Archive for April, 2012

Salvatore’s Tomato Pies

Saturday, April 28th, 2012

Sun Prairie has another dining hit on its hands with Salvatore’s Tomato Pies. It’s a wonderful contrast of simple and complicated (in a good way): the whole menu is almost entirely pizza and only in one size (16″); however, each type of pizza is a masterpiece.

Take, for example, The Fat Uncle Tony ($18.99). It’s topped with smoky premium bacon, homemade sausage and spicy pepperoni. You can really tell the quality of the meat used is high, and it just may be my new favorite pizza–I mean, pie–in town.

Salvatore’s also has weekend specials, and one particular week I got to try the Thai curry pie ($22.50; it’s now on the regular menu as One Night in Bangkok). I enjoyed the ensemble of flavors, from the chicken to the mushrooms to the red onion and more. Helpful hint: order early, since the specials are likely to sell out quickly.

Next on my to-eat list is the plain Tomato Pie (mozzarella, provolone and basil for $14.79), to which I’ll add some prosciutto ($3). I hope they bring back the Duck Goat Pizza, which was a one-time special I heard about after the fact.

You can dine in, as there are some tables inside, but I’d call ahead for carryout. Salvatore’s is open from 4:30-10 p.m. Tuesday-Sunday. According to its website, Salvatore’s hopes to be “open for lunch soon.”

Weird Al’s food songs

Sunday, April 22nd, 2012

Even if it was never “cool” to admit that you like “Weird Al” Yankovic, you have to admit that many of his songs, especially as music videos, were funny. Plus, the man is really talented, able to play guitar and accordion and hit high notes like Bono (see “Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me” / “Cavity Search”).

This being a food blog, I have to talk about his food songs. Al tried to limit his albums to having just one food song each (even Kurt Cobain of Nirvana was worried “Smells Like Teen Spirit” would be a food song). Eventually, most of those songs were compiled into “The Food Album.”

My favorite food song is “Fat,” a parody of Michael Jackson’s “Bad.” The song won a Grammy award in 1988; I’ve pasted the video below.

A close second for me is “Theme from Rocky XIII” (“Eye of the Tiger”). It’s got memorable lyrics such as “But he’s no bum, he works down the street / He bought the neighborhood deli / Back on his feet, now he’s choppin’ up meat / Come inside, maybe you’ll hear him say …”

Other “Weird Al” food songs I like are “Lasagna” (“La Bamba”), “Eat It” (“Beat It”) and “Taco Grande” (“Rico Suave”). What are your favorites? Don’t be shy.

Grilled cheese sandwich month

Sunday, April 15th, 2012

Seriously? We need to dedicate a month to celebrating the grilled cheese sandwich? Wikipedia says that Woman’s Day came up with the idea, but the magazine says “someone (somewhere) has proclaimed this popular comfort food worthy of a monthlong celebration.”

In its most ordinary (re: lazy) form, you take two slices of white bread, stick a Kraft single in between and brown both sides in butter. Simple? Yes. Tasty? Sort of.

Admittedly, I had an about-face back in 2006 while watching an episode of “Ham on the Street” on the Food Network. The host had people randomly select bread (e.g. wheat, rye), cheese (e.g. Havarti, brie) and jelly (e.g. apricot, hot pepper) and turn them into a grilled cheese sandwich. Every single person was pleasantly surprised how good their concoction tasted.

I’m in the camp that believes you shouldn’t add things like ham, onions or eggs to a grilled cheese, otherwise it isn’t a grilled cheese. However, I’m willing to let jelly be an ingredient.

Like any dish, grilled cheese sandwiches are better with better ingredients. Since upgrading the individual parts, I’ve come to enjoy the occasional grilled cheese. And of course, I enjoy spicy cheese bread, which is somewhat related.

Hungry? Here are the recipes from “Ham on the Street” as well as the Los Angeles Times’ Test Kitchen.

Jade Mountain Cafe

Sunday, April 8th, 2012

Before I stepped foot in Jade Mountain Cafe, I was trying to remember when was the last time I had bubble tea, the specialty here. Sadly, it may have been several years ago, when the bubble tea place at the old University Square existed (I never went to Bubble Island at the now-defunct food court).

I’m guessing it won’t be years in between sips again, as the bubble tea at this small cafe not too far from Ella’s Deli is fantastic. You can order from the milk teas (e.g. black, oolong, etc.) or from the iced fruit teas (e.g. peach, mango, etc.). Prices are $2-$2.50 for small, $2.30-$2.80 for medium and $2.50-$3 for large; just add 50 cents for the tapioca or lychee jelly bubbles.

I immensely enjoyed the passion fruit, lychee and red bubble teas, in that order. They’re just so refreshing that I could see myself slurping them on the outdoor patio on a hot summer day. Word of caution: don’t slurp too quickly, or you may choke.

Jade has a full coffee selection as well. There also are a few appetizers, desserts and pastries (provided by Stella’s) on the menu. I had the 10-piece chicken pot stickers ($4.99), which appeared overcooked but actually were quite flavorful. I wouldn’t order the pork steamed bun ($3.25) again, though delicious as the filling was, there was just a tiny bit of it (95 percent bread otherwise).

Jade Mountain Cafe is open every day. You can find parking on the street, or there’s a small parking lot nearby, though the stalls aren’t marked well.

Nonna Rita’s

Sunday, April 1st, 2012

If you ever have both sweet and salty cravings, then Nonna Rita’s may be the place for you. The small store that boasts empanadas and pastries in its name opened in January in the space formerly occupied by Milio’s not too far from the intersection of East Johnson Street and East Washington Avenue.

I ordered the beef and chicken empanadas ($2.50 each). Instead of frying them, Nonna Rita’s bakes them. The crust was nice and flaky, but I didn’t care for the beef (too much cumin) or the chicken (a bit dry). You also can try taco, ham & cheese, spinach, corn and tuna; one dozen costs $25.

The small pastries are based on traditional Argentine baking techniques and are either topped or filled with dulce de leche (similar to caramel in flavor), a custard-like cream or both. I really enjoyed the dulce de leche–it’s a wonderful alternative to the typical chocolate topped/filled pastries you find at other bakeries.

I also liked both the butter croissant and the “saltier” croissant (as it was described to me). Both have so much flavor that you don’t need to add jam or anything. I paid $7 for a dozen pastries, but I got that as a discount since they were about to close for the day.

The only other item on the menu are the pizzettas  ($2.50, $3 or $3.50), personal-sized pizzas that can be topped with pepperoni, heart of palms or tomato basil, for example.

Nonna Rita’s is open Tuesday-Saturday. There’s usually ample street parking right in front. Credit cards are currently not accepted.

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