Letter from Donny Rouse

Down-home cooking.

I hear those words and I can practically taste the food. Fried chicken. Roast with rice and gravy — one of my all-time favorites. Homestyle green beans. Lima beans. Greens cooked with chunks of ham.

Down-home cooks can take just about any piece of meat, even something tough like a shank or a seven steak; they smother it down and make it taste good, with a gravy made from the pan drippings. Game birds and venison — if it comes from a bigger animal — can be tough, but they can be melt-in-your-mouth tender when braised, smothered or stewed by a good down-home cook. And what they can do with vegetables!

Most down-home cooking is done in big pots. It’s food that’s meant to be shared. You don’t smother okra for one person, just like you don’t make one bowl of gumbo. With down-home cooking, you’re fixing for two, or a few, or a whole family. Or cooking for a hungry crowd for a lunch or dinner rush, which is what our chefs and cooks do every day in our stores.

As a matter of fact, the food on our cover came right off the hot line our cooks prepare each day. If you’re only eating our Cajun and Creole food and seafood, you’re missing out on some of the best fried pork chops and fried chicken anywhere, as well as our perfectly seasoned beans and greens. Our hot bar menus change daily, but I guarantee you will always find something down-home and delicious to eat.

— Donny Rouse, CEO, 3rd Generation