Dining

Whether for breakfast, brunch, lunch, or dinner, LaCorsette Maison Inn and Chef John Gerken offer wonderful seasonal cuisine, made from only the freshest ingredients, to overnight guests and the general public. It is important to note that reservations are required for every meal, except breakfast for overnight guests, which includes coffee, juice, fruit and a chef selected entreé, such as homebaked goods, French styled scrambled eggs and old fashioned pancakes.

John and Anne also welcome the chance to serve guests for all types of events, such as meals for corporate meetings, rehearsal dinners, wedding receptions, holiday parties and Christmas parties, family reunions, gatherings, outdoor service available, and much more!

“It was at the family farm in Manning where I was shown the basics of good, home cooked food at my Grandma Minnie’s knee,” said John, describing his food as “upscale country” - a term he likens to the popular and much touted “slow food” trend. “I like to create traditional dishes with my own flair, using local products whenever possible,” says Gerken. “I love cruising the Farmers’ Market, picking out and using whatever looks good that week.” In fact, Gerken’s established relationship with local growers now finds them stopping by the Inn regularly with fresh produce for him to sample and purchase. These tasty delicacies are then featured in the Inn’s homemade soups (all stocks are also made from scratch), side dishes, salads and often appetizers and/or desserts.

The Inn uses as many Iowa products in its food preparation as possible. Iowa meats are the central feature of LaCorsette’s entrees, including a prime rib encrusted with Templeton Rye marinated peppercorns, smoked Iowa chops with a homemade Iowa corncob jelly glaze, and hand-cut Iowa sirloins and filets au poivre. The menu changes based on seasonal availability.

What a fabulous time, I spent here. The food- especially local produce- was wonderful but the highlight was... read more

John also bakes all of the Inn’s breads, pastries and desserts. Using his twenty-year sour dough starter, he creates crusty loaves for diners, and English muffins and coffee cakes for overnight guests’ breakfasts.

Dinner
Dining is available for parties of one to 40, and is reservation only, so please let us know by noon of the day you wish to join us for dinner.

We use all local or Iowa ingredients whenever possible in the slow food tradition. We offer dinners in 4 or 6 courses, and serve in the prix fixe European style. We ask that you pick one entrée for your table, however we will accommodate any special dietary needs and will consider any special requests. The menu changes frequently, so please call or e-mail us for current menu and prices.

These are some of the Dinner Entrees we have offered at the Inn:

• 16 oz. Prime Rib Encrusted with Templeton Rye Marinated Peppercorns Parties of four or more
• 8 oz. Hand-cut Iowa Beef Filet Grilled and Served Au Poivre with Templeton Rye De-glaze
• 12 oz. Hand-cut Iowa Sirloin Grilled and Served Au Poivre with Templeton Rye De-glaze
• All Natural 8 oz. Bison Filet Bacon-wrapped with brown butter and fresh sage
• Grilled Smoked Iowa Pork Chop Glazed with home made corn cob jelly
• Pheasant LaCorsette Whole Pheasant braised in Pella apple cider and onions
• Chicken Picata Lightly Breaded in our own Sourdough Dough Bread Crumbs In Lemon and Caper Berries Sauce
• Scallops Rockefeller Hand-harvested diver scallops With spinach, fresh grated parmesan, and our own sourdough bread crumbs
• LaCorsette Seafood en Casserole Maine Lobster and Hand-harvested Diver Scallops In a sherry and cream sauce and our own sourdough bread crumbs
• Live Maine Lobster Three Day Notice Please

Vegetarian available upon request.
We are reservation only.
Kindly make your reservation no later than noon of the day on which you wish to dine.
A twenty percent gratuity will be added for parties of six or more.
A twenty percent gratuity will be added for individual checks.
Beverages, tax and gratuity not included.
Consumption of undercooked meats, poultry, eggs or fish may be hazardous to your health.

Please note, menus change seasonally, and are based on the finest and freshest ingredients available.