REVIEW
Any chowder tour of the Oregon coast should include on its itinerary a visit to The Chowder Bowl, a few steps from the Pacific Ocean in the Nye Beach neighborhood of Newport. Continue reading
Category: Reviews (Page 7 of 16)
Highland Park Diner, Rochester NY
REVIEW
As committed diner fans, we don’t require much from them other than OK food and lack of filth. Pretty low standards, admittedly, but for a burger or bacon-and-egg breakfast it’s usually enough. Which is not to say we don’t appreciate a diner that’s either gorgeous or has exemplary eats. And the Highland Park Diner, in the South Wedge section of Rochester, scores on both points. Continue reading
Mastoris, Bordentown NJ
REVIEW
Everyone seems to have done their best to keep this fact hush-hush but Mastoris was sold a couple of years ago to Jimmy Manetas, owner of their neighboring diner, Town & Country. Unfortunately, the new ownership has not, in our experience, been good for Mastoris. The most readily visible sign of change is in those cinnamon and cheese breads at the start of the meal. One, they don’t always arrive if you don’t ask for them and, two, they have been made smaller. More importantly, we’ve had some problems with the food since the transfer, serious enough that we have stopped going to Mastoris, at least for the time being. Here’s hoping that they straighten things out and return to their former glory. What follows is our review of the pre-sale version of Mastoris: Continue reading
Il Conte Matto, Trequanda, Siena, Tuscany, Italy
REVIEW
Composta di melanzane e pomodor in emulsione di basilico: molded eggplant and tomato in a basil oil
Stahley’s, Allentown PA
REVIEW
Let’s get this out of the way up front: Stahley’s does not serve the best anything. We know that some people who come to LAF care about the food, and nothing but the food, and we have no problem at all with that approach but we have to say, if that describes you, do not come to Stahley’s. You will be disappointed. Continue reading
Stanich’s, Portland OR
REVIEW
How did Portland become such a hamburger-eater’s paradise? We expected to find all manner of local seafood, such as exquisite salmon, both smoked and fresh, and the enormous razor clams and Dungeness crab that this region is deservedly known for, and a farm country bounty of fresh-from-the-earth produce. What we did not expect was the burger-mania evident in this city. Continue reading
Grover’s Bar & Grill, East Amherst NY
REVIEW
A gentleman at the next table was regaling his family, and the waitress, with tales of how, when he was a teenager, he used to eat two hamburgers at Grover’s. We wondered at the amazed reactions to his dog-bites-man confession. Eating two burgers doesn’t seem so outlandish to us. Then our own burgers arrived, and we understood. Continue reading
Maruca’s Tomato Pies, Seaside Heights NJ
REVIEW
There are still many Trenton-area tomato pie aficionados who get misty-eyed at the mention of the long-departed Maruca’s. De Lorenzo on Hudson Street (now in Robbinsville), De Lorenzo on Hamilton Avenue (now in Hamilton Township), Papa’s (also now in Robbinsville), Joe’s (closed), Maruca’s: those were the Big Five. Maruca’s opened a branch at the Jersey shore and eventually closed up shop entirely in the city. Today, Maruca’s shore reputation may surpass its capital city rep. Many people claim that Maruca’s serves the best slices on the shore. We tend to agree with them. Continue reading
Gelateria Dondoli, San Gimignano, Siena, Italy
Pizza Perfect, Trucksville PA
REVIEW
Pizza snobs beware: what you will find at Pizza Perfect in Trucksville, PA, and at similar pizza specialists in the region, requires you to compartmentalize everything you think you know about what makes great pizza and what constitutes inferior pizza. In other words, enter these doors with an open mind and a LAF spirit. Continue reading
Saffron Salmon, Newport OR
REVIEW
The most common words used to describe Saffron Salmon are “fine dining.” Yes, the quality is high, and be forewarned, prices, while by no means outrageous, run beyond what LAF fans may have come to expect. Nevertheless, in our opinion, of the pricier restaurants of Newport, there’s no better place in which to drop a Benjamin. Continue reading
Greasy Nick’s, New Rochelle NY
REVIEW
