Welcome back, Old Chicago Pizza

Although we usually order our pizzas to go, often stocking up on a couple of them to get us through a long Dillion Beach weekend, it is very exciting to see that Old Chicago Pizza is again open to indoor dining. There are few things that bring back the nostalgia and comfort of my childhood quite like dining in at Old Chicago (especially if that is followed by a visit to the bowling alley.) Monday, May 24, marked their indoor reopening, and if my eyes did not deceive me, one of their social media photos included a bottle of pinot noir from Hart’s Desire, which is one of our favorite small local wineries. And don’t forget that Old Chicago Pizza also has a delivery/to-go location in the OSH shopping center at the corner of Old Redwood Highway and Petaluma Boulevard North. Additionally, I recently learned that Old Chicago offers “par-baked” pizzas to go. In an enlightening discussion, it was revealed that most pizza joints, including Old Chicago, offer partially cooked to-go pizzas which you can store in your fridge or freezer and then pop into the oven in case the mood calls for pizza.

Soft shell crabs

Chef Joe O’Donnell over at Seared always has something interesting up his sleeve and this past weekend it was “first of the year soft shell crab sandwiches” for the weekend lunch special. I don’t know if he is offering them again this weekend, but if he is, we’re surely going to try one. It’s specials like these that have us encouraging everyone to keep a watchful eye on your favorite restaurant’s social media pages as these kinds of specials often only pop up for a weekend or two, never to return.

Dandy Sandos

While on the topic of sandwiches, Dandy Sandos is certainly starting off on the right foot in their rebranding of the former Mr. Pickle’s location. For the month of June, they want to show their appreciation for Petaluma’s high school students. “We want to show our appreciation for the Class of 2021. You beautiful, young adults have killed it this year. In honor of your hard work and restless determination, receive $2 off your Dandy Sandos order, for the month of June. Must present your student ID.”

Dandy Sandos also stepped up and created a “BLAST” after customer Cathryn Porcelli made the suggestion for a BLT wrap. The BLAST is bacon, lettuce, avocado, spinach and tomato and has been a big hit. Dandy Sandos has also been experimenting with breakfast burritos, one of which we were lucky enough to sample while visiting a few weeks ago.

We were also lucky enough to try one of the new breakfast burritos, which is a great addition to the east-side’s breakfast burrito choices. Dandy Sandos is located at 3100 Lakeville Highway. For those that don’t, this is the southeast corner of Lakeville and South McDowell, next to Starbucks.

More east-side sandwiches

The east-side has added two more excellent spots for sandwiches – Eggspresso and Café Bellini. Both have garnered great reviews. Kim Rolly Brothers posted an enticing photo of Eggspresso’s corned beef sandwich, which comes with plenty of tender corned beef, pickles and is topped with a fried egg, if you so choose. They also offer plenty of other choices, such as avocado toast, sausage and bacon, egg and cheese for breakfast and everything from a cheeseburger to short rib sandwiches and salads for lunch. They also have pastries and plenty of hot and cold coffee choices. Eggspresso is located in the Trader Joe’s shopping center, where Acre Coffee used to be.

And just as I was updating the Petaluma Foodies page with a photo of Café Bellini’s short rib sandwich, I heard from friend and Vine & Barrel owner, Jason Jenkins, telling me that Café Bellini’s short rib sandwich is off the hook, as is the rest of their food. “...ask for the aux jus they serve with the trip sando. Dip until death becomes you.” Now that things are opening back up more widely, Café Bellini is at the top of our list for “new” restaurants to try and report back on. You can expect a feature article on them in the next few weeks.

Amer the Gamer

One last sandwich mention that deserves mention is the Amer the Gamer sandwich (and t-shirt) offered by Lucchesi’s Deli and named in honor of Petaluma’s very own sportscaster, “Amy G.” (Amy Gutierrez). The sandwich was created by Amy G. herself and consists of roast beef, smoky cheddar cheese, creamy pesto sauce, pickles, onions, lettuce and horse radish. And, best of all, a portion of all sales are donated to the Petaluma Educational Foundation and have been since the sandwich was first introduced almost 10 years ago.

BBQ cocktails

Just in time for Memorial Day weekend, Sonoma Portworks is offering a barbecue cocktail package with one bottle each of ARIS California port and port barrel reserve California brandy, plus the recipe for their refreshing barbecue cocktail, all for just $68, including shipping. Use coupon code PUNCH at checkout. The order deadline for the East Coast was May 25, but for the rest of us looking to pick up or have it shipped locally, the offer expires on May 31. portworks.com

Fundraiser

Sonoma Spice Queen is currently participating in the UNICEF fundraiser to help India deal with the pandemic relief. They will donate 20% of all sales, both in-store and online, for the week ending May 30. “We get many of our organic spices from India and tons of inspiration for the shop.” sonomaspicequeen.com