Photograph by Kevin A. Roberts
When Rosa Gabriele’s parents, brother, and three sisters sailed from Sicily to the U.S., she stayed behind to wait for her husband. Agostino was at sea, a chef in the Italian merchant marine, and had no desire to emigrate—until, on his next leave, he saw how miserably lonely his wife was without her family. They came to St. Louis. With his wife’s sister Anna and brother-in-law John Mineo, they opened Agostino’s on the Hill. Agostino’s Colosseum followed, then G.P. Agostino’s in Ellisville, where Rosa and Agostino cooked side by side, squabbling fondly, until his death. Now Mama Rosa helps her sons, John and Paul Gabriele, and daughters, Rosa Thomas and Elena Randazzo, run Agostino’s Italian Restaurant in Fairview Heights, Ill. She does prep work in the kitchen, bakes bread and sfincione (Sicilian pizza crust) with her pastry-chef daughter-in-law, and teases Agostino—her grandson.
What did you eat as a little girl, while growing up in Palermo?
Pasta with broccoli, pasta with leafy zucchini, pasta con sugo, snails, and calamari. We always had nice, crusty, fresh bread. My mother had six children, so she was all the time cooking tomato sauce. We would make the sauce fresh, boil tomatoes in a big pot and squeeze them and add garlic, fresh basil, and eggplant, and put fried eggplant on top. We put the sauce we wanted to save outside in the sun so it would get thick.
You were 10 when World War II broke out. Were you scared?
Yes! I got hit. The first bombing was from the French. Some steel pieces went into my head, and the skin healed over; the doctors couldn’t find them to get them out until later. And we had to move—we went to Terrasini for four years to take cover with my family there.
How did you meet your husband?
I met him when I was around 10. His mom was my mom’s friend, and we would get together during the holidays. He all the time bothered me, pulled my hair, teased me. So I knew he liked me, and I thought about him when we were in Terrasini. When we came back, I was 16, and he asked me to marry him. We were engaged for six years. It was not like it is now.
It was proper and chaste, you mean? I sometimes think that’s better.
Oh, it is. He was very romantic and very handsome, and he loved to sing to me. He had a beautiful voice.
How were your first years of marriage, with Agostino often at sea?
Very difficult, because I was alone for a year or more at a time. When he came back on leave, we had to readjust to being together.
What did you cook together, in those early meals as husband and wife?
Pane con pannelli, arancini—rice balls—fish, sfincionelli, polpo bollito—that is, boiled octopus—calamari al pomodori piccanti, pasta con le sarde alla Siciliana [pasta with sardines], and teste di capretto, which is lamb.
Did you work while he was gone?
Yes, I was a seamstress. I made dresses, suits, fur coats—sometimes for royalty. My dream had been to continue to make beautiful clothes, but I married Agostino and had a child.
Were you lonely?
Yes, especially after 1957. By then, my parents and all my siblings were in the U.S. Italia is beautiful, and I had a wonderful life, but I missed everyone so much. They called me and said, “Come to America.” So I talked to Agostino, and I asked him what he thought about moving to St. Louis, and he said no. But to make me happy and my mother Elena happy, he decided to move to St. Louis. So we sold all of our furniture and our home, and we came to St. Louis by way of ship, in December of 1959.
What did you do when you moved to St. Louis?
We lived with my parents initially, and I found a job as a seamstress, and Agostino found a job at Caesar’s Bakery, because [the owner] sponsored our visit to the United States. After a couple of months, Agostino worked at Tony’s, in the city, then Andreino’s on The Hill, and lastly at The Chase Park Plaza as executive chef, meeting all the celebrities.
So while he hobnobbed with celebs, you stitched gorgeous garments. Was the work different here?
The factories where I worked—Knickerbocker’s and Nania’s—had electric machines, zzzzzzzzzz! In Italia, I had a manual; I had to use my foot. So I was surprised. Also, I could not speak English. I did well, though, because I had a lot of experience, and my co-workers treated me well.
How did you manage to communicate?
I knew the language of a seamstress, and I used hand gestures. If I was looking for deodorant, I would signal under the arms. If I needed nylons, I would point to my lower legs. It was difficult at times and funny at times.
Then you and Agostino, with your sister and brother-in-law, opened your own restaurant.
Yes, in 1967. Agostino’s dream was to open up a restaurant of his own. He talked it over with me and my brother-in-law John Mineo and my sister Anna, and we decided to go into a partnership and open up our own restaurant. The location was at 5201 Shaw, Agostino’s on the Hill. Agostino needed my help, so I quit sewing. He taught me what he learned in the merchant marine and as a chef in the restaurants. People came in the restaurant and said, “Why don’t you come back and work for us again?” But I worked side by side with my husband; we were both chefs.
