I invited a few friends to join me for a chill Friday night in Urbana. We picked up Manolo’s after listening to music at Krannert and headed over to Analog, the wine bar in Urbana.
Manolo’s Pizza is one of my favorite pizza places in town. I am, unfortunately, not the biggest pizza lover, but I love Manolo’s because of their toppings. Manolo’s menu items are bold, adventurous, and somehow a perfect analogy for life in Champaign-Urbana: it is not what you think it would be, and it always pleasantly surprises you.
Photo by Rashmi Tenneti.
A lot of my friends work on the Urbana side of campus and eat Manolo’s for lunch. They were enthusiastic about recommending their favorite pizzas. A few of us are pizza puritans and only eat pizza with few or no toppings, but the Spotted Goat and the Italian Potato were mentioned over and over again.
Photo by Rashmi Tenneti.
If I could call ahead, I would never miss the Voracious Veggie pizza, which has three kinds of cheese and three kinds of sauces on it along with veggies, but we decided to pick up slices so that we could try the widest variety of options. I was especially excited to show off the Spotted Goat to my friends Brenda and Jasmine who were new to C-U. You’ll read their honest appraisal of my favorites.
Photo by Rashmi Tenneti.
We picked up food and headed over to Analog, the wine bar in Urbana. Analog has a very modern yet whimsical feel to it that I truly love. The vintage sign boards, maps, the wooden benches make it a perfect place for a fun night with friends or a great date night spot.
Photo by Rashmi Tenneti.
My friend was charmed by the atmosphere and the whole vibe of the place from the friendly and highly knowledgeable bartender to how cozy it felt in there. She also liked the dream pop/indie music playlist as well as the option to play one of Analog’s vinyls or your own.
Photo by Rashmi Tenneti.
We chose to sit outside to enjoy one of the last warm days and loved the cute, bright pink bus that you can sit in. If you go to Analog, you must go check it out! It was decorated with candles and cushions, and it felt absolutely like a Magic bus.
The charm of being on a school bus with my friends, good food, and wine brought the whole night together for me.
Photo by Rashmi Tenneti.
Some folks in our group tried the flights of wine, while some of us stuck to waters and pop. The flights of wine were $19, and you can choose any five wines of your choice. My friend tried the pinot grigio, sauv blanc, Teltliner, rosé, and Verdejo. The rosé, a Pannonica, was declared to be her favorite.
With our drinks in hand, we finally dug into our bounty from Manolo’s. We tried the Spotted Goat, Italian potato, pesto chicken, BBQ chicken, pepperoni, and cheese.
The crust was delicious and still crispy even though we had picked up the slices 30 minutes earlier. The Spotted Goat with its flavored packed dollops of sauce and mild blue cheese was a crowd favorite. We liked the combo of goat cheese and gorgonzola but would have preferred even more gorgonzola for more tanginess.
Photo by Rashmi Tenneti.
The pesto chicken and BBQ chicken pizzas were packed with flavor and delivered the perfect amount of cheese, meat, bread, and sauce ratios. We also tried the spicy black bean, pizza sausage, and curried sweet potato empanadas from Manolo’s. I love the spicy black bean empanada; it was full of black beans, zucchini, corn, onions, cheddar, and spices. My friend found the curried sweet potato empanada to be very flavorful and with lots of kale, which she loved as she prefers vegetarian food with lot of veggies in it instead of being really carb-heavy. She also tried the goat cheese and pistachio salad which wowed her with really fresh mixed greens and a very generous amount of pistachios. I was happy to hear that she was pleasantly surprised by the abundance of flavorful vegetarian options and was excited to go back to try the others (including the dessert empanadas).
Photo by Rashmi Tenneti.
As the evening air chilled, we had a great time with good food, wine, vibes, and people. If you are looking for a casual night out with friends, try the food and wine scene in Urbana. Add in a music or art performance at Krannert or Sipyard to keep the night entertaining, or try the chill music vibes at Analog if you have more to say than listen.
Manolo’s Pizza & Empanadas
1115 W Oregon St
Urbana
M-Th 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.
F+Sa 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.
Analog Wine Library
129 N Race St
Urbana
Th 5 to 10 p.m.
F+Sa 5 to 11 p.m.