{"id":1080,"date":"2008-04-15T12:38:21","date_gmt":"2008-04-15T18:38:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.flovalleynews.com\/?p=1080"},"modified":"2008-04-15T12:38:21","modified_gmt":"2008-04-15T18:38:21","slug":"dining-divas-pias-in-st-charles","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/flovalleynews.com\/?p=1080","title":{"rendered":"Dining Divas: Pia’s in St. Charles"},"content":{"rendered":"

BY LISA KAMPETER<\/p>\n

Character. That\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s what I have to say about Pio\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s in St. Charles. This restaurant has character. You won\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t find fancy furniture, extravagant artwork, or upscale dining. Today\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s classy modernism is checked at the door. Pio\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s family Italian restaurant welcomes the older generation that lived its history and invites the young who want to rediscover the past. <\/p>\n

Pio\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s has character, and the Dining Divas will take character over class any day. Although the burgundy wallpaper, flowered borders, cramped tables (possibly originals from over 50 years ago), and tight powder room need massive renovations, what Pio\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s lacks aesthetically, it makes up with charm. <\/p>\n

Like the delightful gentlemen who happily shuffled out of their booth, reminiscing about “back in the day” when they used to dine there all the time. Or the family of eight, with parents and teens and toddlers all enjoying what\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s been called “the best pizza around”. Our table was placed closely to our neighboring booths, yet we didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t feel intrusive or annoying. It actually felt a bit cozy, especially when our neighbors leaned over to see what we ordered. In the bar, the stools were filled with both young and old sharing stories and taking pleasure in some good Italian food. It was a happy place. A friendly place.<\/p>\n

From our server to the person bussing our table, everyone we encountered seemed happy to be there. Something was in the air. Whatever it was, the Dining Divas were ready to pounce on it. As typical with most Italian restaurants of this kind (like Ponticello\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s and Rizzo\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s), a standard dinner salad accompanies most meals. Get the dressing on the side. As the Newlywed Diva said, her salad was more like “ranch soup.” <\/p>\n

The soup of the day was cream of chicken. What it lacked in flavor, it made up in chicken. The small cup was chock full of chunks of chicken, perfect for a rainy day or as mom\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s special remedy for anything that ails you. <\/p>\n

Remember fried chicken like Grandma used to make? Crunchy and juicy. Pio\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s and Grandma have something in common. Great fried chicken. One Diva ordered it with creamed corn, another rarity. Along with the chicken livers that were on the menu, this so fondly reminded her of home-cooked meals as a child back in Teutopolis, IL. <\/p>\n

Pio\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s serves the classic chicken parmesan, a favorite of the staff. A chicken breast lightly breaded and fried and placed on a bed of spaghetti covered with plenty of sauce and fresh parmesan. Even the Cooking-Challenged Diva could make this “no frills” dinner. <\/p>\n

The ravioli in meat sauce is another simple dish with which you can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t go wrong. Just sprinkle on some fresh parmesan and a little salt and pepper to your liking. I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d recommend asking for a box early, and you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll have plenty for another meal. Although the Picky Diva enjoyed her pasta, she pointed out that the Italian Diva\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s sauce would upstage Pio\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s, if only she\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d cook for them again.<\/p>\n

Those who have been to Pio\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s before would tell you that you have to get the pizza. Not this time for us as we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d all had pizza that week already. But we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d be back.<\/p>\n

Perhaps it was because it was a Thursday and close to the end of a work week. Perhaps it was because baseball season had started, and the Cardinals took the Rockies series. Perhaps it was because the weather was changing and signs of spring were evident. People were happy to be at Pio\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s, and perhaps it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s because Pio\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s reminds us of good times, of our pasts where families still dined together.<\/p>\n

People shared stories of yesteryear and weren\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t considered annoying. Neighbors knew neighbors, looked out for each other, and weren\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t considered nosey. Pio\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s has character and reminds us of the good ol\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 days\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6something fancy artwork, expensive murals, and exquisite cuisine can never guarantee.<\/p>\n

