Deano’s Pizza – 7/24/17

Next stop – Deano’s Pizza in Lafayette Louisiana. Deano’s is a sit-down pizzeria turning out crisp-crust pies including Cajun specialties in a family setting. I was there for supper and they have a 6″ pizza (one topping) for one for only $6.59. Or. you can get any of their specialty pizzas in a 6″ version for $7.59. I ordered a 6″ Tee Rex, The Ultimate Meat Eater. which has pepperoni, canadian bacon, smoked sausage, italian sausage, bacon & beef. I had them add candied jalapeños, too. The crust was pretty thin and fairly crisp. I think they should crank up the heat in the oven. The toppings were somewhat bland, with the exception of the candied jalapeños. I would take those on just about any pizza. They tasted like a sweet pickle, but instead of using cucumber, they used jalapeños. Yuengling on tap! I had 2… thanks Uber. 6.5 anchovies out of 10

Deano's Pizza

pi Pizza – 7/24/17

Well, it’s road trip time again. Henry wasn’t able to get a kitchen pass, so I’ll (Larry) be going it alone. First stop this year is π Pizza in Houston Texas. This place is described as a “happening haunt serving inventive pizzas, sandwiches, frozen cocktails & liquor-infused ice cream”. I arrived at 11:15 on Monday morning and the place was empty. I left at noon, and the place was still empty. I ordered the Meat Bro pizza which is topped with pepperoni, house made italian sausage, pancetta, beef, and thick smoked bacon, with pizza sauce and a mozzarella/provolone blend. The lunch special was an 8″ pizza for $8. Just enough pizza for a meal. I also ordered a Lobo Negro from Pedernales Brewing in Fredericksburg Tx. Just one tough… I’m driving. The pizza came in a timely fashion and was perfectly charred on the top and had a crisp bottom. The toppings were tasty and ample. The house made sausage was the best. The crust was a little thicker than I prefer. It was pushing 3/8″ and one part of it was almost 3/4″ thick. This inconsistency brought the overall score down, so I’ll have to give it 7 anchovies out of 10. And yes, I’ll stop back again if I’m in the neighborhood.

Pi Pizza

Pi Pizza pizza pie
Pi Pizza special

Chicken Mary’s – 7/27/16

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Chicken Mary’s is addressed in Pittsburg Kansas but is really out in the middle of nowhere. Their specialty is fried chicken. It was served hot, crunchy, tasty and lived up to our expectations. Four pieces mixed and 3 sides for under $10. Their sides include mashed potatoes and gravy, german slaw, green beans, german potato salad, applesauce, creamy slaw, baked potato, baked beans, spaghetti, cottage cheese, and macaroni & cheese. They have no beer unless you consider Budweiser, Miller Lite, Coors Light, and Michelob Ultra, as beers. 100 yards down the road is Chicken Annie’s. We’ll try that one next trip.

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Eischen’s Bar Revisited – 7/27/16

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We revisited Eischen’s Bar in Okarche Oklahoma today. We were here two years ago and had some of the best fried chicken we have ever tasted. Today was no different. The chicken is lightly floured but not overly battered, and cooked to perfection. Tender, moist, and tasty. This chicken can’t be beat. The only negative: 3.2 beer. We’ll be back next trip.
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Pizzeria Gusto – 7/26/16

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This evening we stopped at Pizzeria Gusto in Oklahoma City to celebrate Henry’s birthday. We sat at the bar and Kristin the bartender was amazing. It was like a floor show watching her work. And what a great selection of beer. Henry had a Peroni. Larry had a Franziskaner Hefe Weisse and a Black Mesa Kolsch. They also have a full service bar with some awesome cocktails. Henry sampled a Long Island Iced Tea. As usual, we ordered 2 pizzas. The first was the Pancetta with arugula, mozzarella-provolone, pancetta, roasted garlic, goat cheese, and fig jam. The pancetta was lost in this pizza. Smaller dollops of fig jam might have allowed the pancetta flavor to come through. The goat cheese didn’t do it for Larry and may have been a bit overpowering for others, but that’s not to say it was a bad thing. Overall, it was a good pizza but not stellar. The second pizza was the Soppressata with tomato sauce, mozzarella-provolone, soppresseta, and calabrese peppers. This pizza came off salty. There was plenty of sopresatta on the pizza and plenty of soppresatta flavor, but combined with the peppers came off salty.

