For the love of cheese (Barones, Glen Ellyn)

Mmm. Cheese.

Always on the lookout for great pizza, and there are a lot of carryout places around us, not as many sit-down. So we thought we'd venture to Glen Ellyn (not nearly as far as it used to be) and try out Barone's (475 Pennsylvania Ave, Glen Ellyn).

This is not a huge place, and it's kind of old-school, cozy and definitely very popular with the locals. It was nearly full when we arrived (5:30ish?) and jam-packed by the time we left. Lots of folks waiting for carryout.

We got a big loaf of bread plus olive oil and butter right away, but our water was quite slow to arrive. Got the impression that a bus boy was supposed to bring it but it never happened; thankfully the waitress picked up the slack pretty well and our refills were well attended after that.

We ordered mozzarella sticks as an appetizer and a medium deep-dish (pan), just cheese. See, I told you -- lots of cheese.

The mozzarella sticks were homemade and served with a great chunky marinara. They were not steaming hot, which definitely made them easier to eat but also made me wonder how long they'd been out of the fryer.

The pizza was also a reasonable temperature, with gooey cheese, tasty sauce and a buttery crust that was one of the better I've had. A touch of garlic would be perfection. I also appreciated that they proffered us red pepper flakes, parmesan shaker and oregano -- I enjoy some oregano.

It was noisy thanks to tons of families and people waiting, and the wait staff was clearly kind of frazzled; I think they did as well as they could.

I'm sure we'll be back, but maybe not on a Friday night next time.

Anniversary in the suburbs -- Francesca's Amici

My husband and I recently celebrated our second anniversary, and I left it up to him to decide our activities for the evening. (I wanted him to flex his creative muscle and see what he could come up with!)

I must say, he came through. We started our afternoon by picking up a bottle of wine we'd ordered from Cabernet & Company in Glen Ellyn, a wonderful little wine shop. After perusing the area for a little while, we went on to dinner at the wonderful Francesca's Amici, 174 N. York Road in Elmhurst. I have never had a bad meal at a Francesca's (there are 15 in the suburbs and four in Chicago) and this was no exception.

We love the look of Francesca's, with warm wood, simple white tables and black and white photos on the brick walls. And we really love the food. We shared a sausage pizza with delightful thin, crispy crust and just enough cheese. I drooled over every bite of my gnocchi con ricotta, which combined tender dumplings with fresh ricotta, basil, spinach and a spicy tomato sauce. And my husband enjoyed his linguine with pancetta.

Service was quite good as well. I love Francesca's, have I mentioned that? :)


After dinner, the rest of the evening lay before us. Normally you might think we would go see a movie, or a play, or perhaps go to a nightclub. But no, my husband had a little fun-loving exercise in mind for us. And so it was that we ended up at the Lombard Roller Rink, 201 W. 22nd Street, Lombard, for an evening of flashbacks to middle school, minus the terrible '90s clothing. It was a lot of fun. The rink is well-maintained, with friendly staff. We were among the older people there, but who cares? We had a blast. (Okay, so I wished for more rock and alternative and less rap, but hey. Can't win 'em all.) They even had the place decorated for Halloween.

And so it was that we celebrated our anniversary in quirky style. I would recommend any of these businesses for great wine, wonderful Italian food, or a fun afternoon or evening of exercise!