Scott Duffer and Robert Raach are co-owners of South of Philly, an authentic, Philly cheesesteak restaurant located at 4353 S. Sherwood Forest Blvd in Baton Rouge. Both are east coast natives who after years of dabbling in the restaurant business found themselves in Baton Rouge, bringing their beloved steaks to our city. These guys were kind enough to sit down with me and answer a few questions for Cuisine Rouge.
1. How did you get started in the restaurant business?
Robert - “I managed several different restaurants while in my twenties, in various places around the east coast.” Scott – “I went to culinary school, and worked as a chef in many fine dining establishments in the Philadelphia and DC area.”
2. What or who were your influences?
Scott – “Al’s Steakhouse. A landmark cheesesteak shop in Alexandria, Virginia since 1956, they serve the best steaks. They are using only the freshest, best ingredients. I just wanted to duplicate that quality product in my own shop, which we feel that we have done.”
3. When did you know you could make it in this business?
“We are still learning. Watching things very closely and focusing on the food primarily. We are doing well, growing fast, and very focused on our success.”
4. How did you decide on this location?
Robert - “It was available. It was a good location for us because it was ready to go. We didn’t have to build out anything, we just basically moved it and setup shop. We did have to make some changes to the décor, which we are still in the process of doing, but it’s coming along nicely.”
5. What do you love about your job?
Scott - “I love it when people stop by the counter on their way out and let us know how good their experience was. Putting a smile on people’s face when they eat our food.”
6. What do you hate about your job?
Robert - “The constant building maintenance that goes with owning a restaurant. Things breaking and disrupting our flow of business.”
7. When you aren’t cooking, what do you like to do?
Robert - “We are both avid frisbee golfers, so we do that when we can. I’ve got three kids at home, so family time is also pretty busy.” Scott – “I’m a gamer, so you can often find me on the X-Box.”
8. What would you be doing if you weren’t doing this?
Robert – “I have a contract with a local telecom company, and my guys do lots of work for them, so I would be going back to doing that full-time.”
9. What is your favorite dish on the menu?
Robert - “The Smokehouse Philly – the classic Philly steak topped with bacon, green peppers, bbq sauce, onion rings, and cheese on the Amoroso bread.” Scott – “The Tiger Steak – fresh sliced ribeye with jalapenos, and our Blackened Bayou Beer sauce. It’s got a bite to it. It’s an homage to the love folks have down here for spicy foods.”
10. What would your last meal be?
Scott - “Country fried steak, smothered in gravy. I’m a big fan of anything with gravy.”
11. What is your best moment as a restaurant owner?
Scott - “My best moment was the day the guy finished the work painting our building. Seeing our real sign hung up outside, and no longer having our restaurant look like the set of Sponge Bob (it was formerly a seafood restaurant).”
12. What is your worst moment as a restaurant owner?
Robert - “When we came in to find that there was a Freon leak and our cooler was at 55 degrees. We had to throw out everything. We lost the entire cooler, which was fully stocked with all our meats, produce, etc. Not a good day.”
13. Anything new for the future?
Robert - “We are looking at getting a mobile concession stand to be able to serve our same products out at different places, like sporting events, fairs, stuff like that. We are also looking for possible future locations in other surrounding areas.”
14. Other than what you make, what other foods do you enjoy?
“We both love trying new foods, and we love seafood. Seafood down here is whole different animal than it is up north. We love crabs, crawfish, oysters, all of it.”
15. If a person is only visiting your place once, what dish should they get?
Scott - “The classic Philly steak, prepared the classic way, with the provolone or the Cheese Whiz. Some folks kinda worry about having the Whiz on there, but I promise you, you can’t go wrong with it.”
Cuisine Rouge would like to thank Scott and Robert for taking the time to answer our questions. Best of luck to these guys and South of Philly in the future!
Take it from a Phat Man! I've been to Philly and have eaten cheesesteaks from Tony Lukes, Pats, Genos, and some the locals referred to us.. I was left unimpressed. The steaks varied from place to place but non had the flavor found with "South Of Philly". They seemed bland, no salt/pepper. I should have introduced Tony Luke to Tony Chacherie's! But still, they all seemed to have rushed the steaks to cook, therefore the meat and onions didn't have the gratin (slightly burned) flavor.
ReplyDeleteSouth Of Philly has absolutely THE BEST CHEESESTEAKS this coonass ever tasted. I'm not saying there's not a beeter steak out there, but you won't find it in Baton Rouge!
My favorite happens to be the Tiger Steak. It's got sauteed jalepenos and onions, along with a Blackened Beer Sauce and your choice of Cheeses. I like the Whiz best.
The fries are homemade shoe-string potatoes with the skins on the ends. Everything is cooked to order. It comes to your table piping hot and dripping with love, so get those napkins ready!
Damn, I'm hungry for one now. I think I'll head on over today for another. it's been four days since the last one. I could easily eat three times a week there. Lord help me!
If you like Cheesesteaks, I promise you won't be disappointed.
Cheers!
-Tony
p.s. "Never trust a skinny cook!"