The Coraopolis Record

Coraopolis

Restaurants

The photo above is of Isaly's, which held its Mill Street location for 40 years through several remodellings and different fronts. Isaly's was a busy place. Downtown Coraopolis was filled with businesses, all of which had secretaries, receptionists, typists, clerks, salespeople, managers, executives and owners, and most of them ate lunch at Isaly's. Women coming downtown to shop stopped at Isaly's for a snack and a package of Chipped Ham before heading up the hill to home. Men getting off the train from working in Pittsburgh would stop at Isaly's for "the best cup of coffee in town." After football and basketball games the place was packed. Before and after dances at the Y, junior and senior high students dropped by. After the theatres let out, the movie crowd invaded. Women grocery shopping at the Giant Eagle would wait and buy their Milk, Ice Cream, Cottage Cheese and Baked or Chipped Ham at Isaly's. There was no Isaly's on Neville Island or in Moon or any of the surrounding townships, so anyone wanting some of the famous Chipped Ham, ice cream or other specialties had to come to the Cory location. Isaly's was even a destination unto itself; a guy would ask a girl what she wanted to do and if they'd already seen the movies playing and there was no dance or game, she's shrug and say, "Let's go down to Isaly's."

Cafe Gianna is in the former Tootsie's location on the west end of 5th Avenue. It's another breakfast & lunch restaurant, open 7 - 2 six days a week with Mondays off. The Breakfast menu offers the usual favorites plus Breakfast Sandwiches, Corn Beef Hash and Chicken & Waffles. Already, their four kinds of Omelettes and four kinds of Waffles have proven popular with the morning crowd. As you would expect from a restaurant specializing in Breakfast, their Coffees are very good, especially the Pumpkin Spice, Mountain Maple and Candy Apple.

The Lunch menu features eight kinds of Hoagies, of which we like the Vegetarian and Hot Sausage. They offer seven sandwiches, the most popular being the Fish, Veggie and, a throwback to the 1950s, the Open Faced Hot Roast Beef smothered in gravy. There are five Salads and a rotating list of Soups, of which so far the favorites have been the Country Veggie Chicken and the Stuffed Pepper.

Millie's, on 5th Avenue in the very center of Coraopolis, bills itself as a European Kitchen. It's been here since 1980, so while it's decades short of Cory's older restaurants, it's still been here four decades, which is pretty impressive in the precarious restaurant business. It's really an Italian restaurant with Greek, German, Polish, Hungarian and Ukrainian cuisine comprising about 40% of the menu and even a few American items thrown in. The Italian entrees are fine, but it's really the other food you come here for. As an Appetizer, we highly recommend the Borscht and Sauerkraut Soups, especially since very few restaurants in the Western Hills serve either one. They offer six kinds of Salad. Their Gyros, Pitas, Hoagies, Pierogies, Haluskis, Stuffed Cabbages and Cheburekis are delicious. On the Italian side of the menu, we're not too impressed with their Pizzas, although their Ukrainian, Seafood and Veggie Pizzas are worth trying. But among the Appetizers, we really like their Crostinis (toasted bread topped with various hors d'oeuvres) and Meat Cheese Trays. Of their Sandwiches, we think their best are the Capicola (grilled pork and cheese), Calabreze, Chicken Portabello, Saporito and Gotti. Their Paisano Sandwich contains mortadello, fontinella and mozarella and is popular with locals who love good Italian cheeses. This is about it. Millie's doesn't offer Eggplant Parmesan, Ravioli or the other Italian favorites. They do offer very good versions of American classics : Patti Melt, Hot Turkey Sandwich, Philly Cheese Steak, Po' Boys, Grilled Ham & Cheese and Virginia Baked Ham. But who comes to a European / Italian restaurant to order American food? It also offers pretty good Coffee, Tea and Cappucino, plus the usual soft drinks. Desserts include Cannoli, Turnovers, Carrot Cake and Cheese Cake. The ambience is a bit stark; locals come here for the food and aren't looking for statues, paintings and music.

Zuko's Pizza is a carryout only storefront on 5th Avenue next to the parking lot, across from the old municipal building. They deliver to any address in Cory, Neville, and the near parts of Moon, Kennedy and Robinson. Zuko's bills itself as a pizzeria but in fact pizza is not what they do best. The entrees they do really well are their Calzones, Strombolis, Hoagies and Wings. The Calzones are the stars of the show. Zuko's offers Original (ham, pepperoni, onion, green pepper, hot pepper, mozzarella and marinara sauce), Meatball and Steak Calzones and every one is outstanding. Their Calzones are huge. You will get two meals out of one. You can have the remainder for lunch tomorrow or split it with a companion. Strombolis come in Original, Veggie, Italian and Four Cheese, all huge and flavorful. No one in the Western Hills does them as well. Zuko's takes pride in their Hoagies, offering Italian, Meatball, Ham & Cheese, Veggie, BLT, Steak & Cheese, four kinds of Chicken, Honey Mustard and Fish. They're big, fresh and very good. The wings here are outstanding. Zuko's offers 30 varieties, in six, 12, 24 or 36 piece boxes. As for their Pizzas, they come in Traditional, Sicilian (square) and Specialty. The Specialty lineup includes Hawaiian, White, Bacon Cheese, Buffalo, BBQ, Philly Steak, Veggie and Meat. As usual, you have your choice of numerous additional toppings, like black olives, anchovies, spinach and mushrooms. Zuko's offers one Gyro, but it's good. There are six Salads. Sides include bread sticks, cheese balls, fries, zucchini, onion rings and pepperoni rolls. The number is 412-262-2299.

Five Stars is Cory's new Honduran restaurant. It's on 4th Avenue, between the Sauce Pot and the National Guard Armory, in the former LaBello's building. The "five stars" refers to the five stars on the Honduran flag, which symbolize the five members of the old Central American Federation. Five Stars is bright clean and decorated with Honduran art, paintings depicting various Central American scenes.

Five Stars offers authentic Honduran cuisine, beginning with Empanadas. Owner Ever Costello considers this the restaurant's specialty. You can order Corn or Flour Empanadas, with either Chicken or Beef filling. Even if you only order a few as an Appetizer, you really have to try them. They're delicious. The second Five Star specialty is authentic Honduran Soup. If you're a big soup conneisseur, this is your place. These are serious Soups. They come in large bowls, intended to be your full entree. A bowl costs $16. You can order Sopa de Res (beef soup), Sopa de Pollo (chicken soup) or Sopa de Mariscos en Crema de Coco (coconut seafood soup). The soups are crammed full of meats and vegetables and really are a whole meal. As a matter of fact, we've watched several customers unable to finish the large bowls. There are Honduran Tacos, Tamales and Tajedas, several Chicken, Fish and Meat entrees, especially Pescado Fritos (fish deep fried in olive oil, sprinkled with salt and lemon), El Tipco Carne Asada (marinated and grilled beef with lemon and cilantro), and Baleadas (a traditional Honduran breakfast roll, this is a flour tortilla stuffed with eggs, onions, cheese, avocado and various other items).

In what we think is a tragic mistake, the restaurant does not serve any of the famous Honduran Coffees. Many conneisseurs think Honduran is the finest Coffee in the world. It has a rich, chocolate flavor. But, alas, all you get here is the basic Columbia Coffee you cn buy at any grocery store. It's a very good Coffee, but not Honduran.

There are, however, several tempting desserts, ranging from Rice Pudding to Plantains.