Some of you might know the Lombardo brothers from their upscale steakhouse Carmine's, located on the ground floor of Drury Plaza Hotel on North Fourth Street, a stone's throw from the Old Courthouse and the Gateway Arch.
Now Anthony and Michael Lombardo have opened a complementary restaurant -- one that's meant to be family friendly -- on the other side of the hotel. It's called Angelo's Taverna (316 Market Street; 314-588-9000), and the menu is packed with pizzas, pastas and enough chicken dishes to make Frank Perdue flash a thumbs-up from the hereafter.
Angelo's is the fifth restaurant in the region opened by the Lombardo family, in a tradition that stretches back to the 1930s, when Sicily native Angelo Lombardo (for whom the new venture is named) opened a trattoria in north city, on the site of his long-standing produce stand. That flagship restaurant, Lombardo's, has since moved downtown, close to Union Station.
Angelo's is designed to give patrons a feeling of old-world warmth, with sepia-toned wallpaper studded with black-and-white photos and old news clippings. The space also pays homage to the Cardinals; Tony Lombardo says he expects to draw a large pre-game crowd -- especially among those fans with kids in tow.
As with all Lombardo restaurants, Angelo's boasts its own homemade toasted or boiled ravioli, which are filled with beef, chicken, spinach and Asiago cheese. Hamburger platters cost $5 from 5 to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday.
Business hours are 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Mon.-Thu. and 11 a.m.-11 p.m. Fri.-Sat.