Labellas Italian Piatto and Pizzeria

So usually when a restaurant that thrives off of word-of-mouth is almost completely packed on a Wednesday night, it is a good sign. So when I walked into Labellas Italian Piatto and Pizzeria the other night, and there were only one or two open tables, I was pretty excited.

For those of you who are wondering, much like I was when I sat down in the Italian eatery, what Piatto means, it is Italian for plate. As I looked around, I discovered that the dinner "Piattos" were what most of the customers in the restaurant came to indulge in. However, my boyfriend and I love to sample and critique pizza so that is exactly what we did.

After starting off with an antipasto salad, which was pretty much what you would expect and not much more, we had a pizza with mushrooms and sausage, extra crispy.

Unfortunately, I cannot say that the pizza was spectacular. It was Okay. The sauce was actually pretty bland, like no salt or seasoning had been added. That means a lot coming from me, because I have a pretty low tolerance for salt. Also, I like the spicy Italian sausage and this sausage was nothing more than mild. The best part was probably the crust, which was slightly above average quality.

Maybe pizza isn't their specialty. Maybe, judging by what the other guests were eating, I should have tried one of their dinner dishes. I think the next time I visit I will try the lasagna. You can tell a lot about an Italian restaurant by the caliber of the lasagna.

Anyways, the night ended spectacularly, with some of the best Cannoli I have had in a LONG time. These crispy, pastry tubes filled with sweet, creamy, ricotta heaven were twice the size of your average Cannoli. Needless to say, this Sicilian treat made the night for me, and helped me make the decision that I will give the restaurant another shot.

If you don't like something the first time, I feel you should always try it at least one more time, especially when it is a local restaurant maintaining in a difficult economy. And that is exactly what I intend to do.

Nostalgia: Hidden Treasures Cereal

So, I don't really expect anyone to remember this, but this cereal is kind of what sparked my fascination with forgotten food items in the first place.

I probably only had this cereal one time, but I remember my older brother picking it out at the store and me lusting after it. I have thought about it often throughout the years, even though I can barely remember what it even tasted like. I can tell you though, that each little square-shaped piece of corn cereal held one of three flavors, cherry, orange or grape, and that was the "hidden treasure".

It is funny what things will stay in a person's memory, and this is a perfect example of it. Having only tried Hidden Treasures Cereal, at the most, a couple of times, the fact that it lingered in my mind for years to come is intriguing. It made me question whether it was the underlying psychology of it all, my brother having it and therefore me wanting it as well, or if it was really that damn good.

This is the box I remember, which is apparently from 1994

I did some research and found that, like with most long-lost foods, there is a petition out there to bring the cereal back. Whether or not this means it really was amazing, I don't know. All I know is that even though I, and apparently others, remember Hidden Treasures Cereal with longing, the cereal went off the market in a matter of two or three years.

Nostalgia: String Thing

Kids love fruit snacks, and sometimes adults do too. Well, at least I do.

One fruit snack that I remember from my childhood is String Thing. I can only remember one flavor, which I think was strawberry.

The snack looked like a red licorice rope but had a softer texture and fruitier taste. The "string" was all coiled up on a piece of white cardboard twisted into some kind of shape. While the presentation was enough to make it memorable, I recall the fruit string being really tasty. Mind you, it wasn't much of a snack.

Anyways, I have always wondered why other fruit snacks, like Shark Bites and Fruit Roll-Ups have persevered over the years but String Thing fell out of popularity and off the market. For instance, when I searched the internet for an image of String Thing only two pictures turned up, one small and barely visible and the pathetic picture you see here.

What happened to you String Thing?

Workin hard for the money

My restaurant review

Nostalgia: Doritos 3D

I remember eating these specialty Doritos in elementary school. I know there were at least three flavors: zesty ranch, nacho cheese and jalapeno.

These little air-filled corn chip puffs were like a cross between Dorito flavor and Bugles texture. The shape of the chip really changed the flavor, and I happened to like the taste better than the regular flat, triangular chips.

My favorite of the above-mentioned three varieties was definitely the zesty ranch.

Unfortunately, the chips were quickly discontinued. I'm not sure if they were meant to be a seasonal item, or a one-time item, but I know that many people really liked Doritos 3D. There is even a Facebook page petitioning Frito-Lay to start producing the snack again.

http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/pages/Doritos-3D/108929805018

Do you remember these chips as fondly as I do?

Nostalgia

When it comes to food, among other things, I can get very sentimental. I guess that sounds kind of ridiculous, but it's true. A lot of my fondest memories are tied into food and what I was eating at the time.

I guess it is not surprising, then, that I am often nostalgic about food, especially items that are no longer carried. I figured I would put this nostalgia into use and start a continuing column about foods that I once loved that now cease to exist, or are difficult to come by.


I decided to start this column with something I only had a handful of times but have never forgotten about: French Toast Crunch. The younger brother of Cinnamon Toast Crunch, a cereal loved by many and still in production, French Toast Crunch only lasted a brief eleven years in the American market.

The whole grain cereal was shaped like little pieces of French toast and was flavored to taste like the breakfast favorite. Apparently, after a few years they changed the cereal to look like Cinnamon Toast Crunch's little squares, and I believe this was their downfall.

Even though I only had the cereal a few times, I to this day, find myself craving it. Fortunately, through a little research, I found out that the cereal is still sold in Canada. Québec: here I come.

Yum!

My next new food product to try