Giordano's World Famous Stuffed Pizza

I was in Chicago this past weekend for a friend's wedding where I was able to grab lunch at a Giordano's pizzeria. (btw Congrats to Jeff and Gina!) I skipped breakfast so I was especially hungry when we walked into the local pizza parlor. Knowing that deep dish pizza takes a long time to cook (40-45 minutes), we ordered immediately. We decided to go with pepperoni since that's pretty much the only topping I eat.

In preparation for the long wait, we also ordered mozzarella sticks. The deep fried cheese came out piping hot. The batter was pretty crispy and the cheese was melted to the perfect consistency. I can't stand when mozzarella sticks come out undercooked and the cheese isn't nearly hot enough. Fortunately, that wasn't the case at Giordano's. The sticks came with a side of tomato sauce (pictured above) which was pretty good but I've had better. This brings me to the next part of our meal, the pizza!

The waitress brought over the medium pie and sat it in the middle of our table. She grabbed a plate and did an excellent job serving each slice without making any mess. I put on red pepper flakes and Parmesan cheese before digging in with a knife and fork. There was a ton of cheese inside however I thought there could have been more pepperonis. I thought the crust/cheese ratio was perfect (if you like cheese this is the pizza for- just see the pic above). Ok, Don't get me wrong I thought this pizza was great but it's not the best in Chicago. I can't help but compare the pizza to Gino's East. I thought Giordano's matched up evenly in all aspects except for the sauce. I felt the sauce could have been thicker with more tomoto chunks. I just prefer deep dish pizza (which has sauce on top) that has a sauce where you can see the pieces of tomato. Therefore, I give the edge to Gino's.

If you're in Chicago, I recommend trying out Giordano's and Gino's East so you can decide for yourself. Either way you'll have a great meal!

4.5 out of 5

Jason's Deli in Tysons

Last week I was walking to my office cafeteria when I stumbled across a stack of menus for a place called Jason's Deli. After studying the menu the rest of the afternoon, my co-worker and I decided we needed to check it out at some point. That all changed the next day when the Junkies (http://www.junkiesradio.com/main.shtml) talked about how good it was on their radio show. As a result, we decided to venture down good ole Route 7 to see what all the buzz was about.

Upon entering the large establishment, I was overwhelmed by the number of options on the menu. However, the young lady working the cash register really helped my friends and I work through the menu. For example, Jason's Deli offers a variety of muffalettas (ham, salami or turkey) which can be ordered as a quarter muff, half-muff and if you're really hungry the 9" Whole Muff. They showed us the quarter muff which was enormous. If I had the muff then I would have fallen asleep when I got back to the office so I had to pass.

Jason's also offers a wide variety of soups including chili and gumbo. I asked the cashier what her favorite soup was and she said "tomato basil" and I immediately asked her what her second favorite soup was. I forgot her answer but it wasn't something that I liked so I just order the Fire Roasted tortilla soup. She then told me that was her sister's favorite soup and we both laughed. The soup was pretty tasty. It had a little heat but not too much. Ideally, they would have had Frank's Red Hot Sauce or Texas Pete that I could add to my soup for the extra kick. I later saw a girl walking around with a bottle of hot sauce and I just looked at her and said "the fire roasted tortilla?" She responded with a "you know it!"

Now that I had my soup ordered, I have to review the rest of the menu which included salads, po'boys, pasta, sandwiches, potatoes, and paninis/wrapinis. I decided to get the chicken club wrapini. It was grilled to perfection. There was a ton of moist grilled chicken in between the warm tortilla. The wrapini came with ranch as opposed to mayo which was a refreshing touch. For the record, mayo grosses me out (not as much as ketchup though) but I absolutely love ranch dressing (dipping pizza crust in ranch is a favorite of mine).

My meal came with a pickle and ruffled potato chips. My friends also ordered wrapinis. They also liked their sandwiches and would definitely order them again. After a few hours, my friend emailed me to let me know that he was feeling "gassy" which was a shame. I am pretty sure he fully recovered.

Lastly, I wanted to talk about the best part of my experience. They have FREE low fat ice cream!!! It was fantastic. I got the chocolate/vanilla twist and I actually went up for seconds. So if you ever find yourself near Tyson's corner and need a good lunch spot, I recommend checking out Jason's Deli. http://www.jasonsdeli.com/

4 out of 5

Brunch at Booeymonger

August 24, 2008

My friends and I went to Booeymonger for brunch on Saturday morning.

