPER ARTICLE
Off the menu for Dec. 11, 2008
La. dishes, big servings attract diners
to Denham Springs cafe
By CHET FOLKES
Advocate Food writer
Published: Dec 11, 2008 - UPDATED: 12:05 a.m.
DENHAM SPRINGS – A variation
on the family-owned mom-and-pop restaurant, Taste of Louisiana Café
is a mom-and-daughter operation with the added culinary skills of daughter’s
soon-to-be husband.
The establishment is owned, operated and managed by Kim Hampton; her daughter,
Amber Hampton; and Amber’s fiancé, Cary Dugas. The mother
and future son-in-law plan the menu and do all of the cooking, while daughter
Amber acts as greeter, seater and bookkeeper.
Amber’s father, Mike Hampton, who works at Lion Copolymer in Geismar, is the silent partner in the business. He assists at the restaurant when his schedule permits.
“Our food is comfort food -– Louisiana comfort food,” Amber Hampton said. “We’re a small, unassuming restaurant. It’s a comfortable place. Customers feel like they’re at someone’s home for a meal.”
The 55-seat eatery has become known for its use of fresh ingredients, its home-style cooking and its bountiful helpings served in a casual, country atmosphere. It’s in a brick building at 105 N. Range Ave. amid the antique shops of Denham Springs’ historic district. The telephone is (225) 664-4181.
Hampton said, “People have heard about us word-of-mouth. We have a very strong base of return customers. Once they come and eat, they always come back.”
Open Tuesday through Saturday, the restaurant welcomes its first customers at 11 a.m., serving lunch until about 2 p.m. It remains open for dinner until 9 p.m.
“We get a big downtown crowd at lunch, and we always have plenty of takeout orders,” the young restaurateur said. “Dinner is more laid-back, relaxed. We know all of our dinner crowd. It’s a good time.
“We usually have one special in addition to our regular lunch menu of 10 items,” Hampton said. “On Tuesday we do a soup, such as a crab and corn bisque served with garlic bread for $7.25. It’s fresh, made from scratch. We use real whipping cream for the cream soups.”
Some of the lunch dishes available daily are Soup and Salad, Fried Eggplant and Shrimp, White Beans and Sausage, Fried Shrimp, Fried Catfish or Crab Angela, shrimp and corn soup with a stuffed crab, served with garlic bread.
In addition to lunch, the menu lists 16 entrees and house specialties, a choice of seafood platters, six appetizers, po-boys, a variety of hamburger combinations and three made-in-house desserts: Sweet Potato Bread Pudding, Fruit Cobbler and Brownie à la mode.
The three biggest sellers, available at lunch and dinner, are the Beef Pot Roast dinner with rice and fried okra, ($9.95) Roast Beef Po-boy with fries or fried okra ($7.45) and Crawfish Moulon, a signature dish made of Crawfish-Cornbread Dressing topped with Crawfish Etouffee. The Crawfish Moulon comes with a house salad and garlic bread. It’s priced at $8.95 for lunch, $14.95 at dinner.
“We cook down a 20-pound top round four times a week for our pot roast dinner and for the po-boys,” Hampton said. “The meat is smothered in gravy. For the po-boys, we use French bread from Wayne’s Bakery.”
Hampton, a 2002 LSU graduate, said she and her mother became interested in operating a restaurant after her mother had worked in several Denham Springs restaurants and had enjoyed the experience. And Hampton said she wanted a break from the academic life.
They opened their first eatery in 2003 in a Range Avenue antique mall and moved to the current location in April 2006.
Hampton’s fiancé attended Tara High School and grew up in a Baton Rouge family that enjoyed big cookouts, such as crawfish boils and barbecues.
Hampton said, “The restaurant has become our baby. We love it despite the 14-hour days.”
Taste of Louisiana Café has a reputation for providing customers with large servings. “Portion control is not in our dictionary,” Hampton declared. “My mom is a really good cook, and she doesn’t like to see any of the plate showing when the food goes out of the kitchen.
“We’re not a diet establishment; it doesn’t work here. If you’re on a diet, you have to cheat when you come here.”