Eating Out Again – Sort of

jlheuer

Jun 6

Last Friday we decided we needed a day away from being around the house. My energy has been better and we had just finished two days of yard work. There is always something to organize or clean in the house and I was getting tired of that as well. Our outings are usually trips to the grocery or a big box store. We needed some real fun but not a big trip that entailed packing and planning. So I suggested a movie and then a trip to DePere, a community adjacent to Green Bay, WI. Depere was hosting its first Art Walk of the Summer which included artists pairing up in local businesses, outdoor murals and sculpture.

The movie we chose was Top Gun: Maverick. We were both in the mood for a Summer blockbuster thrill ride, no moody introspection, and this fit the bill. After that we drove to DePere to see some art. We started at a gallery, owned by two friends of ours, called newARTSpace. The current exhibits are CreativePower, a traveling show featuring work created by Wisconsin children and adults with disabilities, and From the Vault, work by the owners, photographers, Terri Warpinski and David Graham. At the gallery we picked up one of the Art Walk flyers. All of the businesses hosting artists were listed and that is how we discovered Tazza Italian Coffee Co. who had set aside a corner of their shop for a ceramics artist. Since we were ready for a "snack", we quickly went to check it out. They served all sorts of coffee drinks but we immediately zeroed in on an affogato. This is a scoop of gelato, topped with a shot of hot espresso. We had ours with coconut gelato and if you have never had an affogato, once you do it will be your next favorite dessert.

At the coffee shop there was a pass through to the shop next door. I walked in and saw a fantastic counter and my immediate thought was a bakery. When I inquired I was told no, we are a pizzeria.

I quickly went back and got Curt. The trays of pizza were beautiful and the descriptions sounded wonderful. Well we knew what we were having for dinner. The pizzeria is called La Nostra Strada Pizzeria: Authentic Italian Street Pizza. You can take out or eat in. Since it was still a little early for dinner and we had just had affogatos we chose 3 large slices to take with. The hard part was choosing from the seven choices presented to us.

Here is what we settled on:

The first one on the right was the Strada, Specialita di Casa (Specialty of the House). Bianca crust, Gorgonzola & Mozzarella cheese, Carmelized onions and Dates.

Next, Mushroom Sausage, Funghi con Salsiccia. Mushroom crust, Provolone & Mozzarella cheese, Italian sausage and Roasted tomatoes.

Finally, Vegetable Pesto, which was an Eggplant crust, Mozzarella & American Grana cheese, Bell Peppers, Zucchini and Fresh Basil Pesto.

They are fully baked so heating instructions were conveniently written on the box. So once home it was a short wait for dinner.

We cut each slice into fours, added a glass of wine and had a wonderful dinner.

It is hard to say which one I liked best. We think our choices complimented each other quite well. So a new dining discovery and we will definitely go back.

I am already thinking about what our next adventure might be.

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