Rouses Everyday - May & June

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M y dad, Sal Impastato, is one of the original Creole Sicilian chefs.
In the late 19th century, early 20th century, thousands of Sicilian
immigrants settled in New Orleans and the surrounding parishes.
My dad and his brother, Joe, arrived a few decades later. Dad was young, just
18. He lived with his uncle in the French Quarter and worked at Jean Lafitte’s
Old Absinthe House. Uncle Joe ran Diamond Jim Moran’s restaurant, the old
Moran’s Riverside at the French Market.​
In 1973, after over a decade in the French Quarter, dad moved to Lacombe to
open Sal & Judy’s. Uncle Joe opened Impastato’s in Metairie in 1979.
My whole family is in food, not just my dad and my uncle. My brother and I
grew up working in the kitchen at Sal & Judy’s. The restaurant always smells
like garlic and onions and tomato sauce — my dad always has a pot going. Sal
& Judy’s serves seafood cannelloni, oysters in spaghetti, arrabiata sauce over
crawfish. My dad believes the closer you are to your ingredients, the better the
food. So in Sicily, while they may use calamari, at Sal & Judy’s, he uses local
blue crabmeat, shrimp, oysters and soft shell crabs, which are some of the best
ingredients the Gulf Coast has to offer.
You’ll spot the occasional Greek ingredient on our menu, too. My dad worked
with the late Constantin “Chris” Kerageorgiou (he was Chef John Besh’s
mentor). Chef Chris was born in a small fishing village in Provence to parents
who had emigrated there from Greece, and his cooking style was French-
Provincial, with a few Greek influences. Chef Chris owned La Provence, also in
Lacombe, and was famous for his cod brandade, which is salt cod and potatoes,
and lamb á la Grecque, a casserole of lamb,
olives and eggplant. He made the best quail
gumbo ever.
Sal & Judy’s chicken cacciatore with Kalamata
Greek olives is a nod to Chef Chris.
My family back in Sicily makes its own
olive oil and cheese. When tomatoes are
in season, they harvest them and make a
bunch of sauce to get through the winter.
Our Sicilian cousins inspired us to start
bottling our own Sal & Judy’s pasta sauce
twenty years ago. We also bottle our own
salad dressings.
Don’t be afraid to use a sauce out of a jar.
Sicilians have been eating canned tomatoes
since the 19th century. You can use a ready-
made jar sauce as is or as a base. My wife
likes a spicier sauce, so she adds crushed red
pepper. I add fresh garlic, basil and olive oil.
Just as there are different shapes of pasta for
different sauces, there are different sauces for
different bottle thinner and heartier
sauces, a roasted Garlic version,Creole Italian,
and two new sauces, Original Alfredo and
Truffle Alfredo,a first of its kind.Other Italian
families and restaurants on the Gulf Coast
also have great bottled sauces.Tony Mandina’s
in Gretna makes Red Gravy. Mom’s is from
Texas. And Two Tony’s, the French Quarter
then Bucktown now West End restaurant
bottles a Sicilian marinara.
“Sal and Judy’s Restaurant in Lacombe, Louisiana, on the northshore of Lake
Pontchartrain, would be one of the most unique restaurant finds anywhere, it combines
the best of Louisiana seafood with the Sicilian roots of its owner Sal Impastato.”
—Chef John Besh
Creole Truffle Alfredo Pasta
WHAT YOU WILL NEED
1 pound fettuccine pasta, cooked al dente and drained
(save pasta water)
1 cup of mushrooms, cleaned and sliced
5 green onions chopped
5 ounces Sal & Judy’s Truffle Alfredo Sauce
2 cups of pasta water
1 pound peeled crawfish tails (can substitute for shrimp)
4 toes of garlic, minced
2 cups cherry tomatoes cut in half lengthwise
4 ounces extra virgin olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
HOW TO PREP
In a large pot boil water for pasta. When water reaches boiling
point, add salt and pasta. Cook until pasta is al dente.
In a large saucepan, sauté mushrooms, green onions, garlic,
tomatoes, salt and pepper in olive oil for 10 minutes on low heat.
Add crawfish, and sauté for another 5 minutes.
Transfer pasta to a large bowl. Add vegetables and crawfish,
pasta water and Sal & Judy’s Truffle Alfredo Sauce and toss.
(Serves 4-6)
ITALIANS • SICILIANS
A GRANDE TRADITION
From the outside Mosca’s
in Avondale on New
Orleans’ West Bank looks
more like a roadhouse
than a restaurant, but
inside you’ll find some of
the best Italian food on
the Gulf Coast. Specialties
like Italian Crab Salad,
Spaghetti Bordelaise,
baked Oyster Mosca
and Chicken à la Grande
are served family-style.
Provino Mosca opened
the restaurant in 1946,
and there’s been a Mosca
in the kitchen ever since.
photo by Chad Bower