In books by Somerset Maughm the typesetter always puts the word spaghetti in italics because it was considered exotic. Even until just twenty years ago, in this country Italian was considered ethnic food. However, it’s such a part of my life, I see it as just one branch of American food; all because of a restaurant in Altoona, PA called Lena’s. It’s my families favorite and I have been taken there since I was a little kid. Lena has pinched my cheek.
The sauce recipe was created by Lena herself and is now cooked by her son and grandson. It’s the epitome of a family restaurant and my folks know all the staff and normally most of the patrons. All this is wonderful, but the hook is the sauce. It’s a simple tomato sauce that must also contain crack. When I’m a away from home, I crave what you see in today’s pic: homade noodles with two meatballs, all covered in that heavenly gravy.
DineSite.com Lena’s Cafe Write-up
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Site of the Day: Via Gothamist, the Times has a graphic of all the strip clubs in the city. Nice. Also, they have a shot of some guy with tongs.