Entry No. 80 — the New Orleans file — filed under: cafeteria-line
Rocky & Carlo's
Five Sicilian men — Tommy Tommaseo, his brother Rocky, and brothers-in-law Carlo, Mario and Joseph Gioe — opened this place on St. Bernard Highway on April 24, 1965, after cooking together at Angelo's, a bar that did not admit women; the 'Ladies Invited' sign out front was the whole point of the new venture, and the name went to Rocky and Carlo because they were the two oldest. Five months later Hurricane Betsy flooded the parish and the staff fed people by candlelight, sticking candles into loaves of bread, a habit they repeated through every storm since. You order at a steam-table counter that runs like a plant cafeteria, and what you order is the baked macaroni and cheese with red or brown gravy — the restaurant's own site calls it the most popular item on the menu, and the portion arrives closer to a serving platter than a plate. The veal parmesan is the other reason regulars drive out here. It is still family-run: Mr. Tommy, his uncle Tommy, and founder Carlo's widow Nana.
→ Three more weird eats & drinks in New Orleans — never the same twice
The story
Five Sicilian men opened Rocky & Carlo's on West St. Bernard Highway on April 24, 1965: Tommy Tommaseo, his brother Rocky, and brothers-in-law Carlo, Mario and Giuseppe "Joseph" Gioe. They had been cooking together at Angelo's, a nearby bar, and wanted a room on their own terms. The "Ladies Invited" line they hung out front was the entire thesis, announcing a family restaurant where men and women both ate. The billing went to Rocky and Carlo for the least romantic reason available: they were the two oldest.
Five months later Hurricane Betsy flattened St. Bernard Parish and the restaurant fed people through it. "We gave away a lot of food," Mr. Tommy has said, and customers still credit the place with getting them through. That set the pattern for every major storm since, with meals going out to residents, civil defense workers and first responders. The building has been lost once: on February 12, 2012 a pile of cleaning towels combusted and burned the restaurant down, and they reopened three months later. Three of the five founders are still living, the family still runs the floor and the kitchen, and Carlo's widow Nana still works back there.
Inside it is a steam-table counter, formica and neon, a plant cafeteria that happens to be Sicilian-Creole. The baked macaroni and cheese with red or brown gravy is the most popular item on the menu and is built on perciatelli rather than elbows; a large side is $15 and a small $8, and every dinner arrives with macaroni or two vegetables regardless. Veal parmesan is the other pillar, $20 as a dinner and $17 as a whole po-boy. Fridays add seafood gumbo and crab cakes. Every dessert is $5. To-go orders are taken by phone and no other way.
What it's like
Doors open at 11 and lock at 7, and the room fills in waves: parish regulars at lunch, families early in the evening. You queue at the counter, order off the board, and watch the plate get built at the steam table. Nobody seats you and nobody hurries; the restaurant asks outright that you be patient when it is busy, which it is. Portions are comically oversized, so two people ordering two entrees have already overordered and a large macaroni is a communal object. There is a bar, there are formica tables and neon, and there is no atmosphere beyond what six decades on the same corner produce. To-go and catering are phone-only, no email and no app, and a to-go ticket costs an extra fifty cents.
The move: Drive out any Tuesday through Saturday and get there by 6pm — they lock the doors at 7. Order one baked macaroni with red gravy and one veal parmesan at the counter, split both, and eat under the neon at a formica table surrounded by people who have been coming since the refinery shifts changed. Fifteen minutes back into the Bywater afterward for a nightcap.
📍 Before you go Open Tue–Sat 11am–7pm; closed Sunday and Monday, so a spontaneous Sunday run will not work. All to-go and catering orders are by phone only (504-279-8323) — no online ordering. Holiday closures are long: reduced hours Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve, closed Dec 25–29 and New Year's Day. Portions are genuinely enormous; two people ordering two entrees is already too much food. Free lot parking, about 15 minutes from the Quarter down St. Claude/St. Bernard Highway.
- 📍 Chalmette
- 💸 $
- ⚡ Up for anything
- 🌗 Indoors
Where: 613 W St Bernard Hwy, Chalmette, LA 70043
Hours: Added 2026-08-26 — confirm current hours before you go.
Pair it with
- De La Ronde Ruins — The 1805 De La Ronde columns and their double row of live oaks stand in the median of the same highway less than a mile west, which turns them into a five-minute stop on the way in rather than a separate trip.
- House of Dance & Feathers — Ronald Lewis's backyard museum of Mardi Gras Indian and Social Aid & Pleasure Club material sits in the Lower Ninth on the drive back, but it's appointment-only and free, so book it for the afternoon and eat after.
- Bar Redux — Fifteen minutes back toward the river, Bar Redux's hundred-year-old U-shaped bar and patio stage is the nightcap that makes a drive out to Chalmette feel like an evening instead of an errand.
More weird in New Orleans
Good to know
When is it actually open?
Tuesday through Saturday, 11am to 7pm. Closed Sunday and Monday, so a spontaneous weekend plan fails. The holiday closure is long: 4pm close on Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve, closed December 25 through 29, reopening December 30, and closed New Year's Day.
How do I get to Chalmette from the city?
Drive. It's roughly fifteen minutes from the French Quarter: St. Claude Avenue becomes St. Bernard Highway, and 613 W. St. Bernard Hwy is on the right. There's a free lot, and no streetcar line comes anywhere near it.
What should I order, and what does it cost?
The baked macaroni and cheese with red or brown gravy, which the restaurant itself calls the most popular item on the menu: $15 large, $8 small as a side, and included with every dinner anyway. Veal parmesan is $20 as a dinner or $17 as a whole po-boy; roast beef dinner is $17, shrimp $25, ribeye $35. Large onion rings are $11 and every dessert is $5.
Can I order ahead, or get it delivered?
Phone only, at 504-279-8323. They will not take orders by email, Facebook or Google, catering runs through the same number, and there's a fifty-cent surcharge on to-go. Expect to hold when the place is slammed; the restaurant asks for patience in writing.
Is there a day worth timing the trip around?
Friday. Seafood gumbo ($6 a cup, $12 a bowl) and crab cakes ($25) are Friday-only items, so a Friday visit is the one that gets you the full board rather than the standing menu.
Plan a visit & invite your people →
Further reading: Official site
last checked: 2026-08-26