Week 17 of New Things in 2019 took me south to my hometown. A friend and I, along with one of my daughters, visited Café Arnone. It's advertised as an 'authentic Italian coffee shop.' Since I've never been to Italy, I have no idea how true that is, but we enjoyed ourselves.
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| It was too cold to sit outside, but they do have 'patio seating.' As an aside, it's a pet peeve of mine when the patio seating overlooks a parking lot! You see that a lot around here. Anyway, I ordered avocado toast and a decaf coffee. It was very good, with lots of lemon on the toast. Unfortunately, since I didn't order a specialty coffee, no fancy swirl on top for me. |
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| What I'd really like to do is go back some afternoon and try their gelato. It looked fabulous. |
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| Our real destination for the day was a new shopping place called Northside Marketplace. It's in a revitalized area of downtown and features over 30 up and coming local businesses. From the industrial feel of it, I'm assuming it used to be an old warehouse. |
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| As you can see, there were partitions separating each shopping vignette. I thought the place would be bigger, with that many vendors, but there were 2 or 3 vendors sharing the same rooms. |
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| The merchandise included jewelry, clothing, home décor, soaps, and food items. Some of the items were reasonable and some were very pricey. We saw some $200 wooden bowl sets. |
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| Here's something I could afford: Blueberry Balsamic Vinegar. And those were the two ingredients. It's very thick and rich and I've been drizzling it on my salads. No need for any oil. It's delicious. I really enjoyed myself that day and would love to run a small business like those featured, if only I had something to sell. I'm just not that crafty. |
What a great find. Sounds like you had a good time. I've never had gelato.
ReplyDeleteI like gelato better than ice cream. The best place to get it (in America) is Little Italy! But I did notice they had it at The Venetian, FYI!
DeleteHey, Bijoux:
ReplyDeleteI love when old buildings are brought back to life. Why let them go to waste? I've never been to Akron, but I remember hearing about it in geography class many moons ago.
I agree about the patio-parking lot business. There used to be a rundown bar in my neighborhood that had the nerve to advertise its "outdoor seating." I strongly suspect that was a dingy alleyway in reality, but I didn't have the nerve to find out.
So, an Italian cafe, a new shopping space, and blueberry balsamic vinegar: sounds like a successful trip to your hometown!
I love it when they repurpose buildings, too! We had a friend back in the 80's who lived in an old hat factory in Cleveland. Very cool apartment.
DeleteI crack up at the outdoor seating. They know how desperate we are to be outside after a long winter!
Okay, that place looks very cool! I love the "feel" of the town and how the shops are local businesses.
ReplyDeleteYour avocado toast with coffee sounded delicious! But I agree with you 100%...patio seating overlooking a parking lot is the pitts. Even here, living in a city, I can't stand eating at places that have outside seating that goes to the curb, directly next to passing street traffic, such as buses and their exhaust fumes. Yuck!
I would have really enjoyed walking through Northside Marketplace. We have a place similar here in Philly called, Reading Terminal Market. It used to be an old train station converted into a market of local businesses.
"Blueberry Balsamic Vinegar" YUM-MY!
Thanks so much for sharing Week 17 of New Things in 2019. Enjoyed! X
YES! I can think of a few places in very urban locations where the tables are right next to the street! I am not that desperate for fresh air! LOL! That's neat that you have Reading Terminal Market. Love local businesses!
DeleteWhat? Not a fan of that parking lot view? haha Sounds like you found a nice little spot. Not sure I'd ever pay $200 for a bowl set though.
ReplyDeleteWell, I suppose if the parking lot had some interesting cars like Porsche's or Ferrari's, I might enjoy the view.
DeleteI just bought a nice bowl set at TJ Maxx for a whopping $9.99.
I love places like that! And yes, you should go back for the gelato.
ReplyDeleteI heard the olive oil gelato is delicious, but I'm going to stick with something chocolatey!
DeleteI bet that blueberry balsamic vinegar is indeed delicious on a salad! Looked like a fun outing. I like to try places like this and go shopping like places like that mall. I never buy anything (usually) but love how creative people are grouping together what they will be selling.
ReplyDeletebetty
I liked the little 'shops' a lot. It was almost like visiting rooms in a house. I hope the businesses succeed!
DeleteSee... now I need to get me some ice-cream. Italian ice-cream.
ReplyDeleteBlue raspberry?
DeleteGelato looks delicious...yummy
ReplyDeleteIt's a treat.
DeleteGreat place, gelatos are so delicious and balsamic vinegar is a great addition to salads, yum ☺
ReplyDeleteWelcome and thank you!
DeleteOnce upon a time, I worked for a company that was owned by Goodyear, so I used to go to Akron with some regularity. I never really had time for much sightseeing, but I do remember this one restaurant we often ate at - the Diamond Grill, I think? Excellent steaks. . .
ReplyDeleteDiamond Grill is legendary. It was linked with mobsters and other nefarious sorts in the past. I've never been, probably because my parents would not have taken me! I think they only accept cash, which adds to the shadiness of the place! But yes, definitely known for their steaks.
DeleteI can't resist buying flavored balsamic vinegars because the samples are so good in the store, but then I never know what to do with them. There are only so many vinaigrettes you can make, lol.
ReplyDeleteSome are good drizzled on roasted vegetables. I've also used them as part of a marinade for fish, chicken or beef, depending on the flavor.
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