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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (March 23, 2000)
] U ks By JJ. Harder Staff writer This is a bittersweet time for Haymarket visitors. Inn Harms Way, Lincoln’s leading seafood restaurant, recently closed its doors. Just two weeks later, Di Napoli, an upscale Italian restaurant, took its place. I thought it would be hard to fill the shoes of Inn Harms Way, but not only did Di Napoli fill the vacated loafers, it created some new ones that are bigger and better. Di Napoli is actually one restau rant in a chain - of two. There is anoth er one in Boulder, Colo., that offers less of a fine dining atmosphere and more pizzas and carryout. But the Nebraska version of Di Napoli buf faloes the rest of the Italian competi tion in town. I visited the eatery on only the sec ond night it was open, and it was almost full. I hadn’t seen any adver tisements or commercials for it either - apparently good news did travel fast in this case. Di Napoli has remnants of Inn Harms Way - real train station bench es left over from the depot next door and an intricate picture of a ship scene frosted on a glass window. But the Every Thursday, Friday and Saturday night 11:00 p.m. to 3:00 a.m. Must present NU student ID Questions? Suggestions? E-mail us at: nuonwheels@unl.edu walls are now red and adorned with oversized wine posters from overseas. The theme is simple but sharp. The menu sticks to the same phi losophy - Di Napoli does a few things, and it does those things well. For appe tizers, it offers calamari, focaccia, shrimp scampi and a few other items. The shrimp didn’t have a fishy taste and had a nice, subtle garlic flavor. The focaccia bread was more of a grainy, hearty type of bread - not the kind you’ll find at the Olive Garden, but very unique. The entrees are where Di Napoli really separates itself from the rest. Sure, they have spaghetti marinara and other traditional dishes, but you shouldn’t waste time on the classics. Di Napoli’s strength is in the sauces that aren’t of the usual marinara or alfredo variety. The pasta alia picat t 1 ta is a light sauce with capers flavored with lemon. The sweet marsala sauce is a brownish concoction made with a spice often used in Indian food. The menu also offers carcioffi pesto, riga toni bolognese and a host of other seafood and meat sauces. Each pasta dish can be ordered with chicken, veal or shrimp for an extra charge. The veal is very tender and moist, but the chicken is dry and hard to cut. The dishes come on a plate that takes up half of the table. And I can bet that you won’t be able to finish your entree - the portions are huge. The outer rim is garnished with parsley flakes, creating an aesthetically pleas ing addition: Di Napoli knows presen tation is everything. The restaurant does have a few faults. The two-person tables are too 5jpi Napoli •i* .. x TYPE: Fine Italian dining WHERE: Seventh and P streets MEAL: $10-30 FIVE WORDS: The 'Rocky' of Italian restaurants. small to accommodate the normal number of dishes for a meal. And Di Napoli’s a la carte menu can trick you into paying more than you’d like, if you are counting pennies. But all in all, Di Napoli showcases some great food in a great environment. The blah taste of the national chains can’t compare, and Pane e Vino’s location and atmos phere finish second. Ladies and gentlemen, we have a new Italian champion of Lincoln. Yellow Subs not worth the trio ■ Sub and pizza shop a dive, with food to match By JJ. Harder Staff writer Some things are just destined for failure. Yellow Subs and Pizza is a sandwich shop that is one those things. The restaurant has been open since December, but it took me three months to find out it even existed. And because I’m always on the look out for new places to eat, this is a very bad sign. It’s located in a mini-plaza at 33i Street and Pioneers Boulevard, bo; dered by a hair salon and a copy sho] The marquee presents a sign about £ big as the paper you’re reading. Hare to-find is an understatement for th place. But even after finally figuring 01 where Yellow Subs actually is, it doe: n’t get much better. The restaurai closes at 7 p.m., which isn’t too cor ducive to the schedule of a colleg student. So if you’re going to stop b which I don’t recommend, make sui you’re there on non-Amigo’s hours. the bouncer at your favorite hangout doesn't count as a graduation countdown class of 2000 network graduation announcements online gift registry V’eal world guide ^careers and a whole lot more I0§ Mad2000.com from your friends at The Daily Nebraskan The right start the ® JOBTOAK.COM “The best site for students l ™ 1 1% M, Hill mw grads looking for their first job." - Forbes Magazine 1 d |2 Yellow Subs ;• ft1& Pizza s ippw TYPE: Pizza & sandwich [ shop ls FT >: WHERE: 4209 S. 33rd St. MEAL: $3.50-6 :p:::p FIVE WORDS: Bad every thing - don't try it! lt Inside, Yellow Subs has all the makings of a classic dive. There’s a e small counter and a few booths ?■> crammed into a comer. The walls are e painted in that low-budget speckled style. It seems like the kind of place you and your friends could hang out at - well, at least until 7. But, unlike other Lincoln dives, such as M&N Sandwich Shop or the Isles Pub, Yellow Subs is missing one major component - good food. The pizza was so bad that my roommates and I couldn’t even finish it (a indicator of something terribly wrong). The crust tasted like it was bought frozen and thawed out - regardless of its actual freshness. The sauce was too strong and inconsistent - at times tasting sweet, at others spicy. There was a good amount of meat, but it was crusty. And the cheese stuck together so we couldn’t break apart the slices - the most annoying problem with crappy pizza places. And even though the “Subs” come first in the name, they rank even behind the pizza. I ordered a 6-inch ham and turkey, and I wanted it with lettuce, pickles and cheese. They did n’t have lettuce. They didn’t have pickles. And they didn’t have cheese. This is an establishment that is sup posed to be a sub shop - but not doing a very good job of it. So I ordered the sub without anything on it. When I picked it up, I was sur prised to find cheese. That was nice. I also discovered mustard and mayon naise. I know special orders are annoying, but getting them wrong is much more annoying. At any rate, the sub was a sandwich I could have made at home for under a buck, and they charged me more than $3. The meatball sub was the best of the items, but that’s like winning a D 2 basketball tourney. The meatballs were probably frozen, but tasted okay. The bun was toasted just enough to provide a balance of crispiness and chewiness. Several more hot and cold sandwiches are on the menu, but I can’t imagine they’re much better. Yellow Subs & Pizza has a bad location, bad service, bad atmosphere and bad food. All I can say is that it rates as one of the worst places I’ve ever eaten in my entire life. “Can / send a # thank-you note by e-mail?” I get all the answers. unl.eGrad2000.com