Lou’s Story
Lou Perella grew up sharing a two-family home with his grandparents in Medford, Massachusetts. His grandmother, Mama, an Italian immigrant, cooked pasta from scratch every single day.
Lou’s career as a 3rd generation chef began in that kitchen with his Mama. She taught him to make pappardelle for the meat sauce, capellini for the aglio olio, potato gnocchi for the red sauce, lasagna, fazzoletti, and fettuccine, to name a few. He learned that you only cut pasta sheets when they’re so thin that you can see the pattern of the table through them.
Before long, Lou became the teacher - working with his son, Lou Junior, to keep the family tradition alive. Little Lou stood on a chair, barely reaching the counter. He’d turn the crank of the Atlas pasta roller. The crank would fall out, and Little Lou would lose his balance. Lou had to catch his son and the pasta (usually in that order) before they fell. They made pasta together every Sunday.
In 1995, Perella’s Ristorante opened its doors. For over 25 years, Lou has been serving his community food inspired by his past. Now, Lou and his son, who works as a consultant at the restaurant, are proud to offer a series of seasonal, homemade pasta dishes, many featuring ingredients from the garden behind the restaurant, all inspired by the meals Lou had with Mama all those years ago.
We hope you enjoy eating it half as much as we enjoy making it.
Bring a taste of that history home with you, by asking us about Pasta by the Pound.