Someone new is cooking at DeAngelo’s

Mike Dardenne never quite knows what his workday will hold. As the new corporate chef for Louis DeAngelo’s Casual Italian Dining, it could be almost anything from catering an event to supervising new chefs in the kitchen. “I like that I have the opportunity in this job to do something unique every day,” he says. Most often, though, his day starts out at the commissary of DeAngelo’s food distribution headquarters. It’s there that he tests and tastes the new dishes that are gracing the tables at three DeAngelo’s locations.

If you’ve visited a DeAngelo’s restaurant lately, you may have already noticed the changes. New logo, new menu items, new flavors for old favorites, and … hamburgers? No, they’re not crazy—it’s part of a plan to branch out the DeAngelo’s menu beyond the traditional Italian standbys they’ve become known for.

“We want to be more than a pizzeria,” says eponymous owner Louis DeAngelo. “Our goal is to make every dish on the menu just as exciting as the pizzas and the calzones.”

But not change the menu completely—DeAngelo and Dardenne are working hard to ensure that nothing is lost in the change. “My job is to take what they had, streamline it, and enhance it with new ideas,” says Dardenne. “Food is personal. We’re not trying to alienate anyone.”

The inventiveness and flexibility required by the new job isn’t a stretch for Dardenne, who’s supervised high-end restaurant kitchens around the country. A Baton Rouge native, he was made executive sous chef at White Oak Plantation at the tender age of 19. His career since then has seen him rocketing across the world from New York to Beijing, working 110-hour weeks as executive chef for five-star hotels and restaurants.

But when they met through the Baton Rouge Epicurean Society last year, it wasn’t Dardenne’s culinary pedigree that impressed DeAngelo. “He gets it,” DeAngelo says. “It’s hard to find someone who’s so creative and also so grounded.”

DeAngelo admits he had been considering re-evaluating the menu for some time, but he’d never considered outside help until Dardenne offered his services. “One day with this guy [in the restaurant] convinced me I did the right thing,” laughs DeAngelo. “I was asking myself, ‘What took you so long?’”

Some of Dardenne’s new dishes have a South Louisiana flair, like the white chocolate bread pudding and the shrimp and corn bisque, nods to his B.R. background. But others are just finding ways to shake up and improve on DeAngelo’s Italian offerings. “Mostly I try to find new ways to use the ingredients we already have,” Dardenne says. Little things like red wine in the meat sauce, and adding a coating of parmesan cheese to the fried shrimp appetizer demonstrate how a light touch can sometimes be best.

The new menu items aren’t available at all DeAngelo’s restaurants just yet—they’re being rolled out in stages at the Jefferson, Coursey, and Bluebonnet locations, so should you find yourself there, let your eyes wander past your usual order and you might just find a new favorite.

225 recommends:

Appetizer: The sweet and spicy calamari. A grilled pineapple and habanero pepper glaze set off the succulent squid just perfectly.

Entrée: The Uncle Frank Burger. Don’t look at us like that—just try it. With Italian herbs and spices in the patty, topped with red peppers, provolone cheese, and a mouthwatering marinara reduction, it’s as though all the flavors of Italy are sandwiched in that soft, homemade bun.

Dessert: If you can get it, try the bread pudding. The distinguished Louisiana dessert comes to DeAngelo’s topped with white chocolate and candied pecans. Although at limited locations, it’s already outselling their very popular tiramisu.