First and last time here

I do not think I have been to Domino's ever. Their pizzas do not excite me. However I was interested in their Sweet & Spicy Chicken Habanero sandwich which I took for takeout.

My wife thought part of the sandwich was okay. It was spicy sweet and had a little habanero kick to it. It was pretty small sized foot long compared to Quizno's and others sub places. It also curiously had two small mild jalapeno like chillies which I thought curious.

Based on this times go around, it will be my last. Sarpino's and Spin Pizza are much better and offer more in several ways for good prices.

Restaurant Finds: Sarpino's superb pies and more

A Sarpino's flyer came in the mail. Initially I thought " oh no, another startup or chain pizza joint with lousy pizza." I almost threw it away but instead too a peak inside the massive menu. I am glad I did for a variety of reasons.

This chain (originated in few other states) is starting up in Kansas and trying to make its "mark" among all the pizza joints around. It is on Quivira in a small niche of store on the northern side of the strip mall with the Jayhawk bookstore. There is limited seating and as I waited for our pie to bake, there was a brisk takeout of many pies. But back to the offerings.

The menu is massive which really piqued my interest. Difficult to choose from Gourmet Pizzas (16); Wings and Sides; Specialty pizzas (11); Create your own pizzas with 37 toppings; Pasta (4); Salads (4); Calzones (9); Sandwiches (7). What made it even better we were enticed by the nice coupons on the flyer.

It was a touch choice. One or two toppings pizza don't make it for us most of the time and so we targeted the Gourmet and Specialty pizzas. I chose the Tuscany (red pepper, grilled chicken, tomatoes, artichoke hearts, garlic, green peppers, green olives and their scrumptious Sarpino's cheese. My wife ordered the Mediterranean with olive oil, zucchini, eggplant, sun dried tomatoes, parmesan cheese, garlic, cilantro,and the Sarpino's cheese.

When we got home, we dug in. Both were brimming with every bite of excellent flavor, The crust was on the thick side which is what we prefer. We both agreed both were excellent and would be back to try pizzas and parts of the menu. We also agreed this was some of the best pizza we have ever tasted (another favorite is Neopolitan Spin Pizza).

I believe Sarpino's has our vote and I believe will be grabbing a share of the pizza chain market. Pizza Hut and the other chains just don't stack up!

Restuarnant Finds : Waldo Pizza: it's about I tried this place

I heard this place was a long time favorite, had good pizza and has been around along time. I've never been here in my 20+ years in the KC area. In my search for the best pizzas, I thought why not sample many of its offerings during the lunch buffet. It is #1 pizza place in the area b Urbanspoon so that clinched.
Walking in the door I was seated immediately. Boxes and boxes were constantly going out for take outs. All sorts of people from businessman to families to couples kept streaming in all hour while I was there.
The salad bar was substantial with only one type of lettuce but man condiments (boiled egg, peas, etc) and dressings (except where was m beloved french to pair with the blue cheese). In short, I found all the pizzas good from the several I sampled from hamburger,s sausage (thick good), cheese (thick), tomato, olives and more (very good more like deep dish) and others. Also there was a real nice lasagna type dish made with not lasagna noodle but big bow ties. The very addictive desert apple pizza was superb , not too sweet and had a great crust too.
However I found several of pizzas were a little too salty for some reason. Not that bad to make me not eat them but definitely so that I felt the flavors were masked by extra salt. (Having been to China the previous summer, I can say I am an expert in too much salt ).
Waldo’s has specialty pizzas ( dozens of ingredients try), sandwiches, starters and even offers New Orleans Gumbo, beverages and beers and more on tap.
I do like this place but with the reservation about the salt. I am not sure if the saltiness is a one time thing. I probably think not though. People must just like it that way. However for my buck I would still go to my new favorite Sarpinos (on Quivira) and our other favorite Spin Neopolitan Pizza.

restaurant finds : The Best Food Ever Ate- Pizza

I’ve been to Atlanta for conferences and visit a friend and once. I’ve been to Asian restaurants, Chinese and lunch places. Pizza is no one my list. There are 868 pizza places by count in the Atlanta area. We rarely go out for Pizza. Frankly I don’t know how all the pizza places stay in business. Apparently there are a lot of people people eating pizza all the time.