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Pizza Snob – 7/25/16

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Pizza Snob is located near the TCU campus in Fort Worth Texas. Cane Roso in Forth Worth did us well 2 years ago, but we decided to try something different this trip.

The Good:

  • Amazing toppings
  • $5 Uber ride from the motel
  • Air conditioned

The Bad:

  • The dough is pressed with a machine to make the crust, thereby forcing all of the air out and leaving essentially a flour tortilla
  • Skimpy on the sauce
  • Some of the crust was under cooked
  • Very poor beer selection

The first pizza was a create your own. You go down the line and choose your toppings. This is the Subway of pizza joints. We chose provolone/mozzarella blend, red sauce, pepperoni, salami, bacon, and butter garlic meatballs. This was the best of the two, but left us wanting. The second pizza was the Thai Potsticker pizza (chicken sausage, spicy honey, cilantro, red pepper asiago blend, and sweet thai chili cream sauce. We had high hopes, but it was very unimpressive. 2 beers, 2 pizzas – $26. Cheap, but not worth it. To be a contender, they need to work on their process. It appears to be set up so that even a caveman can make these pizzas. We won’t be back.
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Road Trip – 600 Degrees Pizzeria – 7/25/16

IMG_1211Larry and Henry are on the road again. First stop is 600 Degrees Pizzeria in Georgetown Texas. 24 taps of craft beers. Larry had a 512 Pecan Porter. Only one as he is the driver. Henry had Mirror Pond Pale Ale. Beers were served good and cold. Too bad it’s lunchtime with many more miles to go today. Pizza is available by the slice or whole pie.We ordered 2 slices. The first slice was the Pirate (genoa salami, pepperoni, italian sausage, canadian bacon, and fresh garlic). The meats were plentiful and bursting with flavor and perfectly cooked for maximum wow. We only wish that the sausage would have been under the sliced meats so that it didn’t roll off. The second slice was the El Camino (charbroiled chicken, real bacon, pineapple, fresh cut basil, and hot sauce). This pizza was all over the place. Every bite tasted different depending on the mix of ingredients. All bites were outstanding. One of the most flavorful pizzas we have ever tasted. The crust was good, although a little soft at the point. After eating about 1/3 with a knife and fork, we were able to pick the pizza up without it flopping. Pizza was served on a pizza pan with a paper lining. Knife and fork does not well on paper. The crust was like a baguette. Good chew and flavor. In and out for about $25 plus tip. Great deal for great pizza.
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Recon – Di Frabo Ristorante Italiano 8/24/15


This was a solo trip. Henry could’t make it so Larry was out scouting pizza. Di Frabo is located across IH 10 from the Dominion. They have an extensive italian menu, but pizza was ordered.
” I ordered a pepperoni as that is what I usually judge pizzas by. The pizza was cooked in a gas fired brick oven. When the pizza was delivered, I could see the there was way too much cheese on it. The crust was somewhat doughy. Overall, it was somewhat reminiscent of the old San Pedro Drive-in pizza. I managed to eat less than half. I spoke to the manager about the pizza and gave him my opinion. He said the pizzas were baked at 575 degrees for 3 minutes. I think 900 degrees for 90 seconds would work better. They roll their dough which I believe contributes to the sub par crusts. I told the manager that I was not complaining, rather, offering some constructive criticism. To his credit, he comped the pizza and made me a new one to boot. I took it home and had it later. It was better, but they still have a ways to go. I’ll be back sometime, but for now I give it 3 stars out of 10.”

