Thursday, June 11, 2020

Ate and Ate Mine With About 19 Options

At the start of my morning run on Tuesday, I fell down, twisting my foot and scraping my hand. I continued the run with a slight ache in my thigh. When I arrived home, I initially felt lucky: no sprained ankle, some lost skin but no bloody scratches. However that ache grew throughout the day until I could barely climb the stairs. I have been musing in recent posts about pains from aging. Yet incapacitating injuries are another danger. My landlord died last year after breaking his second hip. He barely recovered from breaking his first from the year before. One came about while getting mail and the other occurred at the kitchen table.

By Wednesday, the muscle ache and spasm, though still present, had stabilized in my left thigh but a twinge was creeping into my right ankle. I felt optimistically well enough to go outside for some sun. So I hobbled all the way to Little Italy to check out another eatery that opened just before the pandemic. Ballaro, an Italian spot, sat next to Rudy Burger. During the current lockdown, they were offering take-out friendly food like burgers and 19 types of lasagna under the moniker Mission Lasagna, complete with insignia-style logo. Each option was named after a woman and ranged from $11 (Caterina) to $18 (Angelina). I chose the 4-cheese Sasha ($16) and made my way to Fred Hamilton Park.

This was a decadent, rich and gooey concoction of mozzarella, parmiggiano, provalone, and gorgonzola. Slightly charred around the edges, it was a nice salty crust. The bechamel sauce upped the creaminess. Luckily, the noodles wasn't over-cooked and provided a firm base. Much better than my last order. The downside was that this small entrée, about the size of your palm, won't satisfy your hunger. You'll need to shell out more for a complete meal or bring extra food. But Ballaro does offer cheaper choices so it could still work for those on a budget.

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