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Veal Piccata / Ron Knerr
LaScala's Fire (Villanova)
Our travels took us through the Villanova area on a weeknight last week and we decided to visit OpenTable find LaScala's Fire. Operating out of a storefront in the Villanova Center, there’s convenient access just off the Villanova exit of the Blue Route.
Through some post-dining research, I learned about the breadth of success of the parent restaurant group. The grandson of Italian immigrants, owner Rob LaScala was inspired by his family’s history of food preparation in South Philadelphia. In 1999 he acquired the Apollo Pizza shop business (Media, PA) with its proprietary pizza dough and sauce recipes and grew the business to six locations, with the 7th location opened in 2005 in Philadelphia serving an expanded menu. Having won numerous “Best of Philly” awards, he renamed the spot LaScala’s Restaurant and Bar.
Read the rest of Ron's column below ...
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Drive Shack Inc.'s "Puttery" coming to Philadelphia
Puttery is a modern spin on putting, re-defining the game within an immersive experience and innovative technology as guests move from one course to the next. With a high-energy atmosphere that combines plentiful curated culinary offerings and inventive craft cocktails centered around a lively bar area with great music, guests can relax and enjoy their evening before, during and after their tee time (businesswire.com). To learn more about the Puttery concept, Drive Shack Inc., and the new location coming to Philly, checkout their website here at puttery.com.
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Puttery Dallas / puttery.com
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What more could the Barstool Sports brand get their hands into?
Barstool Sports is set to open new sports bar in Center City. The digital media juggernaut announced last Thursday that "ground has been broken" on the project. The new sports bar venue although focused on online betting will not be a betting parlor (which would require special licensing), but rather will provide an atmosphere conducive to online sports betting, including all of the food and drinks you could possibly need. Find out more about the project and business ideas behind it here at phillyvoice.com.
As always, if you get the chance to visit before we do let us know what you think by emailing us at amoveablefeastmontco@gmail.com_______________________________________________________________
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Start planning now for Christmas morning Brunch
After the presents have been opened Christmas morning, take the crew out for a meal where everyone can choose from a variety favorite dishes! Located in Skippack Village, one of the most picturesque areas of Montco, Hotel Fiesole is a great place to grab that Christmas morning brunch. Take a stroll through the village to enjoy the holiday décor either before or after their 10am - 2pm brunch hours Christmas morning. Hotel Fiesole is located at 4046 Skippack Pike, Skippack, Pennsylvania 19474. For more information check out their website at hotelfiesole.net.
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Your Guide to Great Food & Great Fun is proud to present out newest feature, an ongoing calendar of fun events in our area. If you have an event you would like to have included just send an email to the A Moveable Feast Guy and he'll take care of the rest!
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Elmwood Park Zoo's Wild Lights
Check out Wild Lights at the Elmwood Park Zoo running November 19th thru December 30th, 5:00 PM - 9:00 PM. Each night of Wild Lights features live entertainment, unique animal encounters, performances, holiday music, and a chance to see Santa himself. Get your tickets here.
Northern Star Farm Winter Fest
Pack up the kids and meet your friends and family at Northern Star Farm on Route 113 in Trappe, PA! With activities ranging from visiting Santa, picking your Christmas tree, to hayrides, a play barn, and live reindeer, this is an event you won't want to miss! Running on Saturdays and Sundays from 10am to 5pm, November 20th thru December 19th, you can find more info and the daily schedules at Northern Star Farms website.
Christmas Village: Philadelphia
Set to return in 2021 with shopping, food, drinks, and ferris wheel! One of the top open-air authentic Christmas markets in the country is back from Thanksgiving to Christmas Eve. Running from November 25th to December 24th, there is something for everyone at the Christmas Village located in LOVE Park at North 15th & Arch Streets. Find more information here!
Winter Wonderland Drive-In Movies
For one weekend only - December 10th, 11th, and 12th, catch some of your holiday favorites on the big screen at the drive-in! The Sunny Brook Ballroom in Pottstown is hosting this family friendly event, and they say space is limited so get your tickets in advance. Find more information on the drive-in here!
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Ways to make your Hanukkah meals a healthy feast
Whole wheat challah and homemade applesauce? Sign us up! To celebrate the start of Hanukkah this past week, here is a great article from realsimple.com showing how to add some healthy options to your feasts.
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There's something about the holidays and going to the movies that just goes together. Sign up to be a member of the A Moveable Feast Members Club, post a foodie photo on Instagram with #amfeastagram, or just send an email to the A Moveable Feast Guy and you'll be entered to win two tickets to a Regal Cinemas near you!
Join our Members Club below and you're automatically entered to win every month. Remember, 10 percent of your 99 cent membership each month goes to the Montco Anti-Hunger Network!
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New swag offer
Put your John Hancock here! Send a link to this newsletter to just 3 of your friends, and if they sign on to receive our free newsletter, or even if they don't, you'll receive this incredibly cool, ultra luxurious A Moveable Feast pen! All you have to do is email us at amoveablefeastmontco to let us know you did indeed send the link to three friends and we'll send you a pen! Oh, and just to make it as easy as possible, here's the link!
