http://papalinosnypizzeria.com/Home.html
This past weekend my family decided to try out Papalinos NY Pizzeria, located on Baxter Avenue in the Highlands. The location for this restaurant is interesting as it's only a few doors down from Wick's Pizza, a well-established restaurant that I frequent every Tuesday for its trivia nights. The choice of setting up another pizza restaurant on the same block as Wick's was clearly intentional and, I suspect, will provide a great deal of competition for Wick's.
Papalinos offers dine-in and carry out, and my family opted for the latter; this was probably a good idea, since the restaurant is very small and only has a handful of tables, both inside and out. When I picked up the pizza, the outside tables were completely full (not surprising, given the wonderfully warm and sunny weather we had that day), but no one was seated at the indoor tables. To be honest, I was less than impressed with the indoor seating; the eating area seemed dark and reminded me of grimy McDonald's I have been to over the years.
Picking up the pizza was also an adventure, though not unexpected. I was there a little after 7 on a Friday evening, so naturally all of Baxter was packed with people and cars. I ended up having to park at the Walgreens two blocks down (where I usually park for trivia at Wick's anyway), but I felt a little foolish carrying a large box of pizza down the street.
For five people, we got an 18" pizza to split between four people, while my mom opted for a single slice of pizza - which turned out to be about the size of a personal pan pizza. Even the slices on our pizza were massive, but I was so hungry that I downed two of them without thinking. I can't even remember what our toppings were besides sausage and cheese, though I'm sure we had something along the lines of onions, olives, and green peppers. Yes, I was that hungry.
Papalinos' claim to fame is that it's New York-style pizza, which prompted a discussion amongst us as to what, exactly, a New York pizza is. So off to Wikipedia I went in search of an answer. According to wiki, New York pizza "is large, wide, thin and foldable... It is traditionally hand-tossed and light on sauce. The slices are often eaten as a 'street snack' while folded in half, as it's [sic] size and flexibility sometimes makes it unwieldy to eat flat." And that's exactly what we had. In fact, my mom unknowingly ate her pizza in the traditional New York manner - folded over in the style of a calzone.
If you find yourself in the area craving a pizza and want something that doesn't have much sauce, you'll want to try out Papalinos. I prefer my pizza this way, and would therefore choose Papalinos over Wick's any day (Wick's tends to be sauce-heavy). But we debated for a while over whether or not Papalinos is better than Boom Bozz, my family's go-to pizza place. We concluded that although Papalinos was excellent, Boom Bozz is far easier to get to, and just as tasty. Still, Papalinos is not to be ignored, and I'm sure I'll find myself back there on some warm weekend after a night of drinks at O'Shea's (which is right across the street from Papalinos).
- Guest blogger, Hannah S.
http://primachocolate.blogspot.com/
Thursday, May 26, 2011
Monday, May 23, 2011
Safier Deli
http://www.safierdeli.com/
This morning I thought I should write about one of the restaurants that I frequent most often, but that fails to make it to my blog. Sometimes I think I take good eats for granted. Eating at the same locale over-and-over again treats the taste buds well, but doesn’t seem novel to me, so I just assume it wouldn’t be novel to write about. But as I find myself wanting to return to old favorite places more often these days, I thought it’d be worth it to give my notable eateries some shout-outs. So here I go.
This is known as a Persian/Lebanese deli, although I think it draws mostly from typical Mediterranean and Indian fare. The Indian daily specials are some of the most flavorful I have had, as is the beef and garlic sauce to their chicken dish called shish tawook, which is just divine! Nothing is a greater turn-on than good, tasty meat, which they have plenty of.
Their dishes are affordable, being about 4.50 for an a la carte wrap to 6.99 for a plated meal. The meals come with rice, a small salad, and some pita and hummus. We have a running joke in our office about both the pickle and pickled onions that come with the sandwiches and plates. They appear in the salad portions of both and are usually unwanted because they taste so bright and sour in comparison to everything else. They really overpower the dish! It’s always a bad day in work-land when you forget to ask Safier to hold the pickle from your sandwich!
The restaurant is at a funny locale simply because of Yafa, its greater competitor across the street. The office crew’s decision has been that in a taste test, yafa’s pita and hummus, rice, and salad may win, but that Safier’s meats are tops (although I think the pita and hummus are debatable). Yafa surely has better hummus that is flavored with olive oil, a small relish of some sort, and some paprika and is generous in its portion; however, Safier’s pita may win due to the fact that it tastes more bready than sweet-doughy, although it is occasionally dry.
