<body><div><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=1sBIug_1H1wtTJ100" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=1sBIug_1H1wtTJ100" width="1200" height="800" >Lucca Russo shakes a pan with Russo’s Restaurant’s Louisiana Sicilian Pastalaya sauce in it before adding in fettucine and topping the dish with seasoned chicken and garnishes. Simultaneously, he spoons cucumber pico de gallo and Tabasco on chilled oysters. Having taken over the kitchen from his dad, Dave Russo, four years ago, the 25-year-old is in his element. “It’s a combo of my two favorite things — oysters and cucumbers. I grew up eating oysters since I was 5,” says Lucca. “My dad loved them.”Dave grew up with an Italian grandmother, who helped spark his interest in cooking. At 18, Dave headed to New Orleans to learn how to cook and worked with culinary stars Paul Prudhomme and Emeril Lagasse at K-Paul’s and Emeril’s, respectively. After 13 years, the Cuyahoga Falls native returned to Northeast Ohio and eventually opened Russo’s in 2002, blending his Italian heritage with his Cajun and Creole culinary training.Only about 1 year old when the restaurant opened, Lucca calls Russo’s a second home growing up as he and his brother, Giancarlo, often hung out in the dining room during service.“I have childhood memories of running around here at 4, 5, 6, 7. This is a rowdy, fun place,” recalls Lucca.Lucca began bussing tables at 14 and became a line cook at 18, but at as early as 15, he recalls shadowing Dave in the kitchen and learning family recipes like the pomodoro sauce Dave’s grandmother used to make. Russo’s version starts with beef chuck and pork shoulder that’s braised in the oven before being cooked down in a tomato and red wine mixture with herbs and garlic for three and a half hours. “It was a family tradition that he passed on to me,” Lucca says. “He would add basil and parsley at the very end, so you could really taste the flavor.”Dave often made big pots of Pastalaya during Russo’s Mardi Gras celebration. About six years ago, Lucca convinced Dave to add Pastalaya ($32) to the regular specials list because it’s so beloved. Partially inspired by his mom Amy’s cooking, Lucca tweaked the recipe to add heavy cream, Gulf shrimp, Crystal Hot Sauce, Worcestershire, onion and red bell pepper.First, Lucca pan sears pounded chicken breast coated in house-made Creole seasoning and finishes it in the oven. He then cooks down onions, red bell peppers, smoked andouille sausage and Creole-seasoned shrimp. “I brown the sausage because the sausage is filled with sugar so that it releases a good flavor into the dish,” Lucca says. He deglazes it with white wine, adding in garlic, house-made tomato Creole sauce, Worcestershire, heavy cream, Crystal Hot Sauce, bay leaves and a thyme sprig and simmers it. He serves it with Ohio City Pasta fettucine, chopped chicken, Akron microgreens and chopped basil and peppers.“It’s creamy, sweet, spicy, packed with Cajun spices,” Lucca says. “People repeatedly said, You can’t take this off the menu. It’s the best thing I’ve ever tried in my life.”Using farm-raised Murder Point oysters from Alabama, Lucca created his signature dish, pico de gallo oysters ($22). He chops up cucumbers, cilantro, red onion and tomatoes to make a pico de gallo and tosses it with 100 percent Corto extra-virgin olive oil and lime juice, topping each oyster with the pico and Tabasco.“The Corto oil we use with that Tabasco is really what puts it over the top,” he says.While Dave still helps with some daytime prep in the kitchen and continues to teach Lucca, Lucca is ready to keep leading Russo’s and continue its rich tradition as it celebrates 25 years in 2027.“I prefer to keep it as a local favorite,” says Lucca. “That’s why I love it. We work in an open kitchen so it’s interactive. I get to meet a lot of people that I never would have otherwise through food.”4895 State Road, Peninsula, 330-923-2665, russosbacchus.com</div></body>

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Lucca Russo shakes a pan with Russo’s Restaurant’s Louisiana Sicilian Pastalaya sauce in it before adding in fettucine and topping the dish with seasoned chicken and garnishes. Simultaneously, he spoons cucumber pico de gallo and Tabasco on chilled oysters. Having taken over the kitchen from his dad, Dave Russo, four years ago, the 25-year-old is in his element.

Warm Memories: Russo’s Restaurant

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Lucca Russo shakes a pan with Russo’s Restaurant’s Louisiana Sicilian Pastalaya sauce in it before adding in fettucine and topping the dish with seasoned c

Warm Memories: Russo’s Restaurant

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