Our favorite special pizza place like Neopolitan Pizza in Olathe, KS and a few others in Missouri , Kansas City area is a real great place to go not only for pizzas but more. But this is our current favorite. To me it is the best so because of the ingredients, wood fired oven, crust and toppings. The eggplant one, with mozzarella cheese and sun dried tomato was awesome. I did not know they own the Bagel & Bagel and Einstein Bagel locally.Also check out their cool dessert gelatto.

Recently while stormchasing around Omaha, Nebraska this year (2009) , I hit Pizza Hut buffet for the good deal it was and it was not too bad along with another small chain in Omaha. But I am still working for better pizzas besides the one I make on my own ( I love to make Thai pizza and more).

But Big Pie in the Sky one is the #75 restaurant as voted in the area by Urbanspoon and #6 pizza place so it can’t be that bad. I noticed it on the food challenge in Man vs Food TV show. While I like to pig out, this would be even too much for me to down the 30 inch pie with someone. No one has even made it and I can see one. I am getting too old and selective to pig out even half this much and beside my wife would kill me.

But closer to where I grew up (Providence, RI), there are some in NYC (and other places perhaps depending on where I travel were recently featured in the new Food Channel TV show, The Best Food I ever ate, which is fast becoming one of my shows to find the best places to eat.



Ted Allen likes this place as his best. He loves the arguula and parmesan plus olive oil. He loves the thin crust.


But Duff Golman (Ace of Cakes) likes Gino’s East likes this Gino;s East. Sausage monster deep dish with tons of meat.

But Mark Summers disagrees on the best place. He finds his in of all place Philadelphia where there are over 2000 pizza joints. There are 4 of the Osterio places and he finds this the best one so I wondered why. It’s not in Urbanspoon’s top 10.



Marc Summers loves the Marguerite pizza . Basil, olive oil, wood burning over flavored , crispy , he just loves all the smells of it . He likes to eat the whole pie by himself!



I’ve been to Seattle and loved the thai, Asian (Wild Ginger restaurant) and others. But a Pizza town, Never thought of it. But there are over 800 and while this one is not in the top 10, over 800 people at this point rated it 80% favorable. So he must know what he is talking about. But which one does he like the best? Tyler Florence likes the Roasted Chanterels Truffle Cheese pizza at Serious Pie as hit favorite. It’s got mushrooms, sea salt, chewy sour dough bread like crust baked with Apple wood in its oven.

I have seen pizza with potato on it and have some recipes maybe even tried one or two creations myself in the last years. But now because this food network star in NYC and her restaurant Butter chooses this one a try, I might have to try it the next time I am in N NYC. But before that may come about I might have to use my new thin shaving mandolin to make one myself. But I have to search for what will make it special besides the pizza and recipes I already have to compare.



And just like, my wife or get a pizza craving once in awhile when the pizza song plays in our ears, Alex Guarnaschelli has to go to this place. But why this place. She never thought of a potato pizza but she says it is special. But why makes it her favorite? The lightness of the potatoes, the crust and more. So I must fine a good recipe and surprise it on my wife and see what she thinks.

And this is another different type pizza you normally see at the low cost pizza buffets. They are never bad but it would be interesting to find a real good recipe to try. Chocolate Pizza at Max Brenner in NYC might have the key ingredients before I get to NYC again.



Aaron Sanchez found this one in a serious chocolate place. Over 200 people love it (84%) and the Israeli chocolatier's first U.S. location as a chocolate-themed restaurant seems to be a hit. There is a lot and lot of chocolate going on here and I need to get to this place in the future. Some Urbanspoon mentioned the chocolate pizza, which was a soft sweet crust topped with melted milk chocolate and marshmallows. He likes the Belgian chocolate,pizza with layers on dough. It’s messy and sounds like a somores.


Meanwhile Red Salt pub in Atlanta has the best pizza . I would not think that with a pub but apparently this place has more going for it then standard boring pub food.

So many tasty pizza types at CPK which one do you select?

