Italian Take & Bake – 1889 Pizza Napoletana

Life during the pandemic is certainly affecting most people’s routines. Like us, many of you have had to adapt our dining out experiences to something closer to home. Home is where we all find ourselves partaking in the majority of our meals. Occasionally we will have a picnic, but these have to be done with a blanket since park shelters have been placed off-limits. The idea of eating at home is not a bad thing, we just find that the atmosphere of restaurants is a part of the overall dining experience. We know that things will return to some semblance of normal, in the future. Until then, we will just have to work around it and enjoy meals like this Italian Take & Bake we got at 1889 Pizza Napoletana, in Kansas City, Kansas.

Plenty For All

While we usually just grab dinner for two to go, sometimes we need to feed three. This occurs on Sundays when our daughter comes to visit. Since we have had to move to take-out meals, it forces us to choose from places closer to home. We certainly want our meals to be fresh and tasty when we are ready to eat. Of course, we have toyed with the idea of getting a container that will hold the food at its original temperature. After discussing, we decided that this is a temporary circumstance, so no need for the short term investment. Finding that there are restaurants offering take & bake options has opened up more dining choices.

Italian Take & Bake

The Italian Take & Bake, from 1889 Pizza, featured everything needed to satisfy our trio. While calling in the order, we told them what time we would like to pick it up. They kept our dinner chilled in the fridge until our arrival. We paid and were on our way. The whole process was quick and easy. Once we got it home, we found the instructions included in the carrying bag. It only takes about a half-hour, once the oven is warmed up.

Fresh Sides

We knew from experience that 1889 Pizza has some delicious salads. This is a side we enjoy at the start of any Italian cuisine meal. This particular dinner special came with a Mixed Greens Salad that was accompanied by a Lemon Vinaigrette Dressing. What a delightful way to fill the time while our main course baked. It reminded us of some of the other salads we have had at this restaurant. (You can see another visit to 1889 Pizza here.) A stack of soon-to-be crispy breadsticks come drizzled with olive oil and sprinkled with herbs. The baking instructions for these are included in the package.

Bubbly Béchamel

Soon we heard the beeping of the timer on our oven. The chirping confirmed what our noses had already told us. The wonderful smell of the bubbling béchamel sauce mixed with the ricotta cheese and spinach filling. While it sounds odd to use a French-based sauce on their Stuffed Manicotti, the flavor combination just works. This silky roux is a blend of flour and butter that is moistened with milk. The resulting creamy sauce sticks to the manicotti shells and helps keep the shells moist. A good béchamel sauce takes time to create and it was obvious from the texture that they did it right. Each bite was a perfect blend of sauce, pasta, and flavorful filling.

Biding Our Time

While most everyone is getting a little tired of all of the restrictions, we know that it is best to bide our time. There will be plenty of chances to make up for lost opportunities in the future. By helping to flatten the curve, we are all shortening the extent of self-isolation. In the meantime, we will continue to seek out interesting and unusual ways to incorporate some carryout meals into our routine. We hope that you will find some that intrigue you enough to sample them for yourself. You never know, your new favorite restaurant may just be waiting to be discovered. Stay safe!

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