There’s really nothing better than a Sunday stroll around your neighborhood, popping into your usual places and picking up a few things. One of the best blocks to do so in Bay View features local favorites like Honeypie Cafe, Nonfiction Wine, Avalon Atmospheric Theater and URSA. This particular Sunday, I had supper plans with my family at Semolina, located at 2474 Kinnickinnic Avenue, a local Italian specialty shop that occasionally offers cooking courses.
Owner Petra Orlowski opened the shop just before Covid hit and has continued to pursue her mission “to carry on the best aspects of Old World pasta traditions through the use of fresh, local ingredients, sustainable practices and community nourishment.” While it’s mainly a shop where you can buy imported goods like wine, olive oil, balsamic vinegar and other exclusive pantry items, they also sell their homemade pasta, meatballs, sauce and other made-fresh-daily goods.
This particular Sunday Supper Series featured a timeless five-course meal of tuna pate served with olives and potato chips, fennel salad, green beans and potatoes, pan-fried meatballs with stewed tomatoes, and a chocolate torta caprese. While I would love to feature the recipes for each, you’ll have to commit to your own Sunday ticket for those delicious secrets. The evening started promptly at 4 p.m. with a promise that we were going until about 8 p.m. Throughout the four hours we were there, we shared cocktails and wine while talking about cooking techniques, family history and travel stories to Italy and beyond. (Check out their website or Instagram for upcoming listed events—I’ve also done one of their pasta-making classes, which was a blast!)
Petra and her husband, Andrew, make it their mission to feel like you are part of the family throughout the entire experience. Once everything is cooked in the back kitchen, we take the dishes out to a beautifully set table where we sit down to a family-style dinner with wine to pair. Once we were all filled to the brim, it was time to check out the store to take home some of the things we had just cooked with—I walked out with a bottle of Italian red wine, pesto potato chips, a jar of balsamic caviar, five freshly made culurgiones and side of sugo or homemade marinara sauce. I wish I could have taken the whole store with me and lived off of that all summer long!
There is something truly special about Semolina. If you’re a South Shore Farmers Market person, you’ve likely seen their tent along the northwestern side of the park. If you’ve popped into the shop, it might be time to check back in. And if you’re looking for a true Italian Sunday supper amongst friends, look no further. For a small specialty shop, it’s sure filled with a lot of love.