Be it ever so humble there is no place like home and that describes La Cuisine in downtown Windsor, Ontario. The restaurant was located on the second floor above a retail shop and was probably the original shop owners residence in past days, when this was a common occurrence. When we felt like having dinner in a foreign land where else but a quick trip to Canada.
The restaurant was in a flat that had been converted into a restaurant with seating in what would have been the parlor, dining room and one of the bedrooms. Where the original kitchen was, had been maintained, but the wall to the dining room area had been removed so that you could watch the chef prepare all the meals. The wall behind him was covered with assorted accoutrements of the trade, all neatly arrayed waiting for his hand to grab an item for the next dish. The restaurant was a family affair, the chef was behind the stoves cooking and his wife was the hostess and also the waitress. Such a lovely couple, they greeted everyone as if you were entering their home. During one of our trips there we were informed that the Chef had at one time worked in early television in a soap opera, whether that was in France or Canada, I can not recall. This may have been lore that they created for him, but he was quite theatrical and he would regale the diners if they were seated I the dining room area of the flat. He would sing, tell jokes and stories all the time he was preparing the dishes. Knowing this, we also requested a table in the dining room area to savor the experiences even more.
We always enjoyed starting of with a Foie gras that originated in Montreal and was served with very buttery covered toast points and a Madeira sauce. We always diverged on the salads, because they were so different. There was a Salade de Provence with a tarragon dressing and a Montmartoise that had a lot of “stuff” on the salad (my preference). Over the years we had sampled his Bouillabaisse, which had his secret ingredient of a touch of Pernod. There were times when we tried his Beef Marchads de Vin, a house Terrine and Lamb Provencal. We also seemed to end our meal with a crepe of bananas and chocolate that was sinfully rich.
The wine list was always small and selected by the chef to complement what he was serving and the list always was different. I always felt that he shopped for the wines after he shopped for the daily ingredients as the menu always seemed to have something new. One night we were celebrating and we picked a bottle of champagne that was from the Niagara Peninsula, made in the Methode Traditionelle by Chateau des Charmes in Niagara-on-the-Lake. This was a non-vintage bottle of champagne, but it fit the bill as the evening was full of enjoyment, good food and great entertainment furnished by the chef and the waitress.
The Wine Raconteur 
Having lived in Detroit for many years La Cuisine, just over the bridge or through the tunnel, became one of our favorite restaurants. I’ll always remember the breeze gently stirring the curtains through the open windows on lovely spring and autumn days (until unfortunately the powers that be made them close the windows and turn on the air). We haven’t lived in Michigan for many years but the memories of this delightful restaurant our still strong.
Diane,
Thank you for stopping by and reading about one of our favorite, but now gone restaurants. I am glad that you also have fond memories of La Cuisine.
– John
We lived in Detroit in the 80s and ‘discovered’ La Cuisine when exploring our new region. It became our favorite ‘fancy dinner’ place and was the go to restaurant when family and friends came to visit. Being young and anything but connoisseurs we couldn’t really appreciate the quality of M. Sully’s’ cooking besides simply claiming it as the best food we’d ever tasted. Ordering prix fixe felt so exotic, as well as being an incredible value, that we went often by ourselves to the monthly (?) offerings. Across the board, everything we or our guests had was wonderful.
Personally I enjoyed M. Sully’s company over a non-food related subject – interest in the Napoleonic era. He has a wealth of knowledge on the Emperor and his marshals and I had a few very enjoyable hours talking and appreciating some of his artifacts.
Older, better traveled and now a sincere amateur cook myself I googled La Cusine hoping against hope that, just maybe, here in the internet age there would be a recipe or two online. Alas, hope dashed! I still have the memories however, and will keep trying to create a bouillabaisse that lives up to the memory of his. (Ha… doubt it will ever be!) I hope M. Sully is well in retirement, and feel privileged to have experienced his art back in the day.
Eric B.
I am sorry that I could not offer you any recipes, but I do hope the article brought a smile to you for the good memories.
Thank you for stopping by.
– John
Someone just sent us a copy of this article and the remarks and we were thrilled to be remembered after so long a time.We are happily retired in the center of France, surrounded by fields full of cows and sheep! We do not cook as much, but by chance my husband happened to make the same boullibaise for last nights supper! If you would like us to forward his recipe please let us know. We thank you all for happy memories Janet and François Sully
Janet and François Sully, my Bride and I are happy to hear that you are both enjoying your retirement. It was my Sister-in-Law that first discovered your restaurant when she went with her French class while in college, which led to my Bride going there and eventually myself as well. May you keep enjoying your retirement. – John
This was also a favorite of ours especially for those times of celebration. We once drove from Indiana to Windsor just to have dinner at the La Cuisine. It seemed that the border guards had a difficult time believing that we would make that drive just for dinner and questioned us extensively. But those that are familiar with this special place will fully understand! We truly miss it!
Pat, your comment made me smile, as I can picture the hassles you may have encountered. It was a charming and totally unassuming place with such wonderful food and worthy of the drive. Thank you for stopping by. – John
i was just telling my friend that today i made julia child’s crepes and told her about la cuisine and the wonderful lunches i enjoyed there and the desserts namely the crepe with banana and chocolate sauce and the mont blanc sp? chestnut puree with whipped cream. we loved going there from la salle, ontario and my sister and brother in law enjoyed coming from st, clair shores, michigan. i am pleased to see the owners are retired in france and i wish them good health and a long retirement.
Thank you Suzanne for stopping by and for keeping alive the desire for classic interpretations of dishes, ala Julia Child and the old La Cuisine, which my Bride and I and several others that I know lament that they are gone. – John
Hi, we loved your restaurant. We often went to la Cuisine and we were very sad when you left. Please send me the recipe for the pear tarte.
I miss your wonderful food.
Mireille Plotke
Mireille,
Thank you for finding my article, but alas, I and my Bride, miss the restaurant. We were diners there as well.
– John