Mmmemories - Old School BR Restaurants

by: RefChef

Thanks to reader RefChef for this submission.  He does a good job outlining some of the great restaurants of Baton Rouge from the past.  Enjoy.

Old Skool BR restaurants from Back in the Day located on Airline Hwy:

Europe's was one of the best restaurants in BR. The Chicken Livers Marsala was to DIE!

Another Airline Hwy restaurant was the Mirror Steakhouse. Great steaks at particularly great prices. It was the first place I ever saw a live lobster in a tank.

Jack Sabin's was a classic in many ways -- the clubby bar, the vaguely Mafia-ish atmosphere, the Distefano heritage... They invented Oysters 2-2-2 (Bienville, Rockefeller & Sabin)

The Village -- Flagship of the Distefano culinary empire. I've never eaten in a better Italian restaurant anywhere (including Italy). The cannelloni was perfect.

Other popular restaurants around town 30/40 years ago:

Two Jacks
Bob & Jake's -- inventors of the Sensation Salad
Mike & Tony's
Mickey's Gold Nugget
Giamanco's

"Novelty" restaurant that should never have closed: The Dizzy Dog! The Dizzy Dog was up on Scenic Hwy. All they served was hotdogs -- the best hotdogs ever! Footlongs and regulars. We used to go every Saturday. My personal fave was the BBQ dog with hashbrowns (BBQ sauce, mustard, onions and hashbrowns). Chicago Al ain't got nothin' on the Dizzy Dog.

Another near LSU: Uncle Ben's Fried Chicken on Nicholson Drive just outside the North gates. They had great fried chicken and wonderful milkshakes.

And let us not forget the Library Restaurant on Chimes St. (original version owned and operated by Joe Anselmo). The Library Special was the BEST roast beef poboy outside of NOLA. Other shining examples of great Library food: the BlueBoy (RB fully dressed with chunky blue cheese dressing) -- back in the 70s this was food innovation!; the Joe's Special (RB, olive mix, melted cheese on muffaletta bread); the hot sausage poboy. You know what made the Library's poboys so good? They melted the mayo into the bread. You never got a sandwich there with a smear of mayo -- not even a cold RB. All bread was spread with mayo and them stuck under the broiler until the mayo melted in to greasy goodness. All time best Library snack: sliced hot sausage, yellow mustard, saltines, & cheese on a paper plate w/ a cold draft beer in a paper cup. YUM!!

We are still looking for your mmmemories as well!  Send in your favorites and you could find yourself styling a Cuisine Rouge t-shirt!