31
CIAO BATON ROUGE
Mangia
like a local!
MONJUNI’S SALSA DI POMIDORO
Smooth and naturally sweet pasta sauce
from one of Baton Rouge’s best Italian
restaurants.
BLUE RUNNER
Blue Runner’s distinctive blue and white
labels harken back to the company’s original
blue and white buildings on Burnside
Avenue in Gonzales in 1918. Blue Runner
makes canned beans, dried beans and bases
that includes gumbo, jambalaya, étouffée
and bisque.
CHEF JOHN FOLSE
John Folse is an F.O.R.—Friend of Rouses.
We’ve worked with him for decades and are
proud supporters of the John Folse Culinary
Institute at Nicholls State University in our
hometown of Thibodaux. His photo even
hangs in our new stores. Look for his Cajun
and Creole style complete meals, including
gumbo, étouffée, jambalaya and shrimp
Creole in our freezer case.
DELIGHTFUL PALATE
These vinaigrette-marinade-glazes come in
three flavors: Balsamic Garlic Honey, Stone
Fruit Nectar with natural peach and apricot,
and Wild Mayhaw Berry, which has a hint
of hot pepper seasoning.
“Lili Courtney of Delightful Palate prefers
to be called the ‘Queen of the Condiments.’
Her products are versatile and work well as
dressings, glazes and marinades. They make
a healthy meal more delicious.”
—Esther, Rouses Registered Dietitian
D’AGOSTINO PASTA COMPANY
D’Agostino produces pasta made with 100%
semolina durum wheat flour air-dried over
rods in wooden cellars, just as it was done in
Sicily for centuries, and delicately textured
and flavorful pasta sauces made with old
world techniques and family traditions.
DRUSILLA’S SEAFOOD PRODUCTS
Seasoned fish and oyster fry, blackened fish
seasoning, remoulade sauce and the house
dressing at Drusilla’s Seafood Restaurant.
LOUISIANA FISH FRY
Owned by the Pizzolato family, this
company produces a line of 100 products,
including #1 Fish Fry. The family started
their company more than 30 years ago as
an offshoot of the retail seafood operation,
Tony’s Seafood.
HANLEY’S FOODS
Hanley’s uses southern-style family
recipes and authentic ingredients
you can pronounce. Richard Hanley
started with Sensation salad dressing
and expanded to Avocado, Strawberry
and Ranch. All of his dressings are
natural, low carb and gluten free.
“Rich and Kate Hanley created their
line of dressings in Baton Rouge using
few ingredients but still keeping big
flavor. You’ll always find one of their
bottles in my fridge.”
—Esther, Rouses Registered Dietitian
JAY DUCOTE’S LA BARBECUE SAUCE
Baton Rouge food blogger and personality
Jay Ducote’s small batch sweet and
spicy sauce is made with tomatoes and
a combination of flavors that can only
be found in Louisiana — cane syrup and
brown sugar, Louisiana seasoning blends,
cayenne and smoked paprika. Ducote also
has a molasses mustard.
RUTH’S RECIPES
Ruth’s Recipes was founded in the summer of
2013 by three sisters after receiving multiple
requests to have their mother Ruth make
her traditional hummus dish for family and
friends. Ruth’s Hummus is made with simple
ingredients like chickpeas, fresh lemons,
garlic, tahini paste and extra virgin olive oil.
“With only seven healthy ingredients, it has a
dietitian’s stamp of approval.”
—Esther, Rouses Registered Dietitian
TIN ROOF BEER
Tin Roof Brewing Company was started
by two childhood friends with a passion
for beer and a desire to create their own
Southern, handcrafted brand. Tin Roof ’s
selections include Blonde, Amber, Voodoo
Bengal, an American-style pale ale,
Turnrow Coriander, a spicy ale and Juke
Joint, an India pale ale.
Chef Peter Sclafani
P
eter Sclafani is a third generation chef
and scion of one of Louisiana’s great
restaurant families. He began his Baton
Rouge cooking career at DiNardo’s Italian
Restaurant. One year later, when Gerry
DiNardo was replaced by Nick Saban as
head coach of the LSU tigers, his restaurant
was replaced by Ruffino’s, a concept
from Sclafani, former LSU player Ruffin
Rodrigue and legendary Baton Rouge
restaurateur TJ Moran.
Chef Sclafani’s grandfather, Peter Sr.,
operated Sclafani’s, a landmark Creole
Italian restaurant, from 1945 to 1987. His
family background is clearly evident in the
Italian-Creole fusion menu at Ruffino’s
Restaurant and Ruffino’s on the River in
Lafayette, opened in 2013.
Like the family chefs who came before
(grandfather, father and uncle), Sclafani
puts a lot of emphasis on the ingredients
that go into the dishes served at his white
tablecloth restaurants. “We don’t ever take
our ingredients for granted,” he says. “We
want to find out the story behind each one.”
Evidence of his Creole and Italian cooking
background is perhaps best represented in
Ruffino’s signature dish: cedar plank redfish.
While the traditional variant of this dish is
made with salmon, redfish provides a way
to introduce Louisiana flavor. Sclafani adds
tomatoes that intensify in flavor as liquid
evaporates in the oven, and tops the dish
with a pesto and balsamic glaze to bring all
of the elements together.
Sclafani was named Baton Rouge’s Chef
of the Year in 2004. He was also named
“Restaurateur of the Year” by the Louisiana
Restaurant Association for an unprecedented
two consecutive years (2010, 2011).