Salerno-Pincente Ristorante, Hodgkins Thin
Hidden 500 yards from La Grange Road in the commercial town of Hodgkins is a nice Italian restaurant (or should I say ristorante! Maybe I should change my name to Mario Warneri)
Guys, there is an OTB in the same building! For the non-gamblers, OTB stands for Off-track betting. For you stupid non gamblers, a place where you can place a legal money wager on a horse or horses
that are racing around an oval track. Unfortunately, I believe the minimum age to enter is 82 years old and you have a deep scratchy voice and a cigarette handing out of you mouth. Unlike Vegas, they do not need to pump in extra oxygen as everyone brings their own in those portable oxygen tanks.
The restaurant is nice, fairly large with several separate rooms for groups and the conversation level is good so Cathy could hear my meaningless babble.
My favorite feature of the place was the fancy entry doors, part door and part window, where you can see movement but not really see in. They reminded me of my favorite television show, The Sopranos, so it must be an Italian thing.
Of course, started with our appetizer of choice, onion rings and loaf of very good bread, yes a loaf. (not to mention names but Cathy had most of it) The onion rings were hot, thin crispy and good but not memorable.
The pizza was a thin crust (waitress’ choice) with sausage and ½ sausage, green pepper and mushrooms. Overall the pizza was good but not memorable. The crust was crispy but seems to lack flavor and texture. The sauce and cheese were very good. The others items, sausage, green pepper and mushrooms were at the party but seems to be shy to join into the fun. Overall, very nice restaurant, reasonably priced and good selection of Italian dishes, but the pizza was not top 5 material.
Need I say, everything was accompanied with our beverage of choice, Miller Lite.
I simply was not WOWED and if you know me, I like to be WOWED! The bowls of pasta looked very good and seemed to be very popular, so a revisit may be needed.
The pizza was good but not memorable.
2 pizza cutters
Sunday, January 25, 2009
Snowy Night and a new pizza joint
Papa Passero’s Pizzeria, Westmont, Medium
We were invited by Cathy’s good friend, Jill, her daughter Julie and Julie’s friend Katie for pizza.
Papa Passero’s is a great place to bring to bring your family, as it has something for everyone. For the men; beer, pizza and a lot of sports on TV to watch. For the women; beer, pizza and a lot of sports on TV to keep their men. For the kids; a playroom filled with video games. My fondest memories of Papa Passero’s is bring my kids there, handling them each $10 and not seeing them for the next two hours. Except, every 5 minutes hearing someone say, “Can you hold this”, I still find those little bouncing balls.
If Katie’s mom is reading this, a suggestion, buy your daughter a huge bag of Flintstone hard candy next Christmas and you will not see her for days. Katie, you are the best!!
On every pizza box, Papa Passero’s is proud to let you know that they have been in business since 1977. No need to take your shoes off, (for counting purposes), that is 32 years in the same location. Well, it’s sad to realize that 32 years ago I was only a sophomore in high school, yes, high school. So 32 years ago I was being
rejected by girls (not women, girls), as they all wanted “older” men, juniors, and being picked on by soccer players. For you
youngsters, in 1977 soccer players were not as athletic or tough as they are today. On the toughness scale, soccer players were only
one notch above the guys in drama club.
Of course, we had started with onion rings and a pitcher of Blue Moon beer. Note to self, future blogs, onions rings and beer. The onion rings were very good, thin and crispy. As I have said many times, put beer in front of me, no matter what kind, I will drink it. And I did. It is a good change of pace, just that very manly to have beer with an orange in it in front of me. Maybe it shows my sensitive side, yup, that my story and I am sticking to it.
Now to the reason we are here, the pizza. We had a sausage and mushroom pizza with a medium crust. Our server said the medium crust was about 1 centimeter in thickness, well as the thin crust was half a centimeter. I guess they last measure their crust 32 years ago when the metric system meant something. Let’s review the pizza as it was constructed, from the bottom up. First, the crust which I thought was very good, 1 centimeter in thickness, well cooked, with a little blackness on the bottom. Next is the sauce which I thought was the best part of the pizza. It was not too sweet or too overpowering, to quote goldilocks, “it was just right”. Perhaps the best sauce I have had so far. If I would stop now it would make my top 5 pizza, but that would not fair to you. I will group the rest of the pizza, (sausage, mushroom and cheese) together as none of them stood out on its own. The sausage and cheese were good but nothing special. And the mushrooms were unnoticeable and did not add much flavor.
Overall, a nice place, good onion rings, beer, sports and a good but average pizza.
2 pizza cutters.
We were invited by Cathy’s good friend, Jill, her daughter Julie and Julie’s friend Katie for pizza.
Papa Passero’s is a great place to bring to bring your family, as it has something for everyone. For the men; beer, pizza and a lot of sports on TV to watch. For the women; beer, pizza and a lot of sports on TV to keep their men. For the kids; a playroom filled with video games. My fondest memories of Papa Passero’s is bring my kids there, handling them each $10 and not seeing them for the next two hours. Except, every 5 minutes hearing someone say, “Can you hold this”, I still find those little bouncing balls.