Di Frabo Pizza

Too much cheese

Di Frabo Pizza Oven

Di Frabo Pizza Oven

Barbaro Pizza 1/5/15

Barbaro's Dining Room

Barbaro’s Dining Room

Fantastic Pizza

Someone told Henry that we should try this place. We thank them whoever they are. Barbaro Pizza is located in the Monte Vista neighborhood at the corner of McCullough and Huisache in a building built in 1950. Great Pizza! Great Beer! Great Service! Our server Ashley was very attentive, but not overbearing. She was always there when we needed her.

Barbaro Pizza's Beer Menu

Barbaro Pizza’s Beer Menu

Plus, she knows beer. The selection of beer is outstanding. You won’t find any light beers and you won’t even find a Shiner. Henry likes Belgian-style beers, so he ordered a Real Ale Devil’s Backbone. It is a tripel that suited his tastebuds so much that he had a second one. Larry is a fan of stouts, so he ordered a Founder’s Breakfast Stout. another great beer that required two encores. Both of these beers clock in at over 8% abv, so, as we were both driving, we stopped there.

We ordered two pizzas. The first was a build-your-own. We got a small pizza and added pepperoni and soppressata. The soppressata added a wonderful flavor to the pizza. The crust was just a little thicker than we usually like, but it was cooked well; browned nicely, didn’t flop when picked up, and had a nice chew.

Barbaro Pizza Menu

Barbaro Pizza Menu

The dough itself had more flavor than most. The sauce was not too wet and not too dry, there was not too much nor was there too little, and was seasoned perfectly. The second was the Lamb, Kale, Arrabbiata, Mozzarella, and Pecorino house pizza. Again, the crust was excellent. The arribiatta sauce or sugo all’arrabbiata in Italian, is a spicy sauce for pasta made from garlic, tomatoes, and red chili peppers cooked in olive oil. It gave the pizza a nose. As you take a bite, the small makes you think you are eating a bowl of Texas chili (no beans). But the taste is nothing like that. This is the first pizza we have eaten that uses this sauce, and the first pizza with pecorino – the name of a family of hard Italian cheeses made from Ewe’s milk. As an appetizer, Henry tried their french onion soup. He rated with the best onion soups that he has had.

Barbaro Pizza Cocktail Menu

Barbaro Pizza Cocktail Menu

Barbaro also has an interesting variety of cocktails along with phosphates and egg creams.  We have to say that Barbaro serves some of the best pizza we have ever tried. The only problem that we can see is which pizzas to order on our next visit. They all look delicious.

🙂 Great beer selection

🙂 Excellent crust

🙂 Flavorful toppings

🙂 Wonderful atmosphere

🙂 Excellent service

🙂 reasonable lunch prices

 

Pepperoni and Soppressata Pizza

Pepperoni and Soppressata Pizza

Lamb, Kale, Arrabbiata, Mozzarella, and Pecorino Pizza

Lamb, Kale, Arrabbiata, Mozzarella, and Pecorino Pizza


Oklahoma Joe’s – Olathe Kansas 7/24/14

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The last stop on our food tour was in Olathe Kansas at Oklahoma Joe’s BBQ. We ended the tour like we started it… with barbeque. Last year, Larry ate at the original location in Kansas city. The Olathe location worked better with our schedule.

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We arrived at 6 in the evening and the line extended to the door. The line moved fast and we placed our order after about a 15 minute wait. Henry ordered a Leinenkugel Summer Shandy and Larry ordered a draft Boulevard Wheat. We ordered a rack of pork ribs and a half pound of brisket. Henry ordered a bowl of Smoked Chicken Gumbo.

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The brisket was lean and tasty. The ribs were tender and glazed with bbq sauce. The ribs tasted like they had been brined. Henry says the gumbo was very tasty. The roux was a little thicker than most and the smoky chicken was as tender as could be. We have been spoiled by Cooper’s bbq with the flavors that jump out and grab you. These are 2 different styles of cooking and both places excel in what they do best. We say the Cooper’s bbq is definitely the better que.

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