People in most places eat to live. Here in south Louisiana we live to eat. For those who make their living in the culinary world that means the stakes are high and the competition intense.

Daniel Thompson knows this only too well. He is the executive chef and co-owner of D’Agostino Pasta, a Baton Rouge-based company located in the Drusilla Shopping Center that makes homemade pastas and pasta sauces and is rapidly expanding its footprint in supermarkets from Lafayette to New Orleans.

Daniel is a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America and has headed the kitchens of such well known Louisiana restaurants as Commander’s Palace in New Orleans, the Grill Room at Windsor Court, the Baton Rouge Country Club and White Oak Landing Plantation.  

Mike Johnson is co-owner of DiGiulio Brothers, another Baton Rouge food institution.

In a city that is overrun with chain restaurants, DiGiulio’s is a beloved neighborhood institution – the kind of restaurant that people around here wish we had more of. DiGiulio’s was founded in 1987 at the base of the Perkins Road Overpass by Mike’s father and uncle, and quickly became well known for its Italian-American menu. Today Mike runs the establishment and it’s a rare night when he’s not behind the bar or back in the kitchen keeping things running smoothly. 

We’re going Italiano at Mansurs on the Boulevard on this edition of Out to Lunch with Stephanie Riegel. Photos by Rick LeCompte.