If Katie’s mom is reading this, a suggestion, buy your daughter a huge bag of Flintstone hard candy next Christmas and you will not see her for days. Katie, you are the best!!
On every pizza box, Papa Passero’s is proud to let you know that they have been in business since 1977. No need to take your shoes off, (for counting purposes), that is 32 years in the same location. Well, it’s sad to realize that 32 years ago I was only a sophomore in high school, yes, high school. So 32 years ago I was being
rejected by girls (not women, girls), as they all wanted “older” men, juniors, and being picked on by soccer players. For you
youngsters, in 1977 soccer players were not as athletic or tough as they are today. On the toughness scale, soccer players were only
one notch above the guys in drama club.
Of course, we had started with onion rings and a pitcher of Blue Moon beer. Note to self, future blogs, onions rings and beer. The onion rings were very good, thin and crispy. As I have said many times, put beer in front of me, no matter what kind, I will drink it. And I did. It is a good change of pace, just that very manly to have beer with an orange in it in front of me. Maybe it shows my sensitive side, yup, that my story and I am sticking to it.
Now to the reason we are here, the pizza. We had a sausage and mushroom pizza with a medium crust. Our server said the medium crust was about 1 centimeter in thickness, well as the thin crust was half a centimeter. I guess they last measure their crust 32 years ago when the metric system meant something. Let’s review the pizza as it was constructed, from the bottom up. First, the crust which I thought was very good, 1 centimeter in thickness, well cooked, with a little blackness on the bottom. Next is the sauce which I thought was the best part of the pizza. It was not too sweet or too overpowering, to quote goldilocks, “it was just right”. Perhaps the best sauce I have had so far. If I would stop now it would make my top 5 pizza, but that would not fair to you. I will group the rest of the pizza, (sausage, mushroom and cheese) together as none of them stood out on its own. The sausage and cheese were good but nothing special. And the mushrooms were unnoticeable and did not add much flavor.
Overall, a nice place, good onion rings, beer, sports and a good but average pizza.
2 pizza cutters.
Saturday, January 10, 2009
What do the pizza cutters mean?
Here is a review of my review system:
4 Pizza cutters: Excellent, need to have once in your lifetime!
3 Pizza cutters: Very Good, worth a road trip.
2 Pizza cutters: Average, Hungry? well this is food.
1 Pizza cutters: Bad, if you go here, you are an idiot!
0 Pizza cutters: Sent Gar to the emergency room.
4 Pizza cutters: Excellent, need to have once in your lifetime!
3 Pizza cutters: Very Good, worth a road trip.
2 Pizza cutters: Average, Hungry? well this is food.
1 Pizza cutters: Bad, if you go here, you are an idiot!
0 Pizza cutters: Sent Gar to the emergency room.
Sunday, January 4, 2009
New Year, New Pizza!!
New year day 2009.
Well, we did it! Get your mind out of the gutter! I mean we used one of our emergency pizza joints. The wife (aka cathy) was busy drinking beer and playing poker all day, so she decided we needed food. Of course, Pizza is always there for you when you need it, just like your favorite dog. So we had Tortorice's Pizza in Downers Grove. I must mention that I have had it many times so I will be a little bias as it always been good. Now to the details, we had a sausage pan pizza. The crust is good, doughy (is that a word or just bad spelling!) with alot of chesse. However, the best part is the sausage. It has a fabulous taste and is a little spicy! Wow, that is a sentence I never expected to write. So overall it was a great day (except for the Blackhawks losing!), hockey, beer, chili, (Nice job, Bill), poker, and pizza. I even won money at poker!
I should be offended as my wife would not ask me for any poker advice, she asked the LOOOSSSEEEERRSS! I must admit even I wouldn't ask me for poker advice.
I will provide a status of where we are at in the project soon.
Rating 3 out of 4 pizza cutters.
Well, we did it! Get your mind out of the gutter! I mean we used one of our emergency pizza joints. The wife (aka cathy) was busy drinking beer and playing poker all day, so she decided we needed food. Of course, Pizza is always there for you when you need it, just like your favorite dog. So we had Tortorice's Pizza in Downers Grove. I must mention that I have had it many times so I will be a little bias as it always been good. Now to the details, we had a sausage pan pizza. The crust is good, doughy (is that a word or just bad spelling!) with alot of chesse. However, the best part is the sausage. It has a fabulous taste and is a little spicy! Wow, that is a sentence I never expected to write. So overall it was a great day (except for the Blackhawks losing!), hockey, beer, chili, (Nice job, Bill), poker, and pizza. I even won money at poker!
I should be offended as my wife would not ask me for any poker advice, she asked the LOOOSSSEEEERRSS! I must admit even I wouldn't ask me for poker advice.
I will provide a status of where we are at in the project soon.
Rating 3 out of 4 pizza cutters.
Met a girl named January – Dec 20, 2008
On a snowy Saturday after doing some Christmas shopping, made a stop at Braconi’s Pizzeria in Naperville. See a pattern?
The restaurant was fairly empty except for two large parties. We then met our waitress, January, yes, a girl named January.
