When Gary’s Drive-In owner Jason Pickrell was brainstorming ideas for the 2025 edition of Owensboro’s Burger Week, he turned to a treasured family recipe passed down from a neighbor who felt like family — Adelle Foglietta Iracane.
The result was a unique burger infused with her homemade marinara, a rich tribute that’s garnering rave reviews and stirring up decades-old memories.
“It was beyond what I dreamed it would be,” said Joe Iracane, Adelle’s son. “He did good. Really good.”
Born and raised in Brooklyn, Iracane recalled the central role food — especially pasta and sauce — played in his Italian upbringing.
“We didn’t have much money, so pasta was our staple,” he said. “Every day was a different kind of pasta, but Sundays were special. That’s when ‘the pot boiled,’ as we’d say. That meant it was gravy day — meatballs, pork, all the good stuff.”
Adelle’s marinara was a more straightforward, tomato-based sauce she’d often make during the week. But Joe said it was full of flavor and warmth, something Pickrell father came to love after living next door to the Iracanes.
“My dad was always kind to her, and she took a liking to him,” Pickrell said. “That’s how he got the recipe.”
Pickrell still remembers the first time he tried the sauce.
“It was unlike anything I’d ever tasted,” he said. “It was just outstanding. He told me it was ‘Ms. Iracane’s sauce, and I never forgot it.”
Though his father didn’t make it often, the recipe became a staple for special occasions in the Pickrell household. So when Jason took over Gary’s Drive-In from his father in 2019, it wasn’t long before the idea of honoring that legacy began to simmer.
Unfortunately, that same year came with heartbreak. Eleven days after purchasing the restaurant, Pickrell’s father passed away. Just moments earlier, Jason and his wife were at the doctor’s office receiving a devastating diagnosis — their daughter had a brain tumor.
“I went from hearing the worst news about my daughter to hearing my dad was receiving CPR — all within seconds,” he said. “It was a rough time.”
Despite the tragedy, Pickrell pressed on, running the restaurant through the pandemic and continuing to build on the legacy his family started. This year, he decided to do something bold for Burger Week: a pizza burger featuring Adelle Iracane’s marinara.
It wasn’t an easy decision.
“It’s a big deal to use someone else’s name and recipe,” he said. “I hadn’t even talked to the Iracanes yet, and I didn’t know how they’d feel.”
But the Iracane family was more than on board.
“We were honored,” Joe said. “We cared a lot about Gary and the Pickrell. Seeing my mother’s picture on Facebook, connected to that burger, it brought tears to my eyes. It was very thoughtful.”
The burger was a hit from day one. Joe visited Gary’s on the first day of Burger Week alongside April, his caregiver, and has been raving about it since.
“I’ve been telling everyone — friends in New York, people at church,” he said. “It reminded me of the Feast of San Gennaro in New York. Just a little glimpse of home.”
Pickrell made slight adjustments to the sauce for the burger, thickening it so it stayed on the bun better — a move some say elevated the flavor even more.
While Gary’s Drive-In isn’t an Italian restaurant, for Burger Week 2025, it’s serving up a taste of old-world tradition — one that’s deeply personal to two Owensboro families.
“It was nostalgic,” Joe said. “It brought back a lot of fond memories, and I think my mother would have been proud.”
