Showing posts with label italian. Show all posts
Showing posts with label italian. Show all posts

Saturday, November 5, 2011

Italian Store (Lee Hwy meets Spout Run -- middle of nowhere Alrington)

Extremely popular deli/Italian grocer/eatery that serves some of the BEST subs/italian hoagies in the area. Waiting to place your order seems a time-honored tradition, but think on two things when you think you should not be waiting: 1) if these subs weren't this good, would there be this type of wait EVERYDAY? and 2) if other places made subs that were remotely close to being this good, would there be this type of wait EVERYDAY? Yeah, that's right. You wait until your number comes up.

Or you could get the to-go hoagies, but that's limited to two types, so if you want, you wait. And you'll like it.

The pizzas are so-so.

One of the first places we tried. We really found some gems early on here. Thank goodness for that! And when we first came, it didn't have any signage outside or anything. Some obscure place that had good reviews. You would have never known it was there. And still hard to see from the road.

Cost
$-$$

Cleanliness
Prep area seems clean enough.

Service
That's not what you're here for.

Pluses 
Best subs in the area
Outdoor seating

Minuses
You will wait
It's kind of out of the way
Only outdoor seating so if all the tables are taken, you take it to go

Overall value
One of the best bang-for-your-buck places.

Saturday, June 18, 2011

Delia's Pizza & Grill (Springfield)

Big Note: We stopped going here because of quite a few sanitary issues being reported on Yelp.  That's just unacceptable and we have been options.  Olympians being one.

Prior review
Was really looking for a good, tasty gyro in the Springfield area.  Searched the web and found Delia's was rated four stars on Yelp and that there were not many bad reviews, and the ones that were bad weren't because of the food or the establishment itself, but personal tastes/expectations.  We were warned to expect big portions, too. And we expect places with reviews that like the come through. Boy, did she.
We started with the dolmades.  Eight tasty fig wraps surrounding a small light greek salad.  Very basic, which also means very good. However, the one drawback is it was mostly rice, so while tasty despite this, if you go in expecting/wanting/expecting more filling variety, you'll be disappointed on that part.

L ordered a gyro wrap. Thinking that would be it, we were told, "Well, it comes with a side" -- fries, garlic mashed potato, plantains, yuca, and several other that I didn't hear because I stopped listening at yuca and plantains.  Plantains are maduros, not tostones, so I passed, instead ordering the yuca.  So L's meal ended up being four dolmades and a plate of yuca, because they brought me what was like one-and-a-half yucas, cubed, fried a perfect golden shade of awesome. It came with two sauces: one "regular" mayonessa sauce (likely mayo, garlic, paprika and tumeric) and one chili sauce (pureed peppers of a green variety).  Both were good, but that chili sauce was quite notable because it was different and had a nice spiciness.  Not too much, but a steady spice.

The gyro was tasty...all four bites taken from it.  Not because the portion was that small, but because we were so full!  Can't wait to see how well it is the next day.

M ordered a calzone with ham, spinach, onion and black olives.  It was big.  Let's put it this way, cut in half, it spanned across the normal-sized to-go box. Tasty and very toasted, but...it was not as crispy as expected. On its own merit, it was delicious. I hesitate to unfairly compare it to other calzones. The lack of crispy shell is the only minor complaint. It will make a hopefully, good next day meal.

Things to try in future visits: pasta carbonara (because they know it should have pancetta), chicken poblano, dessert, and the Wednesday pasta BOGO for 2.95 (seriously).


Cost
$$ -- It will sneak up on you if you aren't paying attention.

Cleanliness
Clean.

Service
Quite good and notable. Our waitress Megan was a great, funny saleswoman ("When we see you tomorrow...") and made our first trip a fun time out. It wasn't that busy, and it was quite notable how other staff would come by to pitch in and make sure we were taken care of. Definitely added positively to the experience.

Pluses 
Portions -- Everything you may read on Yelp or Yahoo reviews are all true.
Service.
Variety -- They have a wide array of food options. Some can see this as a negative (as one reviewer wrote: Do one thing well, then branch out).  But the positive is you need a go-to place that hits multiple things well enough for those nights you may not know what to eat and want to avoid a chain.
Local-owned mom-n-pop.


Minuses
Maybe the price but honestly, you can split a meal and two drinks and come out around $20 for two.

Overall value
Great value as you'll be paying for two meals in one and quality of ingredients.