For a summer patio picnic, Greasy Nick’s is just the ticket. A fiercely downscale New Rochelle spot, across the street from a gas station, there’s nothing refined about the food or setting. This urban shoreline treat is vaguely reminiscent of a New England clam shack, but with a city grit that is far removed from anything you’ll find along the coast of Maine. Continue reading
Magnifico’s Ice Cream, East Brunswick NJ
REVIEW
Many folks who grew up in New York, New Jersey, or Connecticut have fond memories of heading to the local Carvel stand for Brown Bonnets and Cherry Bonnets, Flying Saucers and twin peaks cones. Carvel is still around but most of the iconic stand-alone stores are not, at least not as Carvel stores. Pre-made ice cream cakes and supermarket novelties seem to be Carvel’s main focus today. Continue reading
Forno Campo de’ Fiori, Rome Italy
Philadelphia Soft Pretzels, Inc., Philadelphia PA
REVIEW
Maybe you’ve tried those butter-sopped mall pretzels, or the smoky (and too often dry and stale) New York City street cart pretzels, but until you’ve eaten one in Philadelphia you haven’t had soft pretzels at their best. Most people pick them up locally from a convenience store, or in brown paper bags from a street vendor, and they’re quite alright, but if you really want to see how good they can be, head straight for the bakery. Continue reading
Portland Farmers Market, Portland OR
REVIEW
We have a particular fondness for farmers markets, even the three vendor kind found by the side of the road in small towns. They provide an opportunity to enjoy real, local food presented in-season, by folks who usually care deeply about the products they offer. Most will readily chat up anyone showing an interest. It’s both inspiring and reassuring to hear the enthusiasm of these craftspeople working outside of the mass-production system. Continue reading
Forno Siciliano, Astoria NY
REVIEW
Crust is a big part of the story at Forno Siciliano. The pizza dough is stretched out on a semolina-sprinkled board, resulting in a sandy-textured surface around the edge and underneath the pie. It’s baked in an impressive wood-burning oven, which you see to your left as you enter. These pizzas pick up a whiff of smoke from that oven, and the intense heat gives the crust a good crunch without drying it out. The baked crust has a faint yeastiness and well-developed flavor to go along with a chewy texture. There won’t be a pan of pizza crust edges left over on your table. Continue reading
Joe’s Poultry Farm, Vineland NJ
REVIEW
We’d have to say that one of the great culinary developments of the new century has to be the ubiquity of the roasted supermarket chicken. Supermarkets upscale and pedestrian alike have found it makes sense to offer hot roasted chickens at a price not all that much more than the uncooked bird. It’s an incredible convenience for families without a dedicated homemaker. The one downside, as we see it, is that they often overdo the seasonings, and the result is a bird that tastes more of herbs or garlic or lemon than roasted chicken. Continue reading
Enoteca Bengodi, Castelnuovo Berardenga, Siena, Tuscany, Italy
REVIEW
An enoteca in Italy refers to anything from a wine store to a wine bar to a restaurant with a special focus on wine. Unlike in the US, wine in Italy practically requires a food accompaniment, so these wine bars will always have something available to eat (even a wine tasting during a winery visit will often come with a plate of salumi and bread). Also unlike the US, where wine bars can seem like serious and studied (and expensive) temples to fermented grape juice, Italian enotecas are casual places often serving a limited selection of the local rustic specialties. Continue reading
Waffle House, Weldon NC
REVIEW
The Waffle House has beckoned to us for years, decades even. We have a general aversion to chains, but a curiosity when it comes to regional chains. We’ve enjoyed Steak-N-Shake, Burgerville, Rubio’s fish tacos… not that we’d make a point of returning to most of them, but they were certainly worth the visit. The reason we’d never entered a Waffle House wasn’t that we actively avoided it but that there was always a better, independent option available, especially given their Southern locations. Continue reading