I ordered the 3 egg cheese (American) omelet which came with an everything bagel with butter, and hashbrowns. I also got a side of bacon because you can't have breakfast without bacon. The omelet was spectacular. The egg to cheeeeeeese ratio was ideal.

The potatoes were good but slightly under seasoned. A pinch of salt and pepper did the job. My bagel was also pretty tasty. I often find that everything bagels are only seasoned on one side however Booey's seasons both sides which is crucial for a flavorful bagel. The bacon was extra crispy and complemented the cheese omelet nicely.

I washed everything down with a freshly squeezed OJ. My friend Julie decided to get a Reuben which sparked a discussion of those awful Subway commercials. You know the one where the guy goes in and orders a Reuben from a guy named Reuben. Apparently, that is supposed to be funny but I have yet to talk to anyone who finds it amusing. I personally think Dane Cook could come up with a funnier idea but hey, that's just me.

Julie liked her Reuben but thought the meat could have been evenly dispersed on the bread. Other than that, it was a good sandwich. I highly recommend eating brunch at Booey's but make sure to get a table outside in order to people watch.

4.5 out 5

Surfside Glover Park

August 24, 2008



After great anticipation, Surfside finally opened its doors in Glover Park. I must say that I was excited for a new casual dinning restaurant with a rooftop deck to open in my neighborhood so I decided to meet some friends there at 8:00 (my friends didn't show up until 8:30 but that's a story for another day) on a Thursday night.

As I walked into the back entrance of Surfside, I was very impressed with the new/fresh look of the place. At this point of the night, the place was packed. I was overwhelmed with the amount of action going in the place. However, since my friends would probably be late I decided to get a beer while I waited. The bar (including 2 HD TV's) is located in the back of the restaurant where you have to pay for your alcoholic drinks separately from your food items. There were in fact 2 bartenders working but it still took a long time to get a drink since the bar itself is pretty small. I decided to order a Corona to properly put me in the mood however my mood soured when it ended up costing me $8 after tax and tip.

After my friends showed up, we decided to start looking for an open table. We ended up not finding one so we went to order food with the hope that a table would open up by the time our food was ready. The line to order food moved pretty fast because you had to circle the item you wanted on a paper menu and then hand it to the cashier. I thought the system worked pretty well however I didn't notice a special order section on the paper menu. Therefore, you couldn't tell the chef any specific instructions about your order.

Our food came out but we could only find a 2 person table so we just crowded around the table and began eating. I had to stand for the start of the meal until we found another chair. As a result, I felt like I was rushing through my meal. Hopefully, in a few weeks the place won't be as crowded thus making standing and eating a non-issue.

I ordered a flank steak dish that came with rice and grilled vegetables for $13.95 (pictured top left). The vegetables were grilled to prefection. You could taste the grill flavor but at the same time each vegetable held on to its unique flavor (I often find that vegetables get overgrilled and they taste just like mush). The rice complemented the vegetables well which added to the overall dish. The flank steak was cooked around medium rare (note that there is no place on the menu to say how'd you like the steak cooked) which is how I like my steaks. However, the steak was just OK. I would probably try it again in a few weeks to see if it was just a reflection of Surfside being open only a few days. But, if it tasted the same then I definitely wouldn't order it again.

I also sampled a chicken dish (pictured top left). The chicken was definitely over marinated which resulted in an overpowering lime flavor. I only had 2 bites of the chicken so that's really all I could say about it.

After our meal, we decided to check out the rooftop which was really nice. The area was much bigger than I thought it would be with many tables and chairs in addition to some open space for people to stand. The rooftop by far was the highlight of the night.

Overall, I liked Surfside but it could make some major improvements. First, I would lower the drink prices. Before Surfside opened, I envisioned it as a place where a group of friends could get buckets of beer at a reasonable price and spend a saturday afternoon drinking on the rooftop deck. However, at close to $8 a beer that makes it not worthwhile. Also, adding some appetizers to the menu would be a major plus. Right now the only offering is guac and chips for $8.95 which I also think is overpriced. I am sure Surfside will work out the kinks that come with opening a new restuarant so I look forward to trying more menu items on the rooftop sooner than later.


3 out of 5

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