The sauces at Safier are excellent! Their tahini and zesty garlic “tawook” sauce are superb accompaniments to any dish.
Drew and JJ from my office would often delight in the veggie paradise, which is a hummus and vegetable wrap that includes typical Mediterranean vegetables such as onions, tomatoes, lettace, and some feta cheese as well. There is some tabouleh in there as well, although I don’t think they insert a lot with the hummus already present. They would often get fries, which were very yummy and freshly made, although I found the health combo and the lack of foreign-zest inherent in ordering fries a little bit surprising.
My debacle confronting me today is this: do I branch out into the unknown and try their baba ganoush, known as mutabal, or their fried kibbi (which sounds roughly similar to lamb naan), or do I go for an old favorite such as the beef shawarma or chicken tawook? Debates debates. I don’t want to have something I don’t like, do want to branch out some. Maybe I’ll get the kibbi. Maybe not. Ugg! Who knows what today holds…
This morning I thought I should write about one of the restaurants that I frequent most often, but that fails to make it to my blog. Sometimes I think I take good eats for granted. Eating at the same locale over-and-over again treats the taste buds well, but doesn’t seem novel to me, so I just assume it wouldn’t be novel to write about. But as I find myself wanting to return to old favorite places more often these days, I thought it’d be worth it to give my notable eateries some shout-outs. So here I go.
This is known as a Persian/Lebanese deli, although I think it draws mostly from typical Mediterranean and Indian fare. The Indian daily specials are some of the most flavorful I have had, as is the beef and garlic sauce to their chicken dish called shish tawook, which is just divine! Nothing is a greater turn-on than good, tasty meat, which they have plenty of.
Their dishes are affordable, being about 4.50 for an a la carte wrap to 6.99 for a plated meal. The meals come with rice, a small salad, and some pita and hummus. We have a running joke in our office about both the pickle and pickled onions that come with the sandwiches and plates. They appear in the salad portions of both and are usually unwanted because they taste so bright and sour in comparison to everything else. They really overpower the dish! It’s always a bad day in work-land when you forget to ask Safier to hold the pickle from your sandwich!
The restaurant is at a funny locale simply because of Yafa, its greater competitor across the street. The office crew’s decision has been that in a taste test, yafa’s pita and hummus, rice, and salad may win, but that Safier’s meats are tops (although I think the pita and hummus are debatable). Yafa surely has better hummus that is flavored with olive oil, a small relish of some sort, and some paprika and is generous in its portion; however, Safier’s pita may win due to the fact that it tastes more bready than sweet-doughy, although it is occasionally dry.
The sauces at Safier are excellent! Their tahini and zesty garlic “tawook” sauce are superb accompaniments to any dish.
Drew and JJ from my office would often delight in the veggie paradise, which is a hummus and vegetable wrap that includes typical Mediterranean vegetables such as onions, tomatoes, lettace, and some feta cheese as well. There is some tabouleh in there as well, although I don’t think they insert a lot with the hummus already present. They would often get fries, which were very yummy and freshly made, although I found the health combo and the lack of foreign-zest inherent in ordering fries a little bit surprising.
My debacle confronting me today is this: do I branch out into the unknown and try their baba ganoush, known as mutabal, or their fried kibbi (which sounds roughly similar to lamb naan), or do I go for an old favorite such as the beef shawarma or chicken tawook? Debates debates. I don’t want to have something I don’t like, do want to branch out some. Maybe I’ll get the kibbi. Maybe not. Ugg! Who knows what today holds…
Thursday, May 19, 2011
Shah's Mongolian Grill
http://www.facebook.com/pages/SHAHS-MONGOLIAN-GRILL-next-to-U-of-L-Belknap-Campus/38458169770
In a dark nook by UofL's campus is a mongolian-style grill that has long caught my attention. But not due to its trendy facebook page advertising the widest hookah selection under the sun, due to the friends and students of all things asian who love the place. Beer is cheap! Food is cheap! And good.. what more could I want?
Having been back to BD's Mongolian BBQ in college and truly loved it, I thought falling for a cheaper, local version of it would be easy. But what I took away from my BD's experience was that good beef is hard to come by and when you find it, savor it. Mongolian BBQ was disappointing in that respect.
