Spicing Up Lunch

Aglio brings zest to Scranton's midday meal

Randy Shemanski

If you're part of the downtown Scranton workforce, you know what it's like when noon rolls around and it's time to find a place to have lunch. There are plenty of places with solid menus in the downtown area. Heck, you can head out your office door, take a few steps, trip and practically fall into a local eating establishment.

But that's no way to satisfy your craving for a midday chow down. You want a meal you'll remember. You've put in the hours in front of a computer, at a desk or doing who knows what. Now it's your turn to enjoy yourself for a little while.

We decided on a recent lunch break to get up off our doopahs and head to a cozy little spot on North Washington Avenue across from City Hall named Aglio.

Open since 2002 and expanded in November to include a larger seating area, Aglio offers lunch-lovers plenty of imaginative meal choices.

The first thing we noticed when we walked was the name. Just how do you pronounce Aglio and what does it mean?

"I've heard every pronunciation you can think of," owner/chef Bob Warrick said. "It's 'al-yo.' It's Italian for garlic."

OK, now that we have the scoop on the name, it's on to the menu. There's a solid selection, from salads, soups, sandwiches and burgers (and remember, you can get anything in a wrap at Aglio), but we didn't spend too much time perusing the regular menu. It was the list of daily specials that caught our eye.

On this despicably chilly January day, Warrick warmed us up with a handful of spicy specialties on the list. From chili con carne de chipotle to the roast beef and cheese hoagie with horseradish or chipotle mayo, just reading the list of specials warmed our bellies.

We decided to go with the blackened chicken on the aprilia salad, and believe us, it was a wise choice. The spices in Warrick's special blackened seasoning made for one of the best lunches we could have possibly hoped for. The zesty blend of spices on each savory piece of chicken was enough to keep our taste buds happy. Add in the fresh lettuce, cucumbers and tomatoes along with Warrick's special house dressing and it made for a salad we won't soon forget.

Warrick says his salads are probably the most popular items on the menu because "you can put just about anything in a salad." The produce is purchased fresh every day, as is the chicken you'll find in many of the delectable dishes you can choose from. If chicken isn't your thing when it comes to salads, ask about the salmon.

A noticeable surprise throughout the establishment is the lack of salt and pepper shakers on the tables. The well-seasoned meal choices at Aglio are tasty enough that you won't miss an extra dash of salt or pepper. Warrick takes pride in his ability to spice up even the blandest of foods, and one taste of anything on the menu proves him correct.

Warrick grew up around family members involved in cooking and has honed his skills through experience. And it's not just culinary skills he is good at. He makes his customers feel at home, greeting his regulars by name each day. No wonder he has a loyal following downtown.

Warrick plans to open at night whenever there's anything special happening downtown, i.e. First Friday or a show at the Cultural Center.

Clearly, Aglio isn't your normal lunch hotspot. When we at ec/dc hear those words, we think of simple sandwiches and soups. Aglio provides many of both, but any famished food lover would be silly to walk through the door thinking "turkey and cheese on white bread."

(Not that Warrick doesn't make a mean turkey and cheese.)