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Finding good food in South Bend, Indiana, can be a challenge. There aren't many eateries that are thought of as local institutions. But one place that was recommended to me several times was Rocco's, a pizzeria on N. St. Louis Boulevard. It was founded by Rocco Ameduri, his young wife Julia, and her parents Rose and Louis Simeri. All four were Italian-Americans from the region of Reggio Calabria, in the south of Italy. The younger couple settled in South Bend, where Rocco worked as a cook at Notre Dame, and Julia as a waitress. In 1951, they opened their own place, right next door to where the Simeris lived. The menu consisted of a collection of Simeri and Ameduri recipes. The original pizzeria seated only 12. (You can see photos of the original buildings below.) Today, it's still fairly small, but the squat, sprawling building seats 150 people. Rocco's daughter Linda eventually married Warren Verteramo, another Reggio Calabria native who worked in the kitchen in Rocco...

The Linebacker Inn, a South Bend bar within throwing distance of the Notre Dame football stadium, wins "A Good Sign" kudos three times over, for the above beauty... ...and this more humble, Coca-Cola-sponsored relic on the side... ...and for this painted sign near the entrance. Apparently "The Backer" is what the bar is known as by its regulars. You can't see in this picture, but a small sign on the door warns "This is a smoking establishment." Also, showing the tavern has a social conscience, there is a list of taxi services and their phone numbers above the "The Backer" sign.  The Linebacker Inn was founded in 1962 by a Notre Dame football player named Myron Pontios. The low, cinder-block building it's in used to be a drive-in (it's surrounded by streets on three sides). In 1984, current owner Elwanda "Al" Delinski bought the place.