Louisiana is known around the globe for our incredible Cajun and Creole cuisine, but a lesser known secret is that we have some amazing Italian restaurants. In fact, here's a look at the 10 best Italian restaurants across Louisiana, and a Lafayette restaurant has landed on the list. The history of Italians in Louisiana, particularly in New Orleans,...

The Randazzo family has held a storied place in king cake history for more than a half century, since patriarch Salvador "Sam" Randazzo and his sons crafted their recipe in his St. Bernard Parish bakery in 1965. But after his grandson, Manny Randazzo Jr., opened a Metairie bakery in 1992 and started selling king cake using the family's original rec...

In a city synonymous with Creole and Cajun cuisine, Italian food too often gets left out of the conversation. But look close, and you’ll see traces of Italy everywhere in New Orleans—in the classic muffuletta sandwich, in the breadcrumb-stuffed artichokes on holiday tables, and in business names like Delmonico and Monteleone.  Droves of Sicilian...

Allison Emmerson, associate professor of classical studies at Tulane University, is the director of the Pompeii I.14 Project, Tulane’s very own archaeological site at Pompeii in Italy’s Campania region. In the field of archaeology, the project is a part of a movement pioneering new research technologies, and Emmerson herself is one of the few femal...

The Muffuletta, born in New Orleans, is a massive sandwich overstuffed with simple ingredients, but it will forever deliver a big flavor. It is prepared on a 9-inch round Italian loaf of sesame bread, typically made fresh from one of two local bakeries. The sandwich is layered with marinated olive salad and piled high with thinly sliced Italian mea...

On Columbus Day, Dr. Jill Biden invited approximately 250 Italian-American and Italian Leaders to the White House for a reception to honor contributions of Italian-Americans to America and Italy’s NATO and G-7 Partnerships to America. Attending from New Orleans were Charles Geno Marsala, President of the American-Italian Federation of the Southeast...

On Thursday, Charles Marsala, President of the American-Italian Federation of the Southeast will be at the White House with 30 other national Italian-American Leaders as a guest of First Lady Jill Biden. Ms. Biden’s heritage is Sicilian from the Messina Region. For the second consecutive year, the White House’s Columbus Day Proclamation has acknowl...

ONE OF HOUSTON'S favorite personalities and businessmen — Franco Valobra, who divides time between here and New Orleans — recently celebrated a high honor in his other home state of Louisiana. He was named Louisiana’s Honorary Consul for Italy, and he threw a grand party at the new Italian Honorary Consulate in the French Quarter to celebrate. “The...

The City Council of New Orleans awarded a grant of $10,000.00 to a Committee of Fifty appointed by the mayor that purchased Winchester rifles to conduct the massacre. In 2019, Mayor Cantrell acknowledged the role the City Government of New Orleans played in the massacre and recognized the contributions of Italians to the city of New Orleans. The ev...

When Hurricane Ida blew through New Orleans two years ago with 113 mph winds, the Central Grocery Company, a hallmark of the French Quarter for 117 years, was left in ruins. The closure of the old-time Italian deli left New Orleanians, transplants, and tourists hungry for its world-renowned original muffuletta — a gigantic sandwich made on 9-inch-r...