Archive for category: Review

Bridget and I visited the Bull’s Eye Bar at Black Angus Steakhouse in Northridge, Ca. and we ordered a few items from their new bar menu.  The tasty pizza dough is supplied by  http://www.pattyspizza.com/

PERSONAL-SIZED PIZZAS

10” round thin crush with 8 slices.

Pepperoni and Baby Portabella Pizza
Fire-grilled crust with pizza sauce, pepperoni, baby portabella mushrooms, Mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses. $8.99

BBQ Chicken Pizza – NEW!
With lightly smoked BBQ sauce, grilled chicken, Mozzarella cheese and topped with fresh tomatoes, red onion and cilantro. $8.99

http://www.pattyspizza.com/orders/ Check it out. Black Angus has enjoyed a reputation as a family style steak house. Yet, I haven’t visited a steak house in the last decade, or maybe the last 2 decades. I have some very happy memories of Black Angus Restaurant visits with my small children and their grandparents in the early 1990′s. Pizza forward to 2012, I cook better, I eat healthier, and I share more….I love the crispy pepperoni coins on the Bulls Eye pepperoni pizza. They grilled the crust very well. I’m not a huge fan of BBQ chix pizza because usually the sauce steams instead of grilling the crust. But the Bulls Eye Bar did a great job of avoiding this common problem. I wish a long and happy pairing of Black Angus Bulls Eye Bar and Patty’s Pizza.

Chix pizza on left, pepperoni on right.

http://www.lavecchia.com/
La Vecchia has one of LA’s best happy hours. They offer smaller, but not small, plates of their best selling dishes at reduced prices along with happy hour prices on their wines. I ordered my favorite margarita pizza. The crust wasn’t made ‘in house’ but it was nicely charred the way I like my pizza. Their pizza was topped with a sweet tomato sauce, fresh basil leaves and stringy mozzarella. The crowd at the bar was lively on a weekday night. The room was noisy but not overly loud. My girlfriend, Debbie, ordered the pizza rustica. It was not to her liking and the management noticed and took it off our bill. Nice touch, La Vecchia.

It is a good thing when my busy family can eat together on a weeknight. I wanted a location that all of us could get to quickly. Nick comes from Downtown LA, Danny and I drove from No.Hollywood and Angela is in Hollywood. Angela suggested Mohawk Bend, http://mohawk.la/about/ in Echo Park. They have a large and varied menu that we liked because of our different diets. I ordered the ‘Holy Trinity Pizza’ (aka margarita). The sauce was so good it could have been made by me. The crust had a great chew, I would have liked it to be crisper. I had 2 pieces leftover that I warmed up in my toaster oven tw0 days later. They had the right amount of chew and crispiness. Across the table from me, Jerod enjoyed the ‘Able Farmin’ vegan pizza. They have a large menu of non pizza items and a huge (72 taps) beer menu.

I was in Denver last Tuesday and I visited Udi’s Pizza Cafe in old town Arvada Co.
http://udisfood.com/cafes/Udi-s-Pizza-Caf-Bar-in-Olde-Town-Arvada
Udi’s is a Denver based business with many specialties, a local artisan bakery, a catering company, 5 Denver cafes, and 2 national baking companies. I had a tasty mango and avocado salad. I shared my sister’s very yummy gluten free margarita pizza. The gluten free crust could be called crispy flat bread pizza.

My dad ordered Udi’s ‘lunch special’ pepperoni pizza with a chopped salad, all of which, he enjoyed.
Our server. Michael, was polite, knowledgeable, and fun.
February 6th was my mother’s 80th birthday and she enjoyed the brie and apple sandwich.

I insisted that we order the ‘Butterscotch Pudding with Salted Caramel’ for dessert. This is a dessert that is very close to my foodie soul. I love it and I’ve made it and the ‘bar’ is very high. It was delicious but I do have a few notes. 1) Call it “Butterscotch Pudding with Caramel topped with whipped cream and a strawberry garnish”. 2) Change your recipe to “Butterscotch Pudding” with a topping of caramel and fleur de sel. The whipped cream and strawberry are not necessary and you can’t taste the salt in your caramel.
I liked this restaurant, the location, the menu, and the staff. I’ll be back in June.

At home in LA, I rarely eat pizza because, I’m busy, I’m too tired, or it’s too far to drive. When I get to NYC, I love to go on a pizza crawl. I have an abundance of NY pizza pictures in my iphoto album. Danny and I spent last week in the Big Apple. I don’t know why they just don’t call NYC “The Big Slice”. We found this little, warm and cozy pizza bar in the Bowery.

Posto Pizza is a really thin crust that has a great flavor. We enjoyed the artichoke pizza. The crust was nicely charred. The sauce and toppings were perfectly done and well balanced.

POSTO Thin Crust Pizza 212-716-1200
www.postothincrust.com/
POSTO 310 Second Avenue, @18th St. NY, NY 10003.
Phone: 212-716-1200 / Fax: 212-716-1222. Delivery hours: Everyday until 10 PM

Stark Bar is located on the patio at the LA County Museum of Art. The bar offers a Mediterranean inspired, small plate menu. Bridget, Emma and I enjoyed this fior di latte (milk’s flower) pizza today. There was a drizzle of chili oil on top of the cheese that made the pizza a bit too spicy for young Emma. The pizza was tasty but not crusty enough for me. I had a glass of perfectly chilled, Cote de Provence Rose. The museum and patio bar are a perfect paring for a Sunday afternoon in LA.