There seems to be so many pizza places in cities and towns all over. They are around every corner. I frankly don't understand how all the pizza places stay in business (some don't). Most of them have the boring regular types like pepperoni, cheese, sausage or hamburger or "ply" special gimics or bigger pieces. But there must be something that keeps most of them in business. But when I tasted a (boring ) Domino cheese pizza during a meeting , I shook my head and wondered, is this what what is all about? No because I don't want to eat the usual pizza. I mean I do but I would rather a pizza type that I can remember. I want something different. I am not much for chains but at this chain, there are so many different types of tasty toppings, I almost don't know which to choose. I tasted the BBQ chicken with that smoked gouda is something else (the first topping born for this chain in1985) when I tasted this type long ago in an airport. I was hooked. Since then I have tasted the Jamaican jerk chicken with the sweet Caribbean sauce and (I love) Thai chicken with mozzarella and spicy peanut chicken and sesame sauce. I really want to sink my teeth into the Mango Tandoori Chicken pizza. I'd like to compare the roasted Garlic chicken to another pizza place I love.But now there is more to the menu with great appetizers, salads, thin crust pizzas , pastas, specialties and even smoothies! So when I come here again, I know I want the tried and true honey-wheat dough but which one of the toppings from the 21 do I pick? I pick one from the " unusuals" because that is what pizza taste is all about - taking pizza to a different level. Now that this pizza (and more ) chain is in town, I can check things out even further. I also might get their pizza recipe book to make some of the delicious pizzas at home too. Then there will be Kansas City Pizza Kitchen.

Whole Foods I like but I sure would like Trader Joes to come here

I usually come here to get spices. I also sometimes get dough for making my pizza. I have noshed on some of the free stuff but have never eaten at the food section. Everyone remarks about the higher price of most items but the place is interesting, the people are friendly and you can get vegan, all sorts of vegetarian, beef, fish, pizza and so much more in the way of different canned food etc. It's always a nice place to come in and browse and buy different items I would not find in a regular grocer. While I like this place and even better the hometown one in Lawrence, I wish Trader Joe would come here. (more at my blog)

St. Louis Pizza what is it and where do I find it?

This place has been around for 2 years and even though we have been by it for years, we never knew it existed. This was even more apparent when we first heard about it and were driving around trying to find the place, even though we pretty much understood where it was. Finally at night, we found it. The reason it was difficult is there is not lighted sign , We came for a party. All the state are very courteous and helpful. Wed quickly found out that these square, huge pizzas are different and tasty,
What makes a St. Louis pizza anyway?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Louis-style_pizza
It has a distinctive superthin unleavened crust using usually a combination of provolone, swiss, and white cheddar cheeses. The taste was a little on the sweet side and the pies did not have a lot of sauce. But there had great taste and were very different tasting. We had veg, pepperone, and cheese pizzas for this group in a buffet format. Lots of fun and homestyle place. Also there was salad with Italian dressing which which were okay ( I prefer Italian dressing to be slightly tangier). They also have subs, many other types of pizzas, sandwhiches and more.
I am glad we found the place and tasted these different pies. Find it and try it too.

Stromboli's was a volcano and this restaurant's pizza was hot

 A few years ago my sister took me to this place (posted on the take out menu as Newtonville). While I don't see this location on Urbanspoon I believe it is part of that chain. I remember the inside the smell of the Italian dishes. I believe I tried the Giadrdinni " a garden fresh vegetable pizza with onion, mushrooms and mozzorella. I remembered the place and the pizza and it was very good.

great prices, very mediocre pizza, great buns though

 We have eaten at this place and the one in Overland Park. When we want a quick pizza fix once every couple of months, and have one of those couple coupons, we go here. We don't come for the pizza though. The salads are very bland. The chicken soup is very salty. There is all you can eat pizza, pasta noodles and sauces and desserts/ pizzas (more about that soon).
The chicken buffalo type bbq pizza is not bad but the chicken pieces are so tiny you can't even taste it. The white cheese pizzas are probably the best as well as couple of others but most of the other pieces (the hamburger etc ) are reallymediocree nothing special at all. But when you are finished with your drink and meal, you come to the best: theCinnamonn buns.
They are hot,gooeyy and to die for. They are that good and I think rival any cinnamon buns I have eaten. I think they are that good. Try for yourself and see what you think. Also compare the pizza and the rest of the stuff. But it is the buns you will lick your lips for when you think about this place.

Cinzettis : my favorite Italian restaurant in Kansas City City- maybe yours too


I grew up in Providence, RI. When my family went out, it we mostly for either Italian or Fish ( I can never remember Asian or Chinese). But now in Kansas, Italian is what we mostly share at home and don't usually eat Italian at a restaurant. But if we do, I am a little picky about the prices. I am not interested in the Italian restaurants with nice choices but mega buck prices or that have entrees that you have to pay extra ( for sides or salads). To me that is being too pretensious. When this place opened a few years ago (an off shoot of one built in Colorado I believe), I had to try it. And it was as good as advertized and even more.