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... the rest of Ron's column
Eventual expansion of the business model continued over the years under the LaScala Restaurant Group with a total of eight locations. Rapid growth occurred through business acquisitions LaScala Birra in South Philly (2017- formerly Birra) and Pennsauken (2018- Former Cooper House Restaurant) and ground up constructions at LaScala Pronto in Center City (2011- Spring Garden) and Medford (NJ - 2020) (Pronto specializing in fast service), and LaScala Fire locations in Philly (the 7th and Chestnut original renamed in 2020), Glassboro (NJ - 2018), Marlton (NJ - 2016) and Villanova (2020).
The Villanova location has full bar service with cocktails, beer, and wine offerings. Brightly lit and fitted with marble tables and modern décor, the space is inviting for casual family friendly dining. Pricing is reasonable and service is attentive. Food is made in-house with locally sourced produce when possible, and authentic Italian ingredients are sourced from a specialty purveyor.
Menu choices include a full variety of courses including some interesting creations in numerous categories: Starters (Ricotta or Burrata Boards, Parmigiano Artichoke Crispy, Salads (Beet and Goat Cheese, Octopus, Cranberry and Feta, Meatball Italian), Paninis on Wood Fired Bread (Chicken Italiano, Chicken or Veal Parmigiano, Vegetarian), and Wood Fired Pizza (White Shrimp, Wild Mushroom Truffle, Fig & Smoked Prosciutto, Chicken Bacon Ranch, Brussels Sprout). Of course, there are many traditional Italian creations including Stromboli, Calzone, and entrees choices of Rigatoni Vodka, Gnocchi, Italian Sausage Bolognese, Veal Marsala or Piccata, Baked Lasagna, Spicy Tuna, Grilled Salmon and Seafood Fra Diavolo.
We started with drinks as we perused the menu. I chose the Fire Margarita, prepared with a tasty and not-too sweet mix of Codigo 1530 Rosa Tequila, Cointreau, Lime, Orange, and Agave. DW Sherri chose the house Pino Grigio. Since we had never dined here before, we decided to sample several of their offerings and asked our waitress for guidance on popular choices. We were informed LaScala’s uses a “free-flowing” kitchen, so we ordered two appetizers to start our meal (food orders are entered immediately and delivered whenever completed). We started with Fire Wings which was a favorite of visitors according to our waitress, and a LaScala Wood-fired Pizza. The large wings were well done and had an as-claimed “Sweet and Spicy” sauce with a smoky barbecue undertone. I recommend this appetizer if you like wings that have just a hint of heat and a balanced sauce. We were about halfway through the wings when the pizza arrived on a wood peel (Margherita with half Sausage). The pizza was constructed with the San Marzano tomato house sauce and Fresh Mozzarella with half of the pie piled with crumbled sausage and garnished with fresh basil. The pizza was very good with a brown crunchy crust around the edges, though the bottom crust not as crispy as I would’ve expected.
After the starter courses, it was time to move to the entrees. (Reminder: we had leftovers that went with us, we only sampled all these dishes because of you, our beloved readers) I chose Veal Piccata, arriving as a thick portion of tenderized Veal Cutlet in a Lemon Butter Sauce with Cremini Mushrooms, Capers, and generous dose of garlic over Linguine. This was probably the thickest veal cutlet I ever had in a Piccata preparation, and I suppose it worked because it was well tenderized. (I always gravitate to a Picatta dish as it was my first Italian restaurant entree enjoyed as a youngster at Adolph’s in San Francisco.)
DW Sherri chose Alicia’s Sunday Dinner, which was three large meatballs over Rigatoni and their house tomato sauce and topped with portions of fresh creamy Ricotta. Both the Picatta and the Sunday Dinner arrived at the table rather quickly. The Veal Piccata arrived hot, but DW Sherri’s Rigatoni had some cold spots and in a rare instance for us, we told the waitress who apologetically accepted the plate for a kitchen return. Since there was fresh Ricotta atop the dish, the kitchen refired the entrée and it was delivered at the appropriate temperature on the second attempt rather quickly.
The rapid growth of the LaScala Group is a testament to the brand success. Our experience at the Villanova LaScala's Fire outpost was very good and diners should consider a quick ride on the Blue Route to pay a visit. As the Villanova LaScala's Fire is located near the university, it is wise to make a reservation on Opentable as campus events (basketball games, arts events, Parents and Alumni Weekends) can cause a surge of business.
Rating 3.75/4
LaScala's Fire
789 East Lancaster Avenue
Villanova, PA 19085
Ph: (484) 383-3339
HOURS
Sun - Thurs 11:30 AM - 9 PM
Fri - Sat 11:30 AM - 10 PM
https://www.lascalasfire.com/
https://www.facebook.com/lascalasfirevillanova/
Ron Knerr is a 30+ year cooking hobbyist who has been a “foodie” before the term was popular. His home arsenal includes a smoker, a sous vide immersion heater, a sausage stuffer, and several crockpots. Send comments and suggestions to: RonKnerrFeast@gmail.com
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