.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

BY LISA KAMPETER Character. That\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s what I have to say about Pio\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s in St. Charles. This restaurant has character. You won\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t find fancy furniture, extravagant artwork, or upscale dining. Today\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s classy modernism is checked at the door. Pio\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s family Italian restaurant welcomes the older generation that lived its history and invites the young who want […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"ocean_post_layout":"","ocean_both_sidebars_style":"","ocean_both_sidebars_content_width":0,"ocean_both_sidebars_sidebars_width":0,"ocean_sidebar":"","ocean_second_sidebar":"","ocean_disable_margins":"enable","ocean_add_body_class":"","ocean_shortcode_before_top_bar":"","ocean_shortcode_after_top_bar":"","ocean_shortcode_before_header":"","ocean_shortcode_after_header":"","ocean_has_shortcode":"","ocean_shortcode_after_title":"","ocean_shortcode_before_footer_widgets":"","ocean_shortcode_after_footer_widgets":"","ocean_shortcode_before_footer_bottom":"","ocean_shortcode_after_footer_bottom":"","ocean_display_top_bar":"default","ocean_display_header":"default","ocean_header_style":"","ocean_center_header_left_menu":"","ocean_custom_header_template":"","ocean_custom_logo":0,"ocean_custom_retina_logo":0,"ocean_custom_logo_max_width":0,"ocean_custom_logo_tablet_max_width":0,"ocean_custom_logo_mobile_max_width":0,"ocean_custom_logo_max_height":0,"ocean_custom_logo_tablet_max_height":0,"ocean_custom_logo_mobile_max_height":0,"ocean_header_custom_menu":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_family":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_subset":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_size":0,"ocean_menu_typo_font_size_tablet":0,"ocean_menu_typo_font_size_mobile":0,"ocean_menu_typo_font_size_unit":"px","ocean_menu_typo_font_weight":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_weight_tablet":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_weight_mobile":"","ocean_menu_typo_transform":"","ocean_menu_typo_transform_tablet":"","ocean_menu_typo_transform_mobile":"","ocean_menu_typo_line_height":0,"ocean_menu_typo_line_height_tablet":0,"ocean_menu_typo_line_height_mobile":0,"ocean_menu_typo_line_height_unit":"","ocean_menu_typo_spacing":0,"ocean_menu_typo_spacing_tablet":0,"ocean_menu_typo_spacing_mobile":0,"ocean_menu_typo_spacing_unit":"","ocean_menu_link_color":"","ocean_menu_link_color_hover":"","ocean_menu_link_color_active":"","ocean_menu_link_background":"","ocean_menu_link_hover_background":"","ocean_menu_link_active_background":"","ocean_menu_social_links_bg":"","ocean_menu_social_hover_links_bg":"","ocean_menu_social_links_color":"","ocean_menu_social_hover_links_color":"","ocean_disable_title":"default","ocean_disable_heading":"default","ocean_post_title":"","ocean_post_subheading":"","ocean_post_title_style":"","ocean_post_title_background_color":"","ocean_post_title_background":0,"ocean_post_title_bg_image_position":"","ocean_post_title_bg_image_attachment":"","ocean_post_title_bg_image_repeat":"","ocean_post_title_bg_image_size":"","ocean_post_title_height":0,"ocean_post_title_bg_overlay":0.5,"ocean_post_title_bg_overlay_color":"","ocean_disable_breadcrumbs":"default","ocean_breadcrumbs_color":"","ocean_breadcrumbs_separator_color":"","ocean_breadcrumbs_links_color":"","ocean_breadcrumbs_links_hover_color":"","ocean_display_footer_widgets":"default","ocean_display_footer_bottom":"default","ocean_custom_footer_template":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"ocean_post_oembed":"","ocean_post_self_hosted_media":"","ocean_post_video_embed":"","ocean_link_format":"","ocean_link_format_target":"self","ocean_quote_format":"","ocean_quote_format_link":"post","ocean_gallery_link_images":"on","ocean_gallery_id":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1080","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-columnists","entry"],"yoast_head":"\nDining Divas: Pia's in St. Charles - flovalleynews.com<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/flovalleynews.com\/?p=1080\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Dining Divas: Pia's in St. Charles - flovalleynews.com\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"BY LISA KAMPETER Character. 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