Wednesday, November 28, 2012

La Scala Ristorante Italiano & Bar (Rome, GA)

Score 5: "MAKE A PUPPY PULL A FREIGHT TRAIN"

      While I am certainly not an expert on Italian cuisine I do know a thing or two about it. I spent some time in the Tuscan region of Italy last year primarily eating my way through the countryside with a little sight seeing between meals.

     La Scala offers authentic Italian cuisine hundreds of miles closer to home. With the low lighting and soft music it's upscale dining at reasonable prices. We found it to be a perfect date night spot, but not too stuffy to bring an entire family. They offer many daily specials along with an extensive wine list.

     Upon arrival we were greeted by the operations manager/owner, Kenny Tribble, whose attention to detail and exceptional service didn't go unnoticed.

     We started with an amuse bouche of trout mousse on a cracker with shaved carrots and briny capers. Then on to a lovely appetizer of clams and mussels in a white wine broth (I resisted the urge to down the addictively garlicky broth).

     The Pasta Arcobalene was a beautiful as it sounds. Sprial pasta in a creamy sauce with spicy Italian sausage and crisp tender red and green peppers. One of the specials of the evening was the bone in pork chop with risotto. The chop had a beautifully browned sear and was perfectly juicy (having cooked bone in chops I can tell you this is not an easy feat). The risotto was vibrant and creamy with tender strips of squash and zucchini. After watching the Christmas parade it was a perfect warm comforting treat. We paired our dinner with an excellent St. Jean merlot.

   On to dessert, we had the tiramisu and the creme brûlée cheesecake. Both were large enough to feed at least two people. The tiramisu was creamy with a nice punch of espresso. The cheese was rich and custardy without being coyingly sweet.

     If you can't make the trek to Italy I suggest making the trek downtown and having an exceptional Italian experience. As always you can read my reviews at coosavalleynews.com

SALUTE!!


Here's my scoring terminology:
1-5 "(5 being the highest)"
1: "Bless your heart"
2: "Don't stop Green Beanin' (For my Journey friends)"
3: "Medi'okra"
4: "Make ya slap your momma"
5: "MAKE A PUPPY PULL A FREIGHT TRAIN"


                                                                                         Amuse Bouche
                                               

Sunday, November 25, 2012

Shane's Rib Shack (Rome, GA)

Score (2) - 2: "Don't stop Green Beanin' (For my Journey friends)"

Shane's Rib Shack is a BBQ restaurant with several locations including one here in Rome, GA. My family is in full holiday swing and we were looking for a quick bite when we recently dined at Shane's. (The fact that I received a text with a pretty sweet deal also led to us eating there).


     When you enter you both pay and place your order at the front counter, which caused a bit of a traffic jam as hungry diners entered. It's probably only a lunch problem but it's a good problem to have.  The BBQ chicken plate appeared to be right up my alley along with a half rack of ribs. I ordered the chicken "naked" (I like to control just how much sauce goes on my food) with fried okra and macaroni and cheese as my two sides.


     After a short wait my food arrived, it was......hot. The chicken was gray, cubed and dry.  The   macaroni and cheese was that typically industrial shade of orange and didn't require the use of teeth. But the okra was to die for and the star of the show.  The exterior crunchy and the interior perfectly cooked saved the meal. 


     Let's talk about the ribs. If you're going to have "rib shack" in your name you better bring some game and they do.  These are some of the best pork ribs I've eaten (hey I'm a southern chick, I know my way around a rib bone). Smokey, fall off the bone with the perfect amount of sauce. We ordered a half a rack, big mistake. My husband and I looked like two stray dogs fighting over the last bone. Perfect for a football watching weekend.

    The staff was capable and courteous, the restaurant was clean, the bathroom was clean- unfortunately the lock was broken.  As always you can read my reviews every Monday and Tuesday at coosavalleynews.com 

CHEERS!

RL


Here's my scoring terminology:
1-5 "(5 being the highest)"
1: "Bless your heart"
2: "Don't stop Green Beanin' (For my Journey friends)"
3: "Medi'okra"
4: "Make ya slap your momma"
5: "MAKE A PUPPY PULL A FREIGHT TRAIN"



     

Sunday, November 18, 2012

Buenavista (Rome, GA)

Score (4):  "Make ya slap your momma"

      If you're anything like me you saw Buenavista opening in the old Santa Fe building and thought, "Oh great, another Mexican place". Occasionally I have to eat my words, this is one of those occasions.


      The place is stunning on the inside (broken mirror not withstanding) and unlike any other Mexican joint I've visited in Rome, GA.  Vibrant tasteful decor that transported me back to the time I spent in Mexico.  We of course were served chips and salsa upon arrival, they were fine -nothing to go nuts over.  Our server was friendly and prompt.  We asked him to suggest what he thought was tasty.  He recommended the California Burrito and the mixed grill fajitas.