For the price, variety, quality and all , this is our favorite Italian restaurant. For a buffet the quality is amazing and always consistently good and excellent. You can graze and do tapas, sampling through the many of the salads, sides, pizza, spaghetti (and meatballs) ,chicken ( roasted , baked ), fried fish, soups and other dishes. You can just concentrate on a couple dishes if you want but it is more fun to "graze" and try different dishes The crispy and delectable calamari is "to die for" (much better compared to PF Changs). The chicken spedini is delicious and is also one of my favorites that I always have to try. The vegetable and other different types of frittata are crispy Don't shy away from a buffet. . Then work your way to the fantastic desserts, the ice cream. Fri to Sunday night they have a crepe bar that you can fill with fruis, whipping cream and more. I always bring relatives, family and friends here when they want Italian. They are truly amazed at the price and how good the food is. And for those who don't think that the food is "not Italian enough" I say fine. If you have not tried this "buffet" you are missing out quality that is consistently good and has all types of Italian fare. Plus its on a good budget.

Johnny;s Brusco's New York Style Pizza Tasty entrees, awesome stromboli and good prices

My friends told me about this place where they come now almost weekly. That said and the Mini Garlic bread knots were awesome. Well I had to come along with them and see for myself. They were righ. This place has tasty out of the ordinary entrees and more then just pizza ( salads, subs and much more). The portions are huge. Those doughy knots were garlicky and swimming olive oil and pieces of garlic. Great to dip in and drizzle on anything else we ordered. My friends loved the pizzas, the eggplant parmesian in the house tomato sauce and the chicken caesar salad. I ordered the syracuse sttuffer stromboli and boy was it ever. The baked dough was savory and about as big as my arm! The mild cheese had nice chunks of steak , veggies. It was so huge I left 2/3 to take home. They nicely left a little container of the tomato sauce which by the way had a unique flavor. The chunky sauce has lots of tomato flavor, very fresh and with garlic and some other spices I could not identify (cilantro?). The menu has a wide variety of entrees including italian dinners, specialty pizzas (many toppings) , wraps, subs . The prices are very reasonable and priced right. Supposedly students come here all the time and I can see why. I can't wait to come back. My only problem is what should I try next ?

Blue Grotto sings the blues with urbanspoon

We almost went here last week but since my wife and her pals were going anyway, I thought I would find out what is happening as this restaurant through my wife and some pizza she came back with. She also brought back the menu and I was no impressed. There were 9 types of pizzas , 5 starter plates and 3 salads. Since its a wine bar there is also a big list (but as far as I know no one in her group had wine).
I tasted a piece of Four seasons with crimini mushrooms (very small pieces), marinated artichokes (once again small and could not really taste them), black olive flecks and pecorino cheese. It did not really have a great flavor to it. The Funghi mushroom pizza was unremarkable as well. I would not travel all the way down near the Plaza for this medicore pizzas. For better pie and more innovative wood fire pizza, I would take Neopolitan Spin pizza anytime.

If you come to Cici's Pizza you really come for this not the pizza

Who doesn't like pizza? There are so many places to get pizza when you want a pie but where do you go? Once in awhile when we really get a craving try a chain pizza place which is usually not what we do. (the real reason coming up). If we want to try several types, at a cheap prize plus salad bar and drink for free we go to Cici's for the 2 special for $10. There is pastas for sauces ( tomato and alfredo type) too, passable but edible salad with croutons and salad dressings. The best pizza is the margherita and some other ones are okay. The buffalo chicken pizza is okay but it would be better with larger chicken pieces (which are are so miniscule you hardly taste the chicken. You get free pop. lemonade etc with refills . You can even ask the pizza makers to order up you own pizza if the types have not come out in a while. But the thing that we really come for and you should be too, is the "to die for " warm stick buns. They are rich, gooey and if you get them right when they come out of the oven, they are even better. The chocolate pizza and fruity one are not bad for dessert either but these buns are the best ( I mean some bakeries you have to pay $5 just for a good dessert bun). So I like I say want real good pizza try some other place. Want cheap passable pizza but gooey buns try cici's

skinny pizzas try one

There are quite a few very interesting recipes for pizzas that help cut down the fat and calories. Many don't use cheese and are very tasty. There are all types using beef, chicken , veggies, garlic and more. Most have a short list of ingredients and are easy to make. The peppers, garlic, and anchovy pizza was a winner (9.5/10) and there are many more I want to try. Give a try and make a skinny pizza.

