Serranos Salsa Company opened its original location in April of 1999. It sits at the north gates of LSU adjacent to the Varsity and the Chimes. They subsequently opened a Metairie location in April of 2002 and a Lafayette location in July of 2007.
Serranos in Spanish means “highland or plains” and the location was on highland road, so it was a good fit. ”The original name was going to be Serranos Mexican Grill, but we thought it would restrict us to much in our growth, so that’s how Serranos Salsa Company came about”, says co-owner Andy Blouin. ”All Latin countries make salsa and we wanted to showcase food from the other countries besides just Mexico”, added Blouin.
As far as cuisine goes, Serranos uses the tag line “Cuisine de Latin America”, but according to Blouin, this seemed to confuse too many people. ”We are mainly Mexican with some specialty dishes from other countries in Latin America. We use those dishes to separate ourselves from the competition”, said Blouin.
When asked what the flagship dish was at Serranos, Blouin stated that since all dishes were made in house from scratch, this was not an easy question to answer. With the many different flavor profiles at Serranos, it really does depend on the guests mood at the time. Blouin’s favorite dish is called the “Brazilian Mixed Grill”. Its made up of all the great items from the grill, including quail, beef and chicken fajitas, baby back ribs, pork carnitas and bacon wrapped shrimp stuffed with cheese and jalapeño peppers.
The Serranos name came about after too many nights of margaritas, according to Blouin. ”I have always had an interest in cooking and I was able to explore the restaurant industry while at LSU. I worked in several different restaurants and catering facilities and I grew to love the business. When I graduated from LSU, I decided to stay in the business and gained the knowledge needed to open my own place. When the time was right, my business partner and fraternity brother decided to give it a shot and here we are”, stated Blouin.
You can visit any of the Serranos locations in Baton Rouge, Lafayette and Metairie to get a first hand taste of this unique cuisine. Don’t forget Serranos also does catering and has plenty of live entertainment throughout the week. Be sure and check their website (linked below) for further information.
Serranos Salsa Company
3347 Highland Road (LSU North Gate)
T: 225-344-2354 | F: 225-344-2317
