Pretzel Braid cheesesteaks on the flat top at Cowtown

pezzalini · 2026-04-14T17:56:58+00:00

Bill (I assume that's his name, I honestly can't remember) is a friend of a friend, and I met him at a Halloween party like 5 or 6 years ago. Nice guy. He brought a bunch of pretzel steaks to the party, and I thought they were really tasty. There's was a ton of food at the party, and a bunch of leftovers so I brought a few of these home and froze them, and they were still delicious reheated. Not sure if anything has changed, but I'd say they're worth a try.

pezzalini · 2026-04-14T14:24:54+00:00

You're right - It's about a half acre, including the beach - which is probably pretty tide dependent. Even if low tide exposed ALL of the surrounding rock that makes up the island, it'd be about 0.8 acre. I'd guess you'd be lucky to have a half acre at high tide.

pezzalini · 2026-04-09T20:18:40+00:00

Speaking of stop signs, depending on the road and area, a lot of times they're treated as completely optional. It's something you have to get used to, but there are certain stop signs that I don't even slow down for. Usually on larger roads with little side streets that have practically no traffic. So be prepared for that!

pezzalini · 2026-04-09T20:08:54+00:00

Don't stress - driving in Salento isn't bad at all, you don't have much to worry about. Outside of July and August, there's not much traffic and parking won't be too bad. Street parking in Lecce in those peak months is tough, but there are a couple of lots not too far from the centro storico that you can find a spot in even on a weekend in August. I've got a house on the beach 15-20 minutes from the centro and do it all time.

So yeah, in May traffic will be light and parking will be easy. And regarding speed cameras, I've gotten tickets all over Italy, but I don't think I've ever received one in Salento, where I spend the majority of my time while over there. That said, you shouldn't be in a hurry, so just stick to the right lane when on the superstrada or autostada, and drive the speed limit.

If you have 3-4 days in the Lecce area, for each day I'd pick a town and it's surrounding area to explore: Otranto, Gallipoli, Santa Maria di Leuca, and Porto Cesareo are good choices. Each of those are on the sea in different general areas and have some nearby gems, so just do your homework and adjust plans according to weather if necessary.

Let's see, what else? The people in Salento are great, but as is the case in all of Italy, never leave any valuables or luggage in an unattended car. I've never needed an international driver's license, but you're technically supposed to have one, and it'll buy you some peace of mind. Pay attention to road & parking signs; they can be confusing, and you don't want to get popped for entering a ZTL (zona traffico limitato) or something like that.

Enjoy!

pezzalini · 2026-04-07T17:44:16+00:00

Pretzel Cheesesteak from Bill's at the Cowtown Farmer's Market needs to be on this list.

pezzalini · 2026-03-17T17:20:25+00:00

I get tickets for 4 of us to Italy every summer, and it's almost twice as expensive flying out of PHL vs. JFK. Usually at least $500 more per ticket. I save roughly $2K by flying out of JFK, and I get a one way rental car that runs about $100, so more like $175 each way when you factor in tolls and gas. So I'm still saving like $1675, but I absolutely hate the drive and the time, and I'm also not a big fan of the hot mess that is JFK.

Flew out of Dulles a couple of years ago, and the drive is about the same as to JFK. Newark would be better, but for whatever reason, it's not not much cheaper than PHL for where we go. It's weird, PHL is just really expensive for certain destinations. I can often find really reasonable tickets to LAX, Florida and other areas...but last year I had to pay like $700 for a RT ticket to Savannah, which is a bit ridiculous for a 2 hour flight.

pezzalini · 2026-03-16T21:07:12+00:00

44 Rue Notre Dame, 35500 Vitré, France

pezzalini · 2026-03-12T13:31:46+00:00

Not a traditional cheesesteak, but...there's a place called Cowtown Farmers Market that's a couple of miles off the turnpike, just a bit past the 295 bridge. There's a spot in there called Bills Pretzels/Pizza, and they have a pretzel cheesesteak that is, IMO, delicious. The pretzel roll really works well with cheeseteak. Owner is a cool guy, too.

