Some of the best date nights in Baton Rouge start with a turn off N. Harrell's Ferry Road and a walk up to a small cottage with white tablecloths waiting inside.

That cottage is Maison Lacour, a traditional French restaurant that has been serving the city since 1986. It is a family story as much as a restaurant. The tradition was started by John and Jackie Greaud, and Chef Michael Jetty started his career there in 1991 as an apprentice under Chef Jacqueline Greaud. Along the way he met Eva, the restaurant's hostess and the Greauds' daughter. The two married, and today they run Maison Lacour together, keeping the family's traditions going while adding touches of their own.

The menu sticks to French classics with plenty of South Louisiana ingredients. Starters include escargots baked in garlic butter with mushrooms and a crab bouchee topped with hollandaise in pastry. Soups lean local, like a crawfish bisque scented with orange and Soupe Jacqueline, a brie veloute with crab meat and asparagus.

For the main course, you can go with broiled duck breast with raspberry sauce, a veal chop flambeed with cognac, a rack of New Zealand lamb rolled in herbes de Provence, or Crevettes Baton Rouge, shrimp in a spicy cream sauce over angel hair. Beef dishes use tenderloin, and entrees come with the house salad and vegetables. Homemade French bread comes to the table too, and plenty of guests leave with a bottle of the house dressing.

Save room for dessert. The Clam is a pastry with vanilla ice cream and raspberries, and there's also chocolate mousse and a white chocolate bread pudding with whiskey butterscotch sauce.

Seating is limited. Dinner is served Tuesday through Saturday in the early evening, with the last seating at 7 p.m. Reservation requests go by text to (225) 333-7533. Dress in proper casual attire, then settle in and enjoy a slow, old-school French dinner.

Photo courtesy of Maison Lacour.