LOCAL REVIEW: tg's of Kenosha

Hot beef sandwiches (or also sometimes called Italian beef sandwiches) are probably one of the most perfect sandwiches out there. And thankfully, my little town of Kenosha is crawling with restaurants who offer this delectable combination of succulent pot roast-esque beef, thick absorbent bread, and flavorful au jus. You can find a hot beef pretty much anywhere you go! Well- maybe not if you went out for Chinese or Mexican, but you get the picture. But in all my years of living here in town, I've never been to tg's Restaurant & Pub, self-proclaimed "Home of Kenosha's Famous Hot Beef." Not really an outrageous claim- Many Kenoshans have been to tg's to try their hot beef and even go as far as to say they make THE BEST hot beef. And today, I finally got to go and experience what everyone's been talking about.

REVIEW: Trolley Dogs

Trolley Dogs is a small corner restaurant located in downtown Kenosha, which has been selling delicious hot dogs since 2003. All of their hot dogs are made with Fresh Vienna JUMBO Dogs, and are served up in many different styles: There's the classic Chicago Dog, the savory Chili Dog, the Kenosha Dog (a hot dog with cheese), the meaty Bacon Dog, an Octo-Dog for the kids, and even the eponymous Trolley Dog, which is a tamale and a hot dog all together in the same bun! Today, my Dad took my brother and me to Trolley Dogs for dinner. Even with all the unique hot doggy options on the menu, I wasn't feeling in the weenie mood, so I purchased an Italian Beef for $5.00.

REVIEW: Cafe La Scala (aka The Italian Community Center)

My Italian class had planned a field trip to go see Le nozze di Figaro, or the Marriage of Figaro, an Italian opera which was written by, believe it or not, Mozart himself! I didn't know Mozart had written operas before this trip had been brought up. It's pretty impressive that the man can write a whole opera in a completely different language from his own. I can barely write a whole paragraph in a different language, you know?
Well, anyway, this field trip was optional, but all the Italian classes taught at my school were invited. Mama had offered to drive some kids over to the opera, which was in Milwaukee, and I was afraid we might get stuck with a bunch of students who were either painstakingly annoying and immature, or so unrelatable that the car ride would get extremely awkward. I was on pins and needles, really! But in the end, everybody in our car was an adult chaperone. And it turns out that, altogether, only 25 people had signed up to go in the first place. Even better was that the students were the more mature, more wittier kids at school. Va bene! Needless to say, the car ride went much better than expected. Adults can provide much greater conversations than I'd get out of most of the students at school. But am I sounding condescending? Well,  I'll just move right along then!