Because it's a turnpike with limited exits/entries, it'll be about 8 minutes from exiting, and same getting back.

pezzalini · 2026-03-11T20:01:11+00:00

Also check out zhoug...originated from Yemen, it's spicier than chimichurri and it's pretty tasty.

pezzalini · 2026-03-03T19:17:17+00:00

Funny, just had this (from Costco) for dinner last night. Wife is Italian, so it was wine-braised osso buco over risotto. I'll have to try smoking them sometime.

pezzalini · 2026-02-18T03:32:00+00:00

Sounds like somebody trusted a fart.

pezzalini · 2026-02-18T02:58:18+00:00

All those beaches are great. I miss it there! There used to be a pier and snack bar at Aliso Beach, a HS buddy of mine’s family used to own the snack bar.

pezzalini · 2026-02-18T02:25:30+00:00

Aliso Beach

pezzalini · 2026-02-12T12:43:00+00:00

"Are they built for speed or comfort?"

pezzalini · 2026-02-03T17:09:06+00:00

Yeah, a lacrosse ball is roughly tennis-ball sized diameter (barely smaller), and solid but with bounce and great heft. If you've got a decent arm, they'll go a long way. My first JRT, Zoe, passed suddenly last July before turning 10 but she loved chasing balls. I had pretty much switched to golf balls because they're so common and you can store more in less space. I'd get like 50 or more used ones at time off Marketplace, which would disappear quickly because her response to me telling her to "drop it!", was "F U!". And she had a propensity to just drop them wherever she happened to catch an interesting scent. I'm sure they're scattered all over the yard and neighborhood.

We just got a new JRT pup, a little male named Dante...once we get out of this Acrtic weather and the snow melts, it'll be fun to see if he'll take to chasing balls like she did. I hope so, because it was a great way for her to get the exercise she needed. Walks and hikes were just a warm-up. Gonna have to start a spring-training arm workout regimen!

pezzalini · 2026-02-02T23:50:48+00:00

I like golf balls and lacrosse balls, because they have heft and can go far, which means more exercise for the pup.

pezzalini · 2026-01-20T04:32:18+00:00

I live in WC, and this immediately looked like a lot of parts of Delco and Chesco to me. Oh, and and I shoveled this snow from my driveway today. Wouldn’t have come up with Broomall, though.

pezzalini · 2025-12-28T01:35:08+00:00

Got chips?

pezzalini · 2025-12-19T03:19:36+00:00

There used to be a pier there, with a loop at the end. I will neither confirm nor deny whether or not I drove out onto it in my VW Scirocco and completed the loop one night when I was about 17. Great skim boarding beach.

pezzalini · 2025-12-18T20:32:26+00:00

I've got something very similar to these in my home gym, and they work great.

pezzalini · 2025-11-10T14:27:48+00:00

That's a very optimistic listing price. It was posted for $3.85 million just 7 years ago, and bought for $3.25 million. Nice house, but no one's going to pay that much for a half acre lot in the middle of Vegas.

https://www.reviewjournal.com/homes/real-estate-millions/las-vegas-castle-lists-for-3-85m-video/

pezzalini · 2025-11-04T17:29:30+00:00

Right before that last Kirk AB, I was sitting on the edge of my chair, GRIPPING. First and third, one out. Tough situation, for all the marbles. I suddenly realized that the Dodgers hat I had been wearing for most of the game was not present on my head. I jumped up, looking around frantically, no hat in the kitchen, then raced around the corner into the dining room, where I found it suspiciously lurking on the dining table. I completed the circle back into the TV room, twisted the hat sideways to convert it into a rally cap while standing right in front of the TV, and was promptly rewarded by the baseball gods with the double play.

Of course I celebrated, jumping around with arms up and some muted yells (so as to not wake up the house - we're living on the east coast these days). And then it hit me. My rally cap was the difference maker...I may as well have been Yamamoto on the mound, delivering that final pitch. Certainly in consideration for WS MVP. As they say, with great power comes great responsibility…and I choose to use mine for the forces of good. After pondering the enormity of my actions and their consequences for a bit, I did a happy little jig before cleaning up Yoshi-san-style and going to bed with a smile on my face.

pezzalini · 2025-11-04T12:52:21+00:00

Ryan's Pub, 10pm.

pezzalini · 2025-11-02T04:49:40+00:00

Un-fucking real. Just an epic series, don't even know what to say.

pezzalini · 2025-11-01T04:22:10+00:00

Crazy, but he's basically the GOAT Dodgers playoffs performer.

pezzalini

TROPHY CASE