From our BEST new restaurants of the decade feature:
What started out as a catering business, hustling porketta sandwiches at pop ups and special events, has turned into a full fledged restaurant, and expansive menu, and a playful take on Sicilian cuisine. Chef Jordan Baldarotta and his wife Paris have essentially changed how we eat Italian food here in Champaign-Urbana. The aforementioned porketta sandwich is stellar, but that’s just the start. The meatball smash is perfect. The “Guido” — their take on a classic Italian sub — might unseat The Mindy at Cheese and Crackers for best in town. The pizza is true Sicilian pie, the only place to find it around these parts, and it is the yummiest.
They recently had a fun food-filled mural commissioned to flank the restaurant space inside of Lincoln Square, which is a strong statement of investment into the community. That sort of spells out what the food tastes like: commitment and hard work. This is a place not to be missed. (SF)
Photo by Seth Fein