What did you make?
We made several dishes together—for example, Linguine Maremonte, beef Madeira, veal piccante, veal saltimbocca, and many more. We would experiment nightly, and our customers would ask us, “What is the special tonight?”
Did the two of you ever argue?
Yeah, we fought. Mainly, I was missing my fork. He was working from the left, and I was working from the right, and he would steal my fork.
How were your personalities different?
He was hot, and I was cool. He complained all the time; he was tough. He’d say something, and I’d say, “No, let it go.”
In 1973, you left The Hill for Creve Coeur.
Yes. We named the restaurant Agostino’s Colosseum, and we again worked side by side. We continuously worked to create new dishes. We worked along with our children, Rosa, Elena, John, and Paul, at that location for 26 years. While we were there, we received awards from the Mobil Travel Guide, DiRoNA [Distinguished Restaurants of North America], and many others.
Your extended family is a St. Louis dynasty—how many restaurants are currently running?
There’s ours in Fairview Heights. John Mineo’s. Giovanni’s on the Hill and Il Bel Lago—that’s my sister Fina, she married my husband’s brother, Giovanni Gabriele. Paul Manno’s—that’s my brother Paul. My sister Lia recently opened Sapore—she married Benedetto Buzzetta, who used to own Benedetto’s. And then there’s J.F. Sanfilippo’s and Filippo’s Italian Kitchen in Chesterfield Valley—that’s Concetta’s family. And Paul Mineo’s [Trattoria] at Westport. And Vincenzo and Agostino Gabriele, my husband’s nephews, own Vincenzo’s in Louisville, Ky.
What prompted you to move to Ellisville?
In 1988, we were taking a ride on Manchester Road, and Agostino and I saw this run-down building on the corner of Clarkson and Manchester. We fell in love with the vision of how beautiful this building could be as a restaurant, so we decided to purchase it and make it our beautiful restaurant. We redecorated from top to bottom and inside out. We had four children and the two of us, so he made six columns in front, one for each. The restaurant was three stories, 12,000 square feet, and we had crystal chandeliers from Venice. At wedding receptions, the bride would step out on the balcony for photographs.
It became something of an Italian palace. No wonder your husband was given the title of Cavaliere by the Italian government!
In 1995, Agostino was given that title because of how he represented the Italian culture and because of his hard work in the United States. I was so proud of my husband!
Did you accumulate any honors yourself?
[She shrugs.] I received a Chef of the Year award and a Chef of the Month award and was featured in a magazine.
Have you had any catastrophes in the kitchen?
This one time, I was making cookies, and the sugar bin and salt bin had been switched. My cookies looked beautiful, but you could not eat them because they were salty instead of sweet.
You’re legendary in your family for your insistence on the right ambience. It’s said that you won’t run a restaurant without smooth, crisp tablecloths, for instance. What else do you like?
Warm, low lighting, lots of red and gold. The Sicilian way is warm, inviting, romantic. Agostino used to greet the women with a kiss on the hand and sing to them. They would come in the kitchen and kiss him. I let them, because I knew they were happy at our restaurant, and it is the Italian way to greet and say goodbye with a kiss.
What was your most famous dish?
Agostino created a dish for Mrs. Koplar when he worked at the Chase: Linguine Maremonte. Mare for the sea—clams, shrimp, chunks of lobster—and monte for the mountains, the land—mushrooms, linguine, and a sauce with tomato, garlic, white wine, and butter.
Which celebrities have eaten at your restaurants over the years?
Marilyn McCoo from The 5th Dimension—we closed the restaurant for her. Yoko Ono. New Kids on the Block. Andre the Giant. Rod Stewart. Willie Mosconi. Tony Bennett. Rocky Marciano…
What did you and Agostino do in your free time?
We traveled to see other restaurants, in Vancouver, Montreal, Seattle, New York, Hawaii…
What food do you like that’s not Italian?
Fresh fish. I like it fried. And French desserts, and American hamburgers and rib-eye steaks and barbecued ribs.
What’s your comfort food?
Bread dipped in oil, anchovies, and olives. Salami, mortadella, provolone. For Italian people, that is the first course, the antipasto.
Your fourth Agostino’s was in Chesterfield, opening after your husband’s death in 1999. How did you manage?
With the help of my children. Paul is the executive chef, and his wife, Cettina, would also work as a hostess. John is the dining-room director, and his wife, Francesca, is the pastry chef. They met in Italy! Rosa and Elena and their husbands did various jobs, as well as bookkeeping, and Agostino, my grandson, worked in the dining room and also became our computer expert. All of my grandchildren were available to bus tables or help in the kitchen when needed.
What’s the response been?
Very warm and welcoming. I feel like the people were waiting for us.
