So if you ever find yourself cruising up 79 around Pittsburgh you'll eventually find yourself driving past the ghosts of steel mills and a city that was once the central hub of the steel industry...Coraopolis, PA. It can now be easy to breeze past the now small suburb and ignore it while heading onto bigger and better things, however if you persuade your car to pull off at the State Street exit you'll find in the heart of 5th avenue a little Italian restaurant that's been around for 65 years, a favorite of locals and used-to-be locals alike, and may just be the most talked about Triple D place we've encountered yet.Of all the places we've visited no other has had so many accompany
ing stories from outside the confines of Food Network. It seems like everyone I know who has grown up or gone to school in Pittsburgh has a LoBello's story...Ben's parents used to eat there with some of their college friends, one of my friends from Seminary used to go there with his wife once a week, even at the hospital I worked at all summer I had veterans telling me that if I'm ever in Coraopolis I have to check out LoBello's. It wasn't just Guy telling us to discover the wonders of their real deal Italian but apparently everyone we came into contact with. Italian isn't how this place started out though...it all started with...hot dogs...yes hot dogs. 65 years ago when Rose LoBello's parents immigrated to the US from Italy they decided to open up a 24/7 hot dog stand, and by the time she was 14 Rose was waitressing a
nd helping out her parents, but eventually the hot dogs lost their luster and they decided to go back to their roots and recreate their restaurant with the recipes they'd brought with them from Italy. Now years later Rose is still wandering around the tables chatting up regulars with plenty of hugs to go around, and the food is still as Italian as you can get. It's a small place, cozy, perfectly romantic Italian, with 8 booths and 3 tables as close together as you can get. Their history is literally written on the walls since the thing that you first notice when you walk in is that every wooden surface is covered with the carved names of past and present patrons (including the blonde haired Food Network star himself). Pictures of Rose's parents are still on the walls and the machinery they used 65 years ago are still hand-cranking out dozens of ravioli one order at a time, but believe me they're worth the wait.
ing stories from outside the confines of Food Network. It seems like everyone I know who has grown up or gone to school in Pittsburgh has a LoBello's story...Ben's parents used to eat there with some of their college friends, one of my friends from Seminary used to go there with his wife once a week, even at the hospital I worked at all summer I had veterans telling me that if I'm ever in Coraopolis I have to check out LoBello's. It wasn't just Guy telling us to discover the wonders of their real deal Italian but apparently everyone we came into contact with. Italian isn't how this place started out though...it all started with...hot dogs...yes hot dogs. 65 years ago when Rose LoBello's parents immigrated to the US from Italy they decided to open up a 24/7 hot dog stand, and by the time she was 14 Rose was waitressing a
nd helping out her parents, but eventually the hot dogs lost their luster and they decided to go back to their roots and recreate their restaurant with the recipes they'd brought with them from Italy. Now years later Rose is still wandering around the tables chatting up regulars with plenty of hugs to go around, and the food is still as Italian as you can get. It's a small place, cozy, perfectly romantic Italian, with 8 booths and 3 tables as close together as you can get. Their history is literally written on the walls since the thing that you first notice when you walk in is that every wooden surface is covered with the carved names of past and present patrons (including the blonde haired Food Network star himself). Pictures of Rose's parents are still on the walls and the machinery they used 65 years ago are still hand-cranking out dozens of ravioli one order at a time, but believe me they're worth the wait.All their pasta is cooked to order after each dozen is rolled out individually once the order rolls in. This is probably one of the few places where Ben and I haven't tried to cover as much of the menu as possible, but stuck to the classics...ravioli all the way. Before we got to the ravioli though we took a trip down the soup aisle, which is something we owe to Triple D. Soup is usually something we skip at restaurants, when the option is soup or salad we always go salad, never soup, but Guy loves trying restaurant's soups and LoBello's is no exception. Their specialty is Pasta Fagoli, made with homemade noodles creating a kind of Italian chili, thick, hearty, and heart-warming. The secret apparently lies in browning the garlic powder and gives it the kick it's become known for, and trust me it packs a punch for soup, but the next time I need something to warm me up during a Pittsburgh winter, this 
soup would be the number one choice. But if we thought the soup was good, dinner only got better. We got an order of meat ravioli and an order of cheese then split, but the edge would probably go to the meat, which tasted like there was a homemade mini-meatball inside. The dough was light and fluffy, yet dense enough to fill you up. The sauce is really the kicker though--don't expect a thick meat sauce at LoBello's--no no--their homemade sauce is thin with a depth of flavor I haven't found anywhere else...there's a kick to the spices and it's the perfect texture to be sopped up with the bread you get with your meal. While we weren't able to engrave our names on a booth, we will definately get another chance soon because they deserve a second (and third and fourth) visit to check out more of the menu and more real deal Italian.
soup would be the number one choice. But if we thought the soup was good, dinner only got better. We got an order of meat ravioli and an order of cheese then split, but the edge would probably go to the meat, which tasted like there was a homemade mini-meatball inside. The dough was light and fluffy, yet dense enough to fill you up. The sauce is really the kicker though--don't expect a thick meat sauce at LoBello's--no no--their homemade sauce is thin with a depth of flavor I haven't found anywhere else...there's a kick to the spices and it's the perfect texture to be sopped up with the bread you get with your meal. While we weren't able to engrave our names on a booth, we will definately get another chance soon because they deserve a second (and third and fourth) visit to check out more of the menu and more real deal Italian.MAKE SURE YOU CHECK OUT THEIR HOURS!!! They're very different everyday so check out the schedule and of course the menu (same for lunch and dinner just different prices)
No comments:
Post a Comment