http://www.amazon.com/Skinny-Pizzas-Americas-Favorite-Cookbook/dp/1572840021

Most expensive pizza

I will travel to NYC next May but I won't be eating this pizza. I saw it on TV. The most expensive pizza with different types of caviar, creme fresh, lobster meat and more. There is another version I think had gold foil on it.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17627149/

Wood fired pizzas are all the rage in Kansas: Rhode Island helped make them a signature entree all over

Wood Fired Pizzas
I first learned about wood burning fired pizza AL Forno's in Providence, where I grew up and where these fire pies started and became the rage in the US.
www.alforno.com
The couple chef team Johanne Killeen and George Germon, also opened Lucky's, which is a less expensive, less upscale but still fantastic restaurant with Italian fare as well. Here is a run down of how they got started and developed their gourmet concepts and more.

http://www.providencephoenix.com/archive/features/00/03/23/ALFORNO.html

When I ate at Al Fornos many years ago, as far as I remember, we did not eat pizza. All I remember was the fiery hot harissa orangey condiment, one of the hotest and spicest I have ever eaten.

I found many reviews of this place at
http://www.yelp.com/biz/al-forno-restaurant-providence

In some of the reviews I learned about the chefs cookbook which featured many of their own Italian creations and not the "run of the mill" Italian fare found all over. Now that's right up my alley as I am not really up for Italian most of the time except when we go to (to my liking Cenzetti's in OVerland Park, KS) which is an all you can eat buffet with all of the best Italian fare in one place with quality.

http://www.amazon.com/Top-Spaghetti-Macaroni-Linguine-Penne/dp/0060598735

I posted my take on reviews for this book

http://www.amazon.com/review/RQNORKKJWJHO5/ref=cm_cr_rev_detup_redir?%5Fencoding=UTF8&cdPage=1&newContentID=MxJ36TPO2P7DED#Mx1LO3AXOM0VL8L

Your post, in reply to an earlier post on Aug 21, 2008 7:46 AM PDT
Eric Flescher says:
I originally come from Providence (now live in Kansas) and have eaten at Al Forno's in the past. I have watched the Food Channel and also the name of shows and recipes that include their name and feel a little proud of that even though I have eaten there once. They must being doing something right to start/ elevate this wood fired pizza trend all over , from Providence. I also saw on Yelp a review that included this book so I looked it up because it seemed to tell that the book less then your average Pizza recipe fare which is what I always look for. I also look for the reviews to find substance, ideas and whether I should buy the book. Some have dissed the major reviewer (Mr. Marold) in this thread, whom I do not know. I agree that unless you tell which of the recipes you have actually tried in the book (as I do and place on my blog) then you are not doing the review justice. In reviewing my dozens of cookbooks for my blog, I always include which recipes I have tried ,with my ratings). I feel that this gives authenticity to my reviews (good, bad or indifferent) , recipes, my take on the recipes and the book itself. I also do the same for my technology hardware, software and book reviews because you have to know the "insides" of the book and try them. So I am glad others have chimed in. I will try and get the book soon and try some of the recipes myself. Thanks very much for posting this thread and review and comments

Meanwhile this place has a review in the Kansas City Star 8/21/2008 and received a 3/4 rating.
The Blue Grotto is a new wood fired pizza place
http://www.pitch.com/locations/blue-grotto-679683/

On of their recipe salads includes ( I don't have the quantities)

whole leaf romaine
straw cut apples
red onions
blue cheese crumbles
candied nuts

I found a good recipe for the
lemon vinaigrette

Bon Appétit | December 1998

Servings: Makes about 3/4 cup.
subscribe to Bon Appétit
Ingredients
1/2 cup olive oil
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon minced shallot
1 1/2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon grated lemon peel
1/2 teaspoon sugar
Preparation
Whisk all ingredients in bowl to blend. Season with salt and pepper. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Chill. Bring to room temperature before using.)

Best Pizza in Chicago?

I wonder whether these really are the best in Chicago? Is it the taste, ingredients or ?
We have some good ones here in Kansas City area.

The latest real good one is Neapolitan Pizza that also really have great flavors of dessert gelato (the pumpkin one was amazing). Also Hand-tossed, stone-fired pizza, salads, sandwiches, wine
We will try the specials possibly next week.

W. 119th St, Overland Park, AL 66209