This Tuesday I went there for lunch and found the place dormant around 12 noon. Soon after a few interesting fellows showed up - one wearing dreds and a kilt. But the friendly server took my order - one of the bulgolgi bowls with a korean sauce and then one of the beef szechuan-style bowls. It was only 5-6 dollars a pop! I opted for beef in my asian bowl because, hey, that's what I loved about the experience so much before.
Before having my meal cooked on their circular grill by a grillmaster, I recognized something that looked like frozen beef sitting out on the bbq toppings bar - I prayed it wasn't for my dish. Couldn't be that stuff. It was.
The beef in my dish was definitely some of the worst, most flavorless beef I've ever tasted in my years. The sauce, other toppings - such as onions, bean sprouts and mushrooms - were all exquisite though. The sauce had fresh dried chilis in it, which gave it a spicy zing that wasn't overbearring, but was still tear-worthy! I thoroughly enjoyed the flavor sensations going on in my mouth over the bulgolgi and the szechuan meat dishes!
However, upon leaving the place and telling my raving friend of my dismantling review, he told me that he always orders vegetarian there. "Yeah, just get the tofu." I, a consummate fan of tofu, would definitely be on board with that. It could absorb all those wonderful flavors that come from their homemade sauces that they make on the spot for you!
The decor of the place was nothing to write home about. My relaxing lunch was transformed by this dark, dance-club establishment full of contract workers milling around. The staff taking our order were very nice in their smiles and offer of free water, but they screwed up our order and didn't really seem to have an effective system of marking down "who's who." Later on they called out our number, which was 19, although we had no idea how we were supposed to know it was 19. It took all three of the wait staff to look at us from behind the counter and grab our attention before we finally came and got our dish.
I would definitely go back to Shah's, but for a crab rangoon, vegetarian entree, maybe some guitar playing of that old guitar sitting in the corner, and some 1-dollar domestic beers (magic hat and sam adams are included). Until then, I might double down and go to BD's for some real beef... it's been too long!
In a dark nook by UofL's campus is a mongolian-style grill that has long caught my attention. But not due to its trendy facebook page advertising the widest hookah selection under the sun, due to the friends and students of all things asian who love the place. Beer is cheap! Food is cheap! And good.. what more could I want?
Having been back to BD's Mongolian BBQ in college and truly loved it, I thought falling for a cheaper, local version of it would be easy. But what I took away from my BD's experience was that good beef is hard to come by and when you find it, savor it. Mongolian BBQ was disappointing in that respect.
This Tuesday I went there for lunch and found the place dormant around 12 noon. Soon after a few interesting fellows showed up - one wearing dreds and a kilt. But the friendly server took my order - one of the bulgolgi bowls with a korean sauce and then one of the beef szechuan-style bowls. It was only 5-6 dollars a pop! I opted for beef in my asian bowl because, hey, that's what I loved about the experience so much before.
Before having my meal cooked on their circular grill by a grillmaster, I recognized something that looked like frozen beef sitting out on the bbq toppings bar - I prayed it wasn't for my dish. Couldn't be that stuff. It was.
The beef in my dish was definitely some of the worst, most flavorless beef I've ever tasted in my years. The sauce, other toppings - such as onions, bean sprouts and mushrooms - were all exquisite though. The sauce had fresh dried chilis in it, which gave it a spicy zing that wasn't overbearring, but was still tear-worthy! I thoroughly enjoyed the flavor sensations going on in my mouth over the bulgolgi and the szechuan meat dishes!
However, upon leaving the place and telling my raving friend of my dismantling review, he told me that he always orders vegetarian there. "Yeah, just get the tofu." I, a consummate fan of tofu, would definitely be on board with that. It could absorb all those wonderful flavors that come from their homemade sauces that they make on the spot for you!
The decor of the place was nothing to write home about. My relaxing lunch was transformed by this dark, dance-club establishment full of contract workers milling around. The staff taking our order were very nice in their smiles and offer of free water, but they screwed up our order and didn't really seem to have an effective system of marking down "who's who." Later on they called out our number, which was 19, although we had no idea how we were supposed to know it was 19. It took all three of the wait staff to look at us from behind the counter and grab our attention before we finally came and got our dish.
