Category Archives: Restaurants

Restaurant Review: Santora’s Pizza

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Buffalo has a lot – A LOT – of pizza places.  There almost seems to be one on every corner, and even the smaller towns have multiple (local) pizza shops.  This past trip we branched out and tried a new one, Santora’s Pizza.  It’s rather small inside, so get there early (by 5pm on weekends), and uber casual.  Which is fine with us, since we’re more focused on the food than on fancy surroundings.  And the food is good.  We got two pizzas – ham and pineapple, and mushroom and pepperoni.  The crust is closer to NY style than Chicago, and very good.  The sauce is plentiful and surprisingly sweet.  This made the ham and pineapple the preferred pizza that night.  However, this pizza is almost better as leftovers the next day.  Warm or cold, it makes a fantastic lunch.  The sauce also mellows a bit (becoming less sweet), and is also good with the spicy pepperoni and mushroom topping combination.  Overall, would definitely recommend the pizza here!

Santora's Pizza on Urbanspoon

Congaree National Park

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This Barred Owl was the highlight of the trip.

December 10, 2011 – Since it was already a week since our last road trip, we took a road trip to Columbia.  Since we like to travel through food, we stopped for lunch at a local place called Albert’s Deli. We tried a couple great sandwiches, one with roast beef/turkey/pastrami and melted cheese (the Better Boy), the other with Lebanon bologna and on toasted rye. Both sandwiches were great, we’d definitely go back.

This yellow-bellied sapsucker was the first bird sighting of the day.

After lunch we continued on to Congaree National Park. We had a few hours before the park closed and wanted to explore some of the elevated boardwalk. We had fun on the boardwalk, and took a few photos.

We finally saw a Red-Headed Woodpecker on this trip.

The Barred Owl was enjoying the peace and quiet in the late afternoon.

Reviews:

Albert's Deli on Urbanspoon

Decatur Restaurants and Driving Back to SC

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Decatur is a short drive from Stone Mountain.

December 4, 2011 – Decatur, GA, has some really good restaurants. As in, the kind that make you wonder if you can find a way to move to be closer to them (sadly, that’s not looking like a possibility).

First up is the Brick Store Pub. We parked a few blocks away and walked over, since the lot by the store is so small (no biggie, plus parking is free on Sundays!). The ambience is great even before you walk in. A thick wooden door, along with an artistic stained glass image of a beer stein, let you know what you’re in for. Except then the interior surprises you. It’s not large, but the ceilings are high, there’s exposed brick on the walls, lots of light coming through the windows, and a few plants further brighten the space. We snagged a high top table, checked the menus (which are also pretty neat) and decided on a few draft beers to start the meal. Tony picked a great one – Scaldis Noel; it started off caramal-y and eventually turned sweeter, like pear. Louisa played it a bit safer with an American brew (Founder’s Favorite) that tasted a bit like Guinness. This one started out tasting like coffee, and after a few seconds reminded you of chocolate Devil’s Food cake. Lunch was a sampling of dishes – fish and chips, the pierogi appetizer, and a cup of curry. The fish and chips were good, but not overwhelmingly amazing. The pierogies were very good – lightly fried, buttery, served on a bed of buttery sauteed onions and nuts with a hint of fresh basil. The curry, though, was the star of the show. It was a thick sweet potato and chick pea mix, served over rice and with a side of (house made) pita chips. It’s better than curry we’ve gotten from our favorite Indian restaurants.

We took a stroll around the block after lunch, and agreed that we were much too stuffed to consider dessert. Then we wandered by this coffee shop called Java Monkey. Well, we only walked by it because Louisa had Tony look it up on his phone, and this was the best reviewed coffee shop. And it’s good. We had a iced mocha and an espresso con panna… and a slice of chocolate pb mousse cake. The coffee was very good. And that cake was fabulous – chocolate cake, topped with pb mousse, topped with ganache, with chocolate cookie crumbs pressed along the outside of the cake.

We had an uneventful drive back, except for finding a Five Guy’s for dinner in Columbia. This was probably the best Five Guy’s we’ve been to – perfectly done, highly seasoned Cajun fries, and really juicy burgers.  If you’ve never been to a Five Guys, be sure to check out the free peanuts and their massive list of toppings (especially the sauteed onions and mushrooms).

Reviews:

Brick Store Pub on Urbanspoon Java Monkey on Urbanspoon Five Guys Famous Burgers on Urbanspoon

Restaurant Review: Heirloom Market BBQ

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We like BBQ. Correction – we like well-smoked meat, complete with an obvious smoke ring and a caramized exterior, that’s also tender and still moist, home made sauces that incorporate a variety of BBQ styles (though we’re partial to Kansas City and TX), and well-prepared side dishes. Basically, we want it all. And we found it at Heirloom Market BBQ. This uanssuming little place shares a building with a (rather interesting looking) liquor store. It’s small inside – we ate at the counter – with seating for about 12-15. But let’s talk about the food. It’s obviously smoked – the restaurant smells faintly of BBQ cooking, and there’s a massive pile of wood outside the door. And a smoker in the kitchen. We wanted to try a sampling, and settled on brisket, pork, and ribs, with Brunswick stew and mac ‘n cheese for the sides.

I don’t quite know where to begin. This is probably the best all-around BBQ we’ve had (and we’ve eaten at restaurants from CO to Kansas City to SC, though we still have to get to TX). All of the BBQ was tender and moist, complete with obvious smoke rings and a crunchy (but not burned) exterior crust. The brisket was sliced thick and was fork-tender. I don’t even like brisket, well, I thought I didn’t, and this was phenominal. The sauces are a bit different – there’s a spicy vinegar, a house sauce that’s like a Kansas City style sauce (this goes well on the brisket and decently well on the ribs), a sweet Asian sauce (kind of like a sweet and sour BBQ sauce, which was great on the pork and good on the ribs), and a hot Texas style sauce. Oh, and the sandwich bun that comes with the meal is toasted and buttered, which is a nice touch. The mac ‘n cheese is a bit zesty – Tony thought it was the best mac ‘n cheese he’s ever had, and Louisa thought it was pretty good too. The Brunswick stew was good, though the meat was a bit chewy. It was well-spiced, though, and good with a drizzle of the Kansas City style sauce. This place also makes a mean Sweet Tea to help wash down a fantastic meal. If you like BBQ, don’t pass this place by!

Reviews:
Heirloom Market BBQ on Urbanspoon