A Mapquest printout, a massive bowl of salad, and a bottle-cap license plate holder.

What, might you ask, do these three items have in common? Each played a comically crucial role in our trek to Angelea’s Italian Restaurant for my first restaurant review as an intern at ErieBlogs.

The evening started out normally enough. My sister and I found the restaurant with no problem. It’s located at 4253 Buffalo Rd in Wesleyville, in the same plaza as the D.M.V. We sat down in the dining area, which is nicely decorated. The menu had a wide variety of choices, including multiple kinds of pizza and subs, build-your-own calzones, various pasta and seafood dishes, and quite a few salads, soups, sandwiches, and appetizers. The fare was quite similar to that of Valerio’s or Barbato’s, but there were also some creative dishes, such as crossiant sandwiches. They also serve an assortment of bottled beer. The prices are very reasonable—the two of us could have eaten for under $20 with no trouble. Entrees are priced between $7-15, salads and sandwiches between $3-9. We spent about fifteen minutes deciding how to rack up a $35 bill to use our gift certificate. The food came quickly, and the portions were huge! The grilled chicken salad that my sister ordered was easily enough to feed 2-3 people. Our meals were very good and filling, and both of us left with take home boxes for lunch today.

The service was decent and the dining area could have been cleaner, but if you’re looking for great carry-out meals or an inexpensive, casual dining experience, Angelea’s is just the place.

On with the tale:

After enjoying our dinner, my sister and I planned to head to the Peach Street Wal-mart for a quick stop. Instead, we proceeded to get completely lost on the east side of town. I finally pulled into a corner parking lot to turn around, and in doing so managed to pull out the wrong way on a one-way street just as a policeman was attempting to turn up said one-way street. Needless to say, the lights came a-flashing and I got pulled over. Thankfully, he was understanding of my complete disorientation and let me off with a strong chiding.

We then continued to drive around aimlessly until consulting the Mapquest printout that got us to Angelea’s in the first place and realizing we had passed the turn five blocks back. Without further ado, I pulled into the nearest parking lot…and lo and behold, it was a Wal-mart! There was much rejoicing as we went about our errands in the land of milk, honey, and anything else that no one could ever need, including a nifty bottlecap license plate holder which we found in the clearance aisle.

After purchasing our (un)necessities, we headed towards home. Just we when thought our adventure had ended, my steering wheel locked up and the car stalled.

We were out of gas.

Thank goodness for cell phones and good friends. Luckily, we had a vast amount of leftovers to snack on while we waited for help, thanks to Angelea’s.

We finally made it home, having learned to always check for one-way street signs, to never underestimate the appearance of a Wal-mart, and that Angelea’s Italian Restaurant is a great place to fill your stomach before an evening of adventure.