Before we could ask our next question, she commented that she was born in August and her parents did not do drugs. Questions I am sure she has been asked more times than you would like.
Now to the pizza, January recommended the Braconi’s Signature Pizza, a sausage and fresh basil on a whole-wheat crust.
She mentioned it was originally made by mistake but once they tried it, they loved it.
I guess some of the best things in life are often developed from a mistake. Who doesn’t enjoy the 3M post-it notes?
Unfortunately, the signature pizza is only available in a thin crust version. However, it was good. The crust was crispy but not over cooked.
The sausage was flavorful but nothing that special. The basil was fresh and gave the pizza an unique flavor.
Pizza was good the next day.
So drop into Braconi’s and meet a girl named January, but please do not call her Jan.
Rating 3 out of 4 pizza cutters.
Half-price Pizza and a bucket of beer, Life is GOOD! – Dec 13, 2008
On a snowy Saturday after doing some Christmas shopping, made a stop at Cross-town Pub in Naperville.
Very slow at the pub as the dining room was empty so we decided to sit in the bar area. All other patrons were sitting at the square bar
and were playing the bar poker game. They do enjoy their poker at the Cross-town Pub!
We decide to try the pizza, DA!, so we went with our standard; sausage, mushroom, and green pepper. Their pizza is thin crust with the sausage and veggies cooked on top of the cheese.
Overall, the pizza was good. I enjoyed the crust, as it was crispy the way I like it. Cathy like the way the veggies were cooked above the cheese.
Rating 3 out of 4 pizza cutters.
Connie’s Pizza – 11/30/2008
Pizza 2 days in a ROW! Connie’s pizza is a Chicago classic so not much can be said that has not already been said. Celebrating the in-laws birthdays.
The pizza of choice was the classic deep dish with sausage, onion, mushroom, and green pepper. Everything about this pizza is outstanding, however, in my opinion the crust is the
The crust is crispy and flaky and strong enough to hold all the cheese and veggies. A classic deep dish pizza that does Chicago proud.
Rating: 4 out of 4 pizza cutters.
Cornerstone (Darien) – 11/29/2008
Went to the Cornerstone restaurant to see a local band, Messy Marvin. The band was very good and played a good variety of music.
The pizza on the other hand was OK. We had a sausage and pepperoni thin crust pizza. The tomato sauce was very strong and provides most of the taste. I preferred a more subtle taste for my sauce
I could make this pizza at home.
Rating: 2 out of 4 pizza cutters.
On a snowy Saturday after doing some Christmas shopping, made a stop at Braconi’s Pizzeria in Naperville. See a pattern?
The restaurant was fairly empty except for two large parties. We then met our waitress, January, yes, a girl named January.
Before we could ask our next question, she commented that she was born in August and her parents did not do drugs. Questions I am sure she has been asked more times than you would like.
Now to the pizza, January recommended the Braconi’s Signature Pizza, a sausage and fresh basil on a whole-wheat crust.
She mentioned it was originally made by mistake but once they tried it, they loved it.
I guess some of the best things in life are often developed from a mistake. Who doesn’t enjoy the 3M post-it notes?
Unfortunately, the signature pizza is only available in a thin crust version. However, it was good. The crust was crispy but not over cooked.
The sausage was flavorful but nothing that special. The basil was fresh and gave the pizza an unique flavor.
Pizza was good the next day.
So drop into Braconi’s and meet a girl named January, but please do not call her Jan.
Rating 3 out of 4 pizza cutters.
Half-price Pizza and a bucket of beer, Life is GOOD! – Dec 13, 2008
On a snowy Saturday after doing some Christmas shopping, made a stop at Cross-town Pub in Naperville.
Very slow at the pub as the dining room was empty so we decided to sit in the bar area. All other patrons were sitting at the square bar
and were playing the bar poker game. They do enjoy their poker at the Cross-town Pub!
We decide to try the pizza, DA!, so we went with our standard; sausage, mushroom, and green pepper. Their pizza is thin crust with the sausage and veggies cooked on top of the cheese.
Overall, the pizza was good. I enjoyed the crust, as it was crispy the way I like it. Cathy like the way the veggies were cooked above the cheese.
Rating 3 out of 4 pizza cutters.
Connie’s Pizza – 11/30/2008
Pizza 2 days in a ROW! Connie’s pizza is a Chicago classic so not much can be said that has not already been said. Celebrating the in-laws birthdays.
The pizza of choice was the classic deep dish with sausage, onion, mushroom, and green pepper. Everything about this pizza is outstanding, however, in my opinion the crust is the
The crust is crispy and flaky and strong enough to hold all the cheese and veggies. A classic deep dish pizza that does Chicago proud.
Rating: 4 out of 4 pizza cutters.
Cornerstone (Darien) – 11/29/2008
Went to the Cornerstone restaurant to see a local band, Messy Marvin. The band was very good and played a good variety of music.
The pizza on the other hand was OK. We had a sausage and pepperoni thin crust pizza. The tomato sauce was very strong and provides most of the taste. I preferred a more subtle taste for my sauce
I could make this pizza at home.
Rating: 2 out of 4 pizza cutters.
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