ROUSES_MarApr2019_Magazine-R

illustration by Kacie Galtier

SPAGHETTI & meatball pizza

by Alison Fensterstock

From gumbo to grillades & grits, Southwest Louisiana has no shortage of regional delicacies. Its celebrated dishes showcase the bounty of the land and water — rice, shrimp, crawfish — and the influ- ence of the cultures that live and cook there. French, African, Native American, Italian and Vietnamese ingredients, techniques and traditions all intermingle, adding their flavors to the tasty diversity of the area’s rich foodways. And in Lake Charles, deep in the heart of Acadiana, one of the top 20 restaurants honored by the local convention and visitors’ bureau (chosen by a popular vote, out of 250 nominees) is an Italian pizza joint run by a Greek family. When Tony’s Pizza opened on Prien Lake Road in Lake Charles, a small nine-inch pie went for 90 cents — 45 cents, if you caught the grand-opening weekend special in early March of 1967. These days, its signa- ture spaghetti & meatball pie makes a slightly bigger dent in your wallet. But judging by the spot’s longevity and its frequent accolades — it’s a consistent winner in Pizza Today magazine’s annual ranking of the coun- try’s most successful independent pizza restaurants, and routinely takes Best Pizza honors in the regional magazine Lagniappe ’s yearly roundup — Tony’s loyal fans are happy to pay the price. Navy veteran Charles Dickson, the oldest son of Greek immigrants, grew up in Ohio and worked in family businesses there including a hotel, a haber- dashery and a dry-cleaning shop before relocating to Houston, where he got his first taste of the restaurant industry. After moving to Lake Charles in 1957, he managed several local dining spots, including Tony’s, before buying the new place along with his wife Ann in 1968. Dickson had three sons from a previous marriage, and over the years they too settled in Lake Charles and worked at the family business — as did their own children. Dickson died in 2015, three years before Tony’s celebrated its golden anniversary under the family’s ownership. Tony’s features a familiar menu of salads, casual appe- tizers, pasta and pizza — and also a unique offering of pasta on pizza. The spaghetti and meatball pie, with ground beef, Italian sausage, pepperoni and ham strips, is two dishes (at least) in one, and is only avail- able in medium or large sizes…because let’s be honest, if you’re going to go there, it’s only reasonable to go all the way.