Joan Obra dishes up a hot tip: In honor of the local chain's 50th anniversary, the DiCicco's at Barstow and Blackstone will be serving 50 cent slices of pizza and $1 entrees! Now that's news we can use. Better get your grub on quick, because the special only lasts today.

You might have to pay us a dollar to get us to try the new Italian joint Lipari's again. We popped in late last Friday night, excited and hopeful about a new dining option in the Tower District. The restaurant, located at 835 E. Fern, next to the Starline, was nicely renovated with a bar area in front and a cozy dining room filled with comfy booths in back. First up was the bruschetta, which we'd heard good things about. When it arrived, it was obvious something was amiss. Is that wheat bread? Yes, it was. Nutty, chewy, brown wheat bread was sitting there under a pile of tomatoes. And the tomatoes! They looked like tomatoes, but the flavor was missing.

The menu at Lipari's is safe and uninventive, which is perfectly fine when you're in the mood for a pizza or some eggplant parm, which we were. The eggplant was sliced so thick instead of it melting under the weight of a fork, a knife was required. The marinara sauce lacked any complex flavor and tasted as if it had come out of a can. Lipari's needs a new tomato supplier.

While the food tasted as though it had been made by someone who had never eaten Italian food, the service was terrific. Pleasant and timely, our server brought what she could to the table. We'll be doing drinks-only at Lipari's for now. If you have a better experience, be sure to let us know.