There is something to be said about a restaurant that still uses the handwritten recipes from a little black book that originated in 1945.

A modern take on the original Village restaurant (established in 1947), our reputation is for serving Baton Rouge’s finest Italian, Prime Beef, Maine Lobster, Veal and fresh Gulf seafood. The Airline location features daily specials, a full bar and can accommodate private parties for up to fifty. We also have space for up to 15 guests in our bar area where dinner is also served.

Few restaurants can claim they started with a raid. However, back in 1945, a young entrepreneur named Vince Distefano was running a card game called Georgia Skin out of a leased building on Florida Boulevard. The men played for horses and Vince's wife, Stephanie, made good tips cooking for the crowd. After a surprise morning visit from a local sheriff, the entire inhabitants, including the Distefanos were hauled off to jail.

The sheriff, not above the occasional "unofficial" visit the Distefano establishment, offered some sage advice: Get out of town - at least outside the city limits. So the family bought a wooded seven-acre fishing camp on Airline Highway from the Catholic Church and built a new place beyond the long arm of the law. As the games' participants grew and the cars parked out front increased, travelers frequently mistook the building for a restaurant. Eventually, the Distefanos decided they might as well feed all those hungry motorists and The Village was born.