Foli's Place - Braddock Hills, PA

Foli's Place
1050 Brinton Rd
Pittsburgh, PA 15221
(412) 241-8840

Foli's is a popular local favorite, tucked away in a tiny strip mall near where Braddock Hills, Forest Hills, Edgewood and Wilkinsburg meet. It had been way too long since we'd eaten there, so decided to head over the hill and pick up a pizza!

We weren't disappointed. We ordered a small, which was a 12" 6-cut traditional Pittsburgh-style pizza. The crust was very good, with a light and airy interior and nice chewiness, and a crisp exterior. The chunky tomato sauce had a freshly made flavor, and it had a good proportion of sauce to cheese.

We also ordered a side of cheese sticks - they were perfectly fried, and had just the right amount of spice for our taste. The accompanying sauce was delicious.

Everyone we talked to in Foli's was very friendly and welcoming, from the nice woman who answered the phone, to the restaurant staff and the fellow customers. I have to admit I forgot to pick up a take out menu and am not sure what else Foli's has to offer. The pizza was so tasty, that I would expect nothing but good things from their other menu items!

Grand View Buffet at the Rivers Casino - November Update - Champagne Brunch!

Wow! The Rivers Casino has added a Sunday Champagne Brunch to their Grand View Buffet - and it sounds fantastic!

• Complimentary Mimosas, Bloody Marys and Champagne
• Beef Strip Loin, Turkey Breast and Ham at the carving station
• an Omelet station
• Flambe station
• and Cherries Jubilee and Bananas Foster for dessert!

The Champagne Brunch is available Sundays from 10 a.m. until 3 p.m. And here's the best part - it's only $19.95 per person.

Monte Cello's Italian Restaurant - Cranberry, PA

30325 Perry Highway
Cranberry Twp, PA 16066
1-724-772-3133

We have often enjoyed Monte Cello's Sicilian pizza, but had never tried their traditional round thin pizza. We were in the area yesterday and decided the time was right - and it was fantastic!

The traditional round crust was firm and chewy; crunchy on the outside, with a light and breadlike interior. The rich sauce - which is different from the sauce used on their Sicilian pizza - has a deep, spicy tomato flavor and a gorgeous color.

Monte Cello's traditional round thin pizza is available in four sizes, with toppings an additional charge:

• Mini 9" 4 cut - $4.50


• Small 9" 6 cut - $6.50


• Medium 14" 8 cut - $7.50


• Large 16" 10 cut - $8.95
  

We're glad we went back!

New York City Pizza - Hilton Head, SC

81 Pope Avenue
Heritage Plaza
Hilton Head Island, SC 29928
843-842-2227

I think we came back to Hilton Head this year just because we were craving New York City Pizza. And it was every bit as good as we remembered!

The crust is outstanding - it is thin, yet crunchy with a nice chewiness, and great flavor. New York Pizza makes the dough fresh daily, hand tossed to order, and stone baked. We ordered a New York style cheese pizza. It was spread with a thin layer of a tasty red sauce, fragrant with Italian herbs and spices, and artfully topped with Mozzarella. It was pretty close to perfect.

We also tried an order of New York City's mozzarella sticks. They were wonderful, with a nice coating, and bursting with flavor with each bite. The cheese sticks came with a very good garlicky marinara sauce. The sauce was different from the pizza sauce, but just as flavorful.

New York City Pizza offers three styles of pizza - New York, Pan Pizza or Sicilian - and sells pizza by the slice also. They make calzones and strombolis, which are available in either small or large. They have 14 specialty pizzas, including a Margherita, Greek, and White Pizzas. Some of the more unusual pizzas are a double crust Stuffed Cheesesteak Pizza, Chicken Parm Pizza, and Mario's Mexican Mayhem - with refried beans, steak and other Mexican style toppings. I wonder how many people order their Baked Ziti Pizza - ziti and tomato sauce, tossed with mozzarella and ricotta and spread over a pizza crust.

New York City Pizza's extensive menu includes six cold subs and nine hot subs, and nine reasonably priced salads, from a small side salad to a fresh Insalata Caprese and a heartier Chef or Grilled Chicken or Chef and my favorite - the Greek Salad. Available appetizers are soup of the day, mozzarella sticks, fried calamari with marinara sauce, garlic sticks with marinara sauce, and buffalo chicken wings with your choice of six sauces.

They have many pasta and dinner choices with 31 options available - from lasagna and eggplant parm to Penne Rivazza, Linguine Calamari Marinara, Veal Picatta, and Chicken Francese to name just a few, with extra meatballs, sausage, and chicken available as sides.

If you're still hungry, you can opt for dessert - Tiramisu, New York Style plain or raspberry cheesecake, or cannoli.

New York City Pizza is a full service restaurant with a fairly large restaurant area, and a bar where you can choose from eight beers on draft, nine domestic beers, eight imports, and fourteen specialty beers, with a wine list available.

Michael's Pizza Bar and Restaurant - South Side

2612 Sarah Street

Pittsburgh, PA 15203
(412) 381-6102


Michael's Pizza Bar is a bar and restaurant on Sarah Street, one block removed from the traffic of East Carson Street, on a corner between S. 26th and S. 27th Streets.

The pizza we ordered was a large traditional Pittsburgh style with extra sauce and light cheese. The traditional crust was chewy and bread like. We enjoyed the sauce, which was thick, flavorful, and slightly spicy with small flecks of oregano. Michael's was very generous with the cheese, even after we had asked for light cheese - so if you like lots of cheese on your pizza, you will love Michael's!

We also tried an order of Provolone Sticks with a small container of their excellent sauce for dipping - the cheese sticks were cooked perfectly and had a nice flavor.

Unfortunately, we forgot to pick up a menu and to ask pertinent questions about sauce, crust and preparation. It was half time and we were hurrying to get back before the 3rd quarter started and simply forgot.

This week's celebrity pizza taster, Dave, posed several interesting questions that we all considered while we ate: If we changed the amount of amount of cheese on the pizza, would the texture of the crust also change since the required cooking time might be different? What type of oven do they use to cook the pizza? What type of cheese do they use? Why did Jeff Reid miss not one, but two, field goals in Chicago? All good questions.

We will have to go back to Michael's and see what we can find out. I think next time we will sit down in the very pleasant restaurant area and enjoy the pizza, fresh from the oven.

P.S. The 50% off coupon in the Enjoy book made this pizza a real bargain, too!