I would definitely go back to Shah's, but for a crab rangoon, vegetarian entree, maybe some guitar playing of that old guitar sitting in the corner, and some 1-dollar domestic beers (magic hat and sam adams are included). Until then, I might double down and go to BD's for some real beef... it's been too long!
Wednesday, May 11, 2011
The Grilled Cheese Grill
http://www.grilledcheesegrill.com/
When out and about at some wee little hour of the morning, I was swooned into the grilled cheese grill on Alberta. We, four kings, were walking our honorarily short walk home in the mist and decided that a midnight snack was in order, approximately 10 hours or less before our late-morning brunch nearby. We settled in for a yummy treat!
The grilled cheese barista (cheesista?) was uber friendly and fast as another dude whipped up the grilled cheese in the back. The tables – which are covered – were actually a school bus! What the heck? We’re eating on a school bus. Two cohorts, a couple, joined the party a little later as we waited for our grilled cheese. I bought a yummy packaged cookie as an appetizer, which we enjoyed greatly.
What we ordered was the jalapeño popper grilled cheese. I admit it wasn’t all I had hoped. When I order jalapeno popper anything it takes me back to the days of former tumbleweed jalapeno poppers filled with oozing cream cheese and stuffed with moderately spicy and way-too-hot peppers. What I was served was, well, food. That went to my belly. And wasn’t that memorable. Still the warmth and the cool concept itself was enough to make the event well worthwhile (except I didn’t remember eating that cookie until the day after, when apparently my exuberance over it and sharing abilities were commemorated).
The menu, though, looks simply out of this world. At the time, we though: hmmm, wouldn’t it behoove Louisville to have something like this. Just like a holy grail, poof! Our idea came to fruition. Enter Lil Cheezers (http://www.louisvillestreetfood.com/menu/). Alas, there is a moving food cart in Louisville that specializes in fancy grilled cheeses that is certified “health-compliant” by the city. It roves along Bardstown Road, downtown or anywhere there is a fun event, such as the humane society outing coming up. The menu’s creations don’t sound as exotic or creative as Grilled Cheese Grill – and their name certainly isn’t – but I am dying to sample both the Elvis and the fancy grilled cheese (brie on a sandwich is heaven to me. I actively search it every day.. no I don’t really, but in my taste buds mind’s eye I do).
When out and about at some wee little hour of the morning, I was swooned into the grilled cheese grill on Alberta. We, four kings, were walking our honorarily short walk home in the mist and decided that a midnight snack was in order, approximately 10 hours or less before our late-morning brunch nearby. We settled in for a yummy treat!
The grilled cheese barista (cheesista?) was uber friendly and fast as another dude whipped up the grilled cheese in the back. The tables – which are covered – were actually a school bus! What the heck? We’re eating on a school bus. Two cohorts, a couple, joined the party a little later as we waited for our grilled cheese. I bought a yummy packaged cookie as an appetizer, which we enjoyed greatly.
What we ordered was the jalapeño popper grilled cheese. I admit it wasn’t all I had hoped. When I order jalapeno popper anything it takes me back to the days of former tumbleweed jalapeno poppers filled with oozing cream cheese and stuffed with moderately spicy and way-too-hot peppers. What I was served was, well, food. That went to my belly. And wasn’t that memorable. Still the warmth and the cool concept itself was enough to make the event well worthwhile (except I didn’t remember eating that cookie until the day after, when apparently my exuberance over it and sharing abilities were commemorated).
The menu, though, looks simply out of this world. At the time, we though: hmmm, wouldn’t it behoove Louisville to have something like this. Just like a holy grail, poof! Our idea came to fruition. Enter Lil Cheezers (http://www.louisvillestreetfood.com/menu/). Alas, there is a moving food cart in Louisville that specializes in fancy grilled cheeses that is certified “health-compliant” by the city. It roves along Bardstown Road, downtown or anywhere there is a fun event, such as the humane society outing coming up. The menu’s creations don’t sound as exotic or creative as Grilled Cheese Grill – and their name certainly isn’t – but I am dying to sample both the Elvis and the fancy grilled cheese (brie on a sandwich is heaven to me. I actively search it every day.. no I don’t really, but in my taste buds mind’s eye I do).
