Third generation continues DeLallo’s cafe

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DeLallo’s Fort Couch Cafe has been a staple in Bethel Park since 1989, but the DeLallo family has been in the grocery and catering business for many more years.

Dave DeLallo says he’s lucky that his grandfather, Frank, found the property in 1939 while taking a streetcar ride.

“He saw the property for sale and bought two-and-a-half acres for $2,000 an acre,” DeLallo says with a chuckle. “You couldn’t get that these days.”

The restaurant is conveniently located next to South Hills Village and is always busy, says DeLallo, 52, who lives in McMurray with wife Alicia. They have two children.

“I am here every day and night, but it’s a way of life,” DeLallo says. “When you step back and hear of other people’s woes, you feel blessed. The biggest award is that I’ve been here for so long — because restaurants go out of business all the time. I don’t want to brag, but the DeLallo name is synonymous with good food.”

The hardest part of owning a restaurant is the turnover of employees, he says. But his head chef, Reggie Taylor, has been with DeLallo since the beginning.

“Reggie is the motor in this place — he’s powerful,” DeLallo says. “He’s like family.”

Taylor, 53, says he has known Dave DeLallo since they were both students at Bethel Park High School.

“We’ve been friends since junior high and got back together in our thirties,” Taylor says. “It has worked out real good for both of us.”

Taylor works as the day chef, and Scott Croyle is the night chef. Croyle has been there one year but has been a chef for 15 years. They get along great together, they both say, and help each other out.

“The most important thing about cooking is to keep it fresh and simple and cook with love,” says Taylor, a self-taught chef who learned to cook by watching his mother. “I love to cook.”

What’s unusual about DeLallo’s Fort Couch Cafe is that the refrigerated case inside the restaurant gives the DeLallos the highest profit margin. They sell homemade ravioli, soups, sausages, sauces, cavatelli, meatballs and lasagna from that case.

“What we sell is phenomenal,” DeLallo says. “Between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Eve, we sell 250 pans of lasagna. Our big Christmas item is the traditional Italian lasagna, but we sell seafood and vegetable lasagna, too. It’s very convenient. You can get it baked or bake it yourself for one hour at 350 degrees.”

The cuisine at DeLallo’s is casual Italian-American. They did try the ethnic route one time, he says, but it tanked.

“Too many people wanted American,” he admits. “We’ve had dozens of people who have been to Europe and tell us, when they get back, that they miss our food. We have a very broad menu. Our signature pasta dish is Angel Hair Scoglio. We sell a lot of that.”

DeLallo’s also offers special salads, sandwiches, gourmet pizzas and a great variety of seafood, chicken and veal dishes and homemade desserts. The atmosphere is warm and inviting, with muted teal green carpeting, oak walls, white linen tablecloths and muted lighting.

Booths and tables are set far enough apart that diners can’t inadvertently eavesdrop on each other’s conversations. The restaurant seats 175 and serves 300 dinners every Friday and Saturday night. The catering side of the restaurant does a brisk business as well.

“Our big seasons are Christmas and graduation, but it’s sporadic,” DeLallo says. “We could do three parties in one week and nothing the next week. With our catering menu, we can create a custom menu from the lunch or dinner menu. We have 41 employees and use the same cooks for catering.”

DeLallo says that without his father, John, who passed away two years ago, he wouldn’t be where he is today.

“My dad was the foundation of this,” he says. “He was my business partner for 31 years, and he was the inspiration.”

Chicken Romano for Two

Chefs Reggie Taylor and Scott Croyle chose to share the restaurant’s popular Chicken Romano recipe with Cooking Class. It’s an extremely simple, fast and easy recipe, one that’s perfect for the busy holiday season and requires few ingredients.

The chicken turns out succulent and tasty and could be paired with penne pasta and steamed broccoli for a well-rounded meal.

• 4 large eggs

• 1 teaspoon chopped garlic

• 1 teaspoon fresh chopped Italian parsley

• 1/2 cup grated Romano cheese

• 2 boneless chicken breasts, pounded thin

• 1/2 cup flour, seasoned with salt and pepper to taste

• 1 ounce vegetable oil

Whip the eggs, garlic and parsley into a batter, then stir in the Romano cheese.

Dust the chicken breasts with the seasoned flour, then drop the breasts into the egg batter.

Heat the vegetable oil in a saute pan on medium-high heat, until the oil is almost smoking.

Pull the breasts out of batter and let the excess drain off. Place the breasts in the saute pan and cook for 1 to 2 minutes on each side.

Drain the oil off, turn the heat down to low, then simmer for 6 minutes or until the chicken is done.

Serve with penne pasta and a vegetable of your choice.

Makes 2 servings.

Additional Information:

DeLallo’s Fort Couch Cafe

Cuisine: Casual Italian-American

Hours: 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Tuesdays-Thursdays, 11 a.m.-11 p.m. Fridays, 4-11 p.m. Saturdays, 4-9 p.m. Sundays

Entree price range: $10.95-$26.95

Notes: Seafood is flown in daily from Samuels & Son Seafood Co. in Philadelphia. Features three fresh fish entrees every week in addition to what’s on the menu. Extensive domestic and imported wine list. Handicapped accessible. Major credit cards accepted.

Address: 91 Fort Couch Road, Bethel Park

Details: 412-835-4320