Recently in Restaurants Category

(Babbo's Sicilian Pizza- sadly, a bit mangled after reheating the next day)

Julie and I went to visit a friend in the hospital in Surprise, AZ on Sunday. A ways out of town from us because we live in Central Phoenix, we decided to have dinner after we left the hospital. My good friend that we were visiting (funny how you spend more time visiting friend in hospitals as you grow older) recommended Babbo as a great place to check out.

It had a great vibe, though after a hospital visit we weren't exactly in the party mood. Great atmosphere, great service, and a few really good pizzas made a nice Sunday date.

My Sicialian pizza was topped with Italian Sausage, Spicy Capicola Ham, Salami, Fresh Basil and Oregano, Mozzarella Cheese, Provolone Cheese, Marinara, and it was a great combination. Julie had the 4 cheese pizza, and enjoyed it.

They have 2 other locations in the Phoenix area, for the locals here. Check it out!

Some tasty looking guacamole and some cool blue glasses at The Blue Coyote Grill in Palm Springs.

I love a great chile relleno. Sadly, you get far more bad ones than good ones, so when you find a restaurant that makes a truly exceptional version, you owe it to the foodie world to spread the word, right?

The Blue Coyote Grill has been a must-stop for me for a number of years now. At one point it for their great tequilas too, but now I've pretty much given up on that, it's still worth a trip for the food.

The first time I ate there with Julie, we stumbled on their special version of the classic dish- a chile relleno wrapped in a tortilla and deep fried, as opposed to the traditional egg batter, which is where most rellenos typically fall flat. To see a well executed version of the traditional preparation, check out Chilebrown's version.

The place has a really cool vibe, give it a try if you're ever in Palm Springs!

Hi everyone-

We're in La Quinta, CA today at the resort. It's a travel day headed home, but had to share an amazing meal we had last night at The Rattlesnake club. Wonderful food, superb service, and a great experience overall.

Check it out, and have a drool at the menu.

We've got a good start to the new Food Fight, keep spreading the word!!!

Nice to know that a Phoenix restaurant really takes care of their customer after a recent monsoon:

Montemurro had a dinner reservation at Marcellino Ristorante, an Italian restaurant at 1301 E. Northern Ave. He called the restaurant to let people know he wouldn't make it and rejected their offer to come pick him up.

In the meantime, Montemurro waited with his car by the off-ramp for assistance as the rain picked up.

"AAA was not there yet. And it was going to be at least an hour for AAA to arrive on the scene," he said.

Hungry and soaking wet, he decided to call the restaurant back and take it up on the offer.

"He asked if I was kidding," said Sima Verzino, co-owner of the restaurant. "And I asked, 'Where are you?' I told my husband and he grabbed the keys and he ran out of the door."

Kudos to Marcellino's for going above and beyond the call of duty. And see, being polite enough to call and cancel your reservation pays off!

Hey, I was on that freeway that night! Where's my dinner?

Something about revolving food coming from the ceiling seems kinda gimmicky to me...

All good things come from above: freshly prepared, delicious meals and drinks ordered per touch screen are transported on metallic tracks directly to your table. We only use fresh, high-quality ingredients, many of which are organic produce, directly from the local region.

Wonder if they serve soup?

R.W. Apple, venerable New York Times food writer, passed away recently, but this article, recently published, detailing 10 restaurants he would get on a plane for, is a fine send off.

Thanks to John in Chicago for the link! Free, yet annoying registration required, so I'll post a bit below the fold.

If you could jet set to a restaurant you love, just for a meal, where would you go?

(Photo: Chargrilled Burger with Roquefort Cheese & Shoestrings at The Spotted Pig

John in Chicago sent me a link to The Spotted Pig in Manhattan a few days back, and I finally got a chance to check it out. Wow. A nice looking place with a really interesting menu, plus a website that's very well done.

Hopefully the next time I'm in New York I can head down to the Village and check it out!

What do you look for in a restaurant? There's been a trend in the business over the last few years towards lots of bistros that aren't terribly elegant, but still have a pretty high-priced menu. Do you feel ripped off in a place like that, or is it a relief to be able to have a great meal without having to be uber-dressed up?

The Spotted Pig

314 W. 11th Street
@ Greenwich Street
New York, NY 10014
Tel: (212) 620-0393

Chilebrown sent along some pics of a Hawaiian-themed restaurant he stumbled upon. I think he was out doing Spam® research! It all sounds really good, and I have to say the nori-wrapped Spam even sounds good enough to try, at least:

While driving to Santa Cruz from Capitola, we smelled the most wonderful teriyaki barbeque smell coming from the 'Aloha Island Grille'. www.alohaislandgrillecom. On the way back, we smelled a different, but wonderful barbeque smell. We pulled a quick U-turn and had a wonderful meal. Kaluha Pig,Grilled Beef Teriyaki,Kol-bi Ribs, Chicken Katsu and an appetizer,Spam Musubi. Most excellent was the verdict,except the appetizer would be an acquired taste. The price was more than reasonable. It is a funky place with Tiki decorations and a nice outdoor deck. I wish it was closer!

(Photo: Yahoo)

... For a $100 burger today:

The burger debuted Tuesday at the restaurant in the Boca Raton Resort and Club, where a membership costs $40,000 and an additional $3,600 a year.

"We've never had a hamburger on our menu here so we really wanted to go to the extreme," restaurant owner Marc Sherry said, calling it "the most decadent burger in the world."

At about 5 1/2 inches across and 2 1/2 inches thick, the mound of meat is comprised of beef from three continents - American prime beef, Japanese Wagyu (Kobe) and Argentine cattle.

Okay, it's probably great, but geez, it doesn't even come with a Coke! I've seen places that have a $100 deal, but it's a burger with a bottle of Dom Perignon. That's more like it.

Ever had Kobe beef? What's your favorite burger? Mine includes Survival Spice™, of course...