       The California burrito is not only delicious but massive. (Way too much for most people to eat for lunch.  But maybe that's why someone invented the siesta.)  Inside the pillowy flour tortilla are spanish rice, spicy pico de gallo, marinated and very tender skirt steak, and creamy beans. The whole thing was topped with their "special" red sauce.  Not sure what made it Californian but it was great.


        My dining companion had the fajitas, grilled smokey pieces of steak and chicken, with grilled peppers and onions.  As soon as they brought it out my mouth started to water from the delectable aroma.  It's served with a side of spanish rice, and refried beans as well as the usual characters, lettuce, pico de gallo and flour tortillas.


           Overall the interior was lovely and inviting, the staff was quick and courteous.  The food tasty, plentiful and the prices were quite reasonable.  We will definitely be back.  As always you can read my reviews every Monday and Tuesday at coosavalleynews.com

CHEERS!



Here's my scoring terminology:
1-5 "(5 being the highest)"
1: "Bless your heart"
2: "Don't stop Green Beanin' (For my Journey friends)"
3: "Medi'okra"
4: "Make ya slap your momma"
5: "MAKE A PUPPY PULL A FREIGHT TRAIN"


Sunday, November 11, 2012

Zorba's (Cedartown, GA)

Score: (3)"Medi'okra"

Zorba's is a quaint little Italian place located in Cedartown, GA. We dined there on a Sunday around 12:30 and the place was jumping with the hungry after church crowd. I expected as much, so we didn't mind the 15 minute wait.

           After perusing the EXPANSIVE menu (which encompasses several different countries cuisines) I decided to stick with what they're known for, their Italian specialities. We ordered the lasagna and one of the specials, the spinach ravioli. Both were served with salad and bread. The salads were simple and delicious. Cold crisp iceberg, a slice of a crunchy cucumber, and a miraculously ripe (given the time of year) tomato. After eating a bunch of stadium food the night before at the Auburn game this was exactly what I wanted.

            Our entrees arrived, they are definitely a big fan of marinara sauce. The lasagna was fair, a bit one note. Too much cheese and sauce for my taste and I prefer my noodles al dente.  My dining companion happened to think it wasn't bad but he also dunks fast food hamburgers in Coca Cola so I don't take food advice from him. He always orders from the "Specials" when available and this time he got the spinach ravioli, well we think he did.  After a search and rescue, they were somewhere under the pool of sauce and blanket of cheese. While predictably frozen they weren't bad.  Just drowned.

            "Our Italian dishes are the best outside of Italy" is printed on the front of their menu.  Fair enough.  The prices are reasonable, staff courteous and picked each other up.  A rarity these days.

 As always you can read my reviews every Monday and Tuesday at coosavalleynews.com


CHEERS!



Here's my scoring terminology:
1-5 "(5 being the highest)"
1: "Bless your heart"
2: "Don't stop Green Beanin' (For my Journey friends)"
3: "Medi'okra"
4: "Make ya slap your momma"
5: "MAKE A PUPPY PULL A FREIGHT TRAIN"


                                                                                              Iceberg salad
                                                                                                     Lasagna
                                                                                              Spinach ravioli

Thursday, November 1, 2012

Morello's (Rome, GA)

Score: (3) "Medi'okra"

Morello's is a destination.  It's located inside of Celia's grocery store or supermercado in West Rome and offers authentic Mexican cuisine.  They have a small easy to understand menu (both in English and Spanish) with traditional latin staples.

Like any self respecting mexican restaurant, we started out with chips and salsa.  But these were fresh made chips with an array of dips. The chips came out hot and had a nice crunch to them. They were served with pico de gallo, which was heavy on the onion, garlic, and cilantro (exactly how I like it), salsa verde, a tomatillo based salsa which had a nice kick to it and guacamole which was much smoother than I had anticipated.

I ordered a steak taco and a chicken taco along with the refried beans and spanish rice. The tacos were served with in house fresh tortillas, the meat  had a nice sear to it yet was still juicy on the inside.  They were topped with grilled onions, diced onions, and cilantro.  You've had the beans and rice if you've ever eaten chain or "americanized" mexican and were exactly as you remember them.

My biggest issue was the ambience.  I wasn't looking for a mariache band and know this is a working lunch crowd but the music (-it wasn't even Mexican.  It was Pit Bull / Eminem rap) was entirely too loud, the restaurant was far too cold and it was quite stark.  If you're looking for authentic Mexican food, I'm not sure you'll find in better in the area.   Just bring a jacket and some ear plugs.

As always you can read my reviews every Monday and Tuesday at coosavalleynews.com.


CHEERS!