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
Jake's Restaurant
www.eatatjakes.com
Jake’s a Place for Steaks has never witnessed me order a steak. Actually, I don’t think that I’ve ordered a steak out at a restaurant in all my time dining in and around Wooster. I remember a friend got sick from Pepper Steak once at a Thai restaurant in Canal Fulton, but other than that I was a steakless-wanderer.
Jake’s is known in my mind for other things: an endless menu, cheap ice cream sundae shots, and wonderful times with friends. I went there on retreats, after driving long distances, for my birthday, and just randomly. The crab legs, the burgers, and the soups my friends have enjoyed. However, I remember jake’s for its really good Caesar salad, its pasta, and its really big queso burrito! One awesome feature of ordering a salad at Jake's is that it comes with a hulking, well seasoned bread stick. Giddy-up!
I also remember dining on their fudge brownie one night, which was sensational. Anything that resembles a lava cake to me and has molten chocolate oozing out of it is a must-eat menu item. Their fudge brownie compared, quite well actually, to the best lava cake I have ever eaten, which was at wild ginger just down the road.
One of my friends ordered a teriyaki chicken skillet at Jake's once and came away really enjoying it, but with a little too much food. If I had one complaint to make of Jake's it would be that the amount of food you get is a little hefty.
Also Jake’s menu has changed within recent years (duh.. that makes sense!) so that it now offers a more precise seafood menu and less pasta items. The seafood friends have ordered there has all been wonderful; however, I just wish that they’d bring the pasta items back to the menu. It would be nice to reconvene there with pasta dishes.
Their drink selection and pricing is a little better than some places and the atmosphere is that of tumbleweed. You have your bar area, which looks fancy and well-equipped. Several booth chambers up high that line the windows and then an open seating floor with booths surrounding it. While Jake’s is a local chain with two other locations, one in Mount Vernon and the other in Ashland, I wouldn’t classify their food as spectacularly local. It seems that the chain, unlike broken rocks or city square steakhouse, is more of a TGI-Fridays atmosphere and standing. It’s a middle-class working crowd with kids, not an older, bag-o-money sort of place.
I’d be remiss to add that I have sampled one of their soups that is excellent. I simply love their beer cheese soup! Second-best I’ve had in my entire life. You can put wonderful croutons in it and walk away feeling like a cup slurped was a double-meal indulgence!
Jake’s a Place for Steaks has never witnessed me order a steak. Actually, I don’t think that I’ve ordered a steak out at a restaurant in all my time dining in and around Wooster. I remember a friend got sick from Pepper Steak once at a Thai restaurant in Canal Fulton, but other than that I was a steakless-wanderer.
Jake’s is known in my mind for other things: an endless menu, cheap ice cream sundae shots, and wonderful times with friends. I went there on retreats, after driving long distances, for my birthday, and just randomly. The crab legs, the burgers, and the soups my friends have enjoyed. However, I remember jake’s for its really good Caesar salad, its pasta, and its really big queso burrito! One awesome feature of ordering a salad at Jake's is that it comes with a hulking, well seasoned bread stick. Giddy-up!
I also remember dining on their fudge brownie one night, which was sensational. Anything that resembles a lava cake to me and has molten chocolate oozing out of it is a must-eat menu item. Their fudge brownie compared, quite well actually, to the best lava cake I have ever eaten, which was at wild ginger just down the road.
Also Jake’s menu has changed within recent years (duh.. that makes sense!) so that it now offers a more precise seafood menu and less pasta items. The seafood friends have ordered there has all been wonderful; however, I just wish that they’d bring the pasta items back to the menu. It would be nice to reconvene there with pasta dishes.
Their drink selection and pricing is a little better than some places and the atmosphere is that of tumbleweed. You have your bar area, which looks fancy and well-equipped. Several booth chambers up high that line the windows and then an open seating floor with booths surrounding it. While Jake’s is a local chain with two other locations, one in Mount Vernon and the other in Ashland, I wouldn’t classify their food as spectacularly local. It seems that the chain, unlike broken rocks or city square steakhouse, is more of a TGI-Fridays atmosphere and standing. It’s a middle-class working crowd with kids, not an older, bag-o-money sort of place.
I’d be remiss to add that I have sampled one of their soups that is excellent. I simply love their beer cheese soup! Second-best I’ve had in my entire life. You can put wonderful croutons in it and walk away feeling like a cup slurped was a double-meal indulgence!
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