This week, in addition to going to the suburbs, Pat Bruno finds himself at Cafe Spiaggia. He loves it, which is not too much of a shocker. The top-end Italian food comes from the same kitchen Spiaggia, but is cheaper and less formal. Not, like, a lot cheaper, but maybe enough to push it into your price range for a semi-special occasion? If you go, you should get their…everything. Actually, Bruno goes a little overboard in this review: “A special one evening – burrata con pomodori – was ethereal, not to mention exquisite.” Who writes like that?
Lisa Donovan has a special Friday article on tea, since January is National Tea Month. Sure, why not! It’s also National Careers in Cosmetology Month, National Eye Health Care Month, National Fiber Focus Month, National Hobby Month, National Soup Month, Oatmeal Month, and Prune Breakfast Month. All this makes sense, since these foci complement almost any conceivable New Year’s resolution. But anyway, tea - the article contains a roundup of both tea and high tea establishments all around the city. It might even become a habit.
Over at the Reader, Mike Sula visits the Gary, IN, factory of one of the last independent potato chip makers in the region, Peerless Potato Chips. Peerless is slowly losing shelf space to the big guys, but maybe the article will give them a little sales boost. To do our part, you can call them at (219) 885-6843 and they’ll ship the chips to you directly! Apparently, they’re pretty good.
The restaurant round-up that follows Omnivorous this week is “Twenty-four restaurants south of 52nd Street,” so themed because Gary is…south. But why 52nd street in particular, we wondered? A quick check of the addresses reveals the northernmost restaurant to be Szalas, a Goralean restaurant in Brighton Park. Come again? They’re Polish highlanders, they eat veal goulash, and on the weekends, they dance. If the column was named to accommodate this particular restaurant, you know it must be good.
Cafe Spiaggia [MenuPages]
Cafe Spiaggia [Official Site]
Szalas [MenuPages]
Szalas [Official Site]
Elite treat [Sun-Times]
A new leaf]
The Little Chipper [Reader]