Here's my scoring terminology:
1-5 "(5 being the highest)"
1: "Bless your heart"
2: "Don't stop Green Beanin' (For my Journey friends)"
3: "Medi'okra"
4: "Make ya slap your momma"
5: "MAKE A PUPPY PULL A FREIGHT TRAIN"





Sunday, October 28, 2012

Harvest Moon (Rome, GA)

Score: (5): "MAKE A PUPPY PULL A FREIGHT TRAIN"

Disclosure: My husband designed their "cow" logo.

Harvest Moon is a funky eclectic joint that serves up some serious eats.  I gave them such a high score for a few reasons: 1- we had a party of six, 2- we had dinner Friday night right in the middle of the block party, 3- we were seated right away, and 4- the food was fast and superb. 

We started off having drinks at the bar with Rome's legendary bartender, Marty.  After a libation we were promptly seated at our table. Because of the traffic from the block party their specials that evening were several gourmet artisan burgers along with chicken sandwiches and a veggie option.  Being the red blooded carnivore that I am, I was in the mood for steak. 

I take my beef seriously.  I want it seared, I want it rare and I want it properly seasoned.  Or as William H. Macy's sheriff character said in the movie "Happy, Texas "Give me the meanest steak you got! Rare, and I mean rare! Just de-horn it, wipe its butt and send it in." (I know a filet isn't exactly a "mean" steak, but you get my drift) My steak was perfectly cooked, charred on the outside with a nice bright red center.  It also came with a twice baked potato and seared squash which were both lovely. The potato was creamy and cheesy and the nice bite of the squash was an excellent contrast. One person in our group ordered the gouda mac and cheese and suggested I try it.  I did.  We immediately ordered one for ourselves.  I'm not sure who made it, but they know their béchamel sauce. (I highly suggest you try it). Dinner ended with banana pudding and my two banana pudding experts, Candice Freeman and Lauren Heller both thought it was great. (I don't dig bananas).  All in all it was a wonderful evening and we will definitely be back. As always you can read my reviews each Monday and Tuesday at www.coosavalleynews.com 


CHEERS!

Here's my scoring terminology:
1-5 "(5 being the highest)"
1: "Bless your heart"
2: "Don't stop Green Beanin' (For my Journey friends)"
3: "Medi'okra"
4: "Make ya slap your momma"
5: "MAKE A PUPPY PULL A FREIGHT TRAIN"


Sunday, October 21, 2012

The Partridge (Rome, GA)

Score: (4) "Make ya slap your momma"

Three meats, five sides, a drink and dessert is a Southern tradition and exactly what you'll get on a Sunday afternoon at the Partridge restaurant in downtown Rome, GA.  The Partridge was established in 1933 and has long been a staple of the downtown dining scene.  (Their sign says it all.)  Upon arrival we were greeted by a lovely hostess and immediately escorted to our table just prior to the Sunday after church crowd. The Andrews Sisters, "Don't Sit Under the Apple Tree" was piping in and instantly warmed my heart putting me in a great mood for a nice homey meal.

Our waitress was an attentive young lady named, Cassidy.  She was, simply put, a gem. 
I learned a new phrase from her today as I was handing her my glass for a re-fill, she told me she caught me, "mid-ham". (I was about to eat a piece of ham). That my friends, is absolutely precious in my book and quintessentially Southern. 

I overheard her telling another table that she won "friendliest waitress".  I don't doubt that for a second. When you first sit down they bring you a little skillet of sweet hot cornbread and a side of cold creamy cole slaw. If they'd stopped right there I'd still be a happy camper. 

 'Family Style' is what's for lunch on Sunday at The Partridge,  which means they bring you several different meats and vegetables for you to share.  On this occasion, the menu consisted of, crispy and very juicy  fried chicken, (they go the extra step and brine theirs), sweet and salty spiral cut ham, plump turkey with gravy and dressing with the perfect hint of sage, corn (off the cob), pinto beans (pretty much a Southern staple), velvety mac and cheese, slow cooked green beans.  Our favorite was the squash and onions with a slight touch of garlic.  Although not offered on todays menu, their broccoli casserole is a must try.

Yes, you read that right, they literally serve you all this food for Sunday lunch.  When you're about to go into a food coma, you hear, "what would you like for dessert?"  On top of the delicious meal you just had they also include a dessert. The choices today were banana pudding, yellow cake with buttercream icing and peach cobbler.  Drinks are also included in the price of your meal. I'm a water drinker, but my tea expert said their tea was perfect  (fwiw: he's a half/half guy). If you in the mood for the Southern comfort food we grew up on with the added bonus that you don't have to cook it or clean up after (clean, ugh!!!) The Partridge is the place to go.  As always you can read my reviews every Monday and Tuesday at www.coosavalleynews.com


CHEERS!

Here's my scoring terminology:
1-5 "(5 being the highest)"
1: "Bless your heart"
2: "Don't stop Green Beanin' (For my Journey friends)"
3: "Medi'okra"
4: "Make ya slap your momma"
5: "MAKE A PUPPY PULL A FREIGHT TRAIN"