Adriana’s (on the Hill)

Guess what, I actually did make it to Adriana’s for lunch. I mentioned it on this previous post. I even found it on the first try! Fortunately the reviews were a little out of date. First, they do take credit cards (yeah!). Second, there was no line out the door, even during the lunch rush. However, the reviews I read were right about one thing-this place has great cheap Italian food, though it does take a little work.

First you have to make your way to the order window. This is no small task. This corner restaurant is stuffed full of tables. A good thing on a busy day, a bad thing when you are traveling with a car seat. We ended splitting up I went to the counter while Bethany, Brendan and the baby grabbed us a table. This means I had the sole responsibility of picking out the food. Luckily, this restaurant had a clean and readable menu on the wall. I looked around and saw that the sandwiches were twice as wide as your average Subway sub, so I figured one sub and a side salad would fill the three of us up.

Side salad, really? There has to be something better. However, when that side salad has the name of the restaurant in it (Adriana’s Salad – $4.25) it’s going to be something special. It was made with fresh and crisp mixed greens, Pimento, artichocke hearts, red onions, Provel (a St. Louis specialty cheese-you haven’t lived till you’ve tried it), parmesan, the house Vinaigrette which seemed to be infused with fresh herbs, and it was all topped off with salami and ham! Yes, all that did fit on a small salad (that wasn’t that small).

The accompanying sub wasn’t to be scoffed at either. I went for Sunny’s Veggie sandwich. It’s description doesn’t sound too exciting-mozzarella, Parmesan, lettuce, tomato, green pepper, artichoke hearts and pesto dressing. However, the cheese held it all together, the pesto was bursting with flavor and the bread was fresh baked. I’m not talking Subway fresh baked I’m talking little Italian bakery fresh baked. Yes there is a difference, go to Adriana’s, you’ll see. Sunny’s Veggie sandwich came in at $7.50. That sounds pricey until you realize that it easily feeds two people so really it’s only $3.75/person. Take that with the $4.25 (not so) small salad we split and the fact that our 4 year old ate with us our total food bill was $11.25 or $3.75/person. Pretty darn good price for an excellent Italian lunch.