When Sala da Pranzo opened across from the UW-Milwaukee campus in 2001, it was a godsend for a neighborhood that, perhaps surprisingly, had few, if any, dining options beyond fast food.
But Sala da Pranzo wasn't a place that was going to make us settle for whatever we could get. No, brother and sister Tony and Teresa Balistreri had created a warm, welcoming space, greeted customers with smiles and offered good, hearty food at a reasonable price.
Two months later, we wrote the first story about the restaurant.
So, we greeted the news that Sala da Pranzo turned 10 last month with surprise at how time flies and with pleasure that such a good, no-nonsense place has caught the fancy of Milwaukee diners.
We asked Teresa about the past decade over on Hampshire Street.
OnMilwaukee.com: Do you know the exact date of the anniversary?
Teresa Balistreri: Oct. 2, 2001 was our first day.
OnMilwaukee.com: Are you doing anything to continue to celebrate?
TB: We are offering our friends and family discount to all of our patrons Tuesday through Thursday until the end of November. There is a coupon for this on our website. We have also been doing other specials through Facebook and Twitter.
OMC: Did you have any idea at the beginning that 10 years later you'd still be doing this?
TB: Well, we wanted it to last, but we were pretty much living for the day. My brother and I were in our early 20s and at that age is anyone thinking about 10 years later?!
OMC: What has been your biggest challenge over this decade?
TB: Dealing with the economic climate over the last few years.
OMC: And what has been your biggest surprise?
TB: How our patrons are so faithful and encouraging to us. We have found that word of mouth has been our best marketing tool. We are very grateful for all of the support from the community that has developed around the reastaurant.
OMC: How has the menu changed over the years?
TB: It has evolved, for sure, but we still use our own family recipe for marinara sauce. We did not want to serve meatballs when we first opened, and now that's one of our most popular dishes. Tony's unique eggplant appetizer and his tiramisu are still some of our most popular requests and have also been on the menu from the beginning. Our nightly specials keep evolving to reflect current culinary trends and also include more and more locally grown items.
OMC: Do you hope to do another 10 years or are you looking to try something a little different?
TB: We have some exciting changes coming soon, so stay tuned! I also wanted to add that we are starting two new promotions beginning Tuesday Nov. 15. Tuesday will be meatball day, for $5 you get a small house salad and a dish of pasta with one meatball. Wednesday will be mussels day, $5 for a dish of steamed mussels. These will be available every Tuesday and Wednesday.
Born in Brooklyn, N.Y., where he lived until he was 17, Bobby received his BA-Mass Communications from UWM in 1989 and has lived in Walker's Point, Bay View, Enderis Park, South Milwaukee and on the East Side.
He has published three non-fiction books in Italy – including one about an event in Milwaukee history, which was published in the U.S. in autumn 2010. Four more books, all about Milwaukee, have been published by The History Press.
With his most recent band, The Yell Leaders, Bobby released four LPs and had a songs featured in episodes of TV's "Party of Five" and "Dawson's Creek," and films in Japan, South America and the U.S. The Yell Leaders were named the best unsigned band in their region by VH-1 as part of its Rock Across America 1998 Tour. Most recently, the band contributed tracks to a UK vinyl/CD tribute to the Redskins and collaborated on a track with Italian novelist Enrico Remmert.
He's produced three installments of the "OMCD" series of local music compilations for OnMilwaukee.com and in 2007 produced a CD of Italian music and poetry.
In 2005, he was awarded the City of Asti's (Italy) Journalism Prize for his work focusing on that area. He has also won awards from the Milwaukee Press Club.
He has be heard on 88Nine Radio Milwaukee talking about his "Urban Spelunking" series of stories, in that station's most popular podcast.
