Friday, September 24, 2010

DiPasquales

Last week's adventure in "Triple D dining in Baltimore" found the team again in Highlandtown, but this time we were a few blocks off of Eastern Ave walking along rowhouses not only sporting the original brick or FormaStone, but also painted in an amazing array of colors. The picture doesn't fully communicate the coolness, but it was like walking through rainbow sherbet. We were on our way to a fabulous Italian market called DiPasquales. Overwhelming would be the word i'd use to describe it: rows and rows of Italian groceries, open bins of bulk beans and legumes, a full deli, a brick-oven, and lots of people eating and talking. I don't think any of us were expecting it to be so crowded or jam-packed with stuff. And the menu - great googley moogley were there a zillion things to choose from. On the show, Guy had showcased arancine -Sicilian rice balls- which I had never heard of, but felt compelled to try (pictured here in the front; chicken parm with penne in the back). It was an interesting mix of crunchy and chewy and something else i can't describe, but it was definitely tasty. I also ordered a sausage and rapini (broccoli rabe) calzone that about the size of my head. It was delicious and filling and lunch the next day as well. Personally, i found the rapini to be a bit too bitter - i would have used spinach - but otherwise i give it a big thumbs up. Since it was a market i could get some other out-of-the-ordinary treats as well, like black cherry soda and Italian chocolate that had this weird white coating that i couldn't determine if it was to be consumed or not. I just ate it. The whole thing was yummy, coating and all. It was a nice lunch trip to finish off the summer and to welcome the newest members of the team, Adam and Addison. There are still several places on the list and we will hit them when we can.

1 comment:

Megan said...

Nik - ask your TM to send me the link to how to look up restaurants that have been featured on FN. I am traveling soon and want to plan for some of them, I emailed FN but surprise surprise - NO reply.