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

                                               

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"

     

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"

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

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"