FAMILY FOOTSTEPS Local restaurant, Little Angelos, offers taste of Italy

18 NEWBURGH MAGAZINE March 2020 FAMILY

FOOTSTEPS

LITTLE ANGELO’S BRINGS THE TASTE OF ITALY TO NEWBURGH

After working as a cook in Evansville for nine years, Hamzeh Abu Khyarah decided to go out on his own and picked Newburgh as the location to open Little Angelo’s. Although it is an Italian restaurant, there are many eclectic dishes to choose from on the menu.

Sid Hall, a professor at the University of Southern Indiana, said Little Angelo’s has the best Italian food in the area. When you walk into Little Angelo’s, it’s like walking into a European bistro. As for the décor - it’s Mediterranean. Taking a look at the menu and seeing dishes such as lasagna, ziti and chicken parmigiana, people might think they have to buy larger jeans. However, Khyarah has a special way of cooking healthy foods that are not hard on the waistline.

Lauren Ashley, a hairdresser at Rhythm Salon, loves a dish she describes as delicious, yet ultra healthy. The meal consists of a bowl with all kinds of Italian vegetables, but has a bed of spinach instead of pasta with your pick of sauces. The marinara sauce is considered by many to be one of the best around. As with all of his meals, it comes with a salad and tasty garlic rolls.

One of the unique things about Little Ange

WRITER: JULIE ROSENBAUM

lo’s is guests don’t have to order ala carte – when ordering a dish, a full meal arrives.

Khyarah has been interested in cooking from an early age.

“Actually my dad was a chef who cooked more than my mom at the house and he inspired me to cook,” he said. “As far as the people I deal with, they are nice and supportive.”

He would eventually like to open for lunch every day.

“Maybe we need to ask the people what can we do differently to make lunch busier and I will happily turn it around to their liking,” Khyarah said.

Little Angelo’s opened more than four years ago. Now that Newburgh is continuing to grow, it has more businesses and Little Angelo’s is growing with it, he said.

“I would like to thank the people for the support and we will continue to stay the course and stay committed to what we do,” Khyarah said.

Originally from Jordan, Khyarah came to Southern Indiana in 2004. He worked at Angelo’s in downtown Evansville for nine years and has several cousins, who live in Italy and

March 2020 NEWBURGH MAGAZINE 19 offered him cooking tips.

Khyarah likes to cook from scratch as much as possible and prefers to stay in the kitchen instead of coming out and greeting customers. He wants to make his food the best it can possibly be.

“I do 95 percent of the cooking,” Khyarah said. “Most owners don’t. I want to establish this before I come out and greet people. A pinch and a spice makes a difference. It’s hard to teach somebody in a week or two. This is my living. This is what I wanted to do ever since I arrived in this country.”

Khyarah lost his father in 2003 and credits him with so much. The father of two young children, Khyarah realizes how important a father is, and his father was a big inspiration when he opened his restaurant. Hamzeh credits his late father for his cooking influence