Location: 5 South First Avenue, Walla Walla, WA
My husband and I consider ourselves pizza connoisseurs. We've been to many great pizza places during our travels, and we've even started making our own pizzas. Needless to say, we've established a list of favorites. Sweet Basil Pizzeria in Walla Walla has made our list.
We were starving when we made it into town today, so the smell was enough to make us weak in the knees when we walked in the door. I've actually never been inside before, so it was fun to have a look around the place. (Normally I am waiting outside on the patio with our dog.)
Today's specialty pizza (aka my selection for today) was the Primavera, which is topped with spinach, garlic, mushroom, roasted red pepper and feta. Can you say, a few of my favorite things?! My husband ordered the BBQ pizza with the agreement that we would each share some of our piece with the other. His was topped with bbq sauce, chicken, bacon and onions.
Sweet Basil makes their pizzas with a thin crust, and the slices are huge. We ordered some cheese breadsticks to go along with our meal, and we both felt comfortably full. Both the pizza and the breadsticks have always been consistent. We've not had a bad batch. They serve marinara sauce with the breadsticks, but it's definitely not needed. Their cheesy, buttery flavor is enough on its own.
While I love eating outside on their patio, it's fun to be inside because you can watch them toss the pizza dough. No matter how many times I see it done, I'm always impressed by those who do it well. Sweet Basil definitely knows how to make a great pizza!
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
Tuesday, July 5, 2011
Iron Horse Brew Pub
Location: 501 North Higgins, Missoula, MT
This was my third time eating at the Iron Horse, and each time has been absolutely amazing. Tonight was no exception. I have actually started to wonder if they can make a bad meal. It was a perfect night to eat outdoors, so we decided to take advantage of their ample outdoor seating.
We started with the Crab, Artichoke & Spinach Dip. Upon first glance, it appeared there was way more pita bread than we could go through. It always seems when you order these kinds of things that you either run out of bread or you run out of dip. We soon discovered, though, there was more dip than we thought, and it was pretty much a perfect ratio. And here's the best part - the dip was incredible. We've decided it was one of the best we've ever tried.
For dinner, we opted for the house specialty - The Tender 501, and we ordered a cucumber salad as the side. Drop dead yummy on both accounts. I started with the cucumber salad, while my husband started on the sandwich. I almost didn't want to give my husband his half of the salad. It was fresh and so tasty. As I was drooling over that, my husband was literally moaning over the sandwich.
When I finally parted ways with the salad, I dove right in to the sandwich. No wonder he was moaning. We ordered the tenderloin medalions medium-rare, and the bread (which the menu lists as a Romano cheese hoagie) was super fresh. Add in the caramelized onions and the Iron Horse's sriracha aioli sauce, and that thing was just melting in your mouth. This is the first time we've done a sandwich instead of a dinner entree, and we'd gladly do it again if every result tasted like this.
We ended our meal with a Nuts About Beer cupcake, which *I think* comes from Bernice's Bakery. Iron Horse hired a pastry chef who makes some of their desserts, but others are brought in from an outside bakery. Previously, we ordered desserts that were made in-house, but this time we opted to try something new. What can I say? Beer + cupcake = tempting!
It was good but not great, and here is what I think happened. It tasted like it had been refrigerated or frozen and then thawed out for us to eat. The frosting was a bit hard, almost as if it hadn't thawed enough. I imagine it's killer good when it's fresh. It's a chocolate cupcake, made with Nut Brown Ale from the Bitterroot Brewery. The frosting is a salted caramel buttercream. I would love to try it fresh because I think I would reverse my opinion from calling it just a good cupcake to calling it a great one. With that said, we'll probably stick to ordering the in-house desserts next time.
This was my third time eating at the Iron Horse, and each time has been absolutely amazing. Tonight was no exception. I have actually started to wonder if they can make a bad meal. It was a perfect night to eat outdoors, so we decided to take advantage of their ample outdoor seating.
We started with the Crab, Artichoke & Spinach Dip. Upon first glance, it appeared there was way more pita bread than we could go through. It always seems when you order these kinds of things that you either run out of bread or you run out of dip. We soon discovered, though, there was more dip than we thought, and it was pretty much a perfect ratio. And here's the best part - the dip was incredible. We've decided it was one of the best we've ever tried.
For dinner, we opted for the house specialty - The Tender 501, and we ordered a cucumber salad as the side. Drop dead yummy on both accounts. I started with the cucumber salad, while my husband started on the sandwich. I almost didn't want to give my husband his half of the salad. It was fresh and so tasty. As I was drooling over that, my husband was literally moaning over the sandwich.
When I finally parted ways with the salad, I dove right in to the sandwich. No wonder he was moaning. We ordered the tenderloin medalions medium-rare, and the bread (which the menu lists as a Romano cheese hoagie) was super fresh. Add in the caramelized onions and the Iron Horse's sriracha aioli sauce, and that thing was just melting in your mouth. This is the first time we've done a sandwich instead of a dinner entree, and we'd gladly do it again if every result tasted like this.
We ended our meal with a Nuts About Beer cupcake, which *I think* comes from Bernice's Bakery. Iron Horse hired a pastry chef who makes some of their desserts, but others are brought in from an outside bakery. Previously, we ordered desserts that were made in-house, but this time we opted to try something new. What can I say? Beer + cupcake = tempting!
It was good but not great, and here is what I think happened. It tasted like it had been refrigerated or frozen and then thawed out for us to eat. The frosting was a bit hard, almost as if it hadn't thawed enough. I imagine it's killer good when it's fresh. It's a chocolate cupcake, made with Nut Brown Ale from the Bitterroot Brewery. The frosting is a salted caramel buttercream. I would love to try it fresh because I think I would reverse my opinion from calling it just a good cupcake to calling it a great one. With that said, we'll probably stick to ordering the in-house desserts next time.
Thursday, June 30, 2011
Main Street Grill
Location: 625 Main Street, Lewiston, ID
We decided to eat lunch at the Main Street Grill in Lewiston. We had been there once before and were very impressed, so we thought it would make a great restaurant to include in the blog. We ordered the Fried Mozzarella to start and the Steak Wrap for lunch.
The Fried Mozzarella was some of the best we have tried in a long time. The batter was thick and tasted homemade. The waitress was more than happy to provide ranch sauce for dipping them in, and we enjoyed every cheesy bite. I believe there were 5 pieces in total, and the only drawback was having to fight over the last piece. :)
Our Steak Wrap arrived next. Per the menu, it consisted of thin sliced grilled steak, bell pepper, olives, mushroom, onion, cheddar cheese, and Main Street's own jerk sauce wrapped in a flour tortilla. The jerk sauce was awesome. It gave just a little kick, but it was not so spicy as to alienate those who like milder flavors. Between that dripping out of the edges and the melted gooey cheese, we savored every bite. (You just know it's good when it's messy!) We would definitely order both items again. The only thing I felt was missing with the wrap was a side of fries or potato chips or something. You can order them separately, but they are not included with the meal.
I should mention the service at Main Street is always great. Our server the last time was very friendly, and our server this time did not disappoint either. As I mentioned, she was happy to bring us ranch sauce, and she made sure our drinks did not go empty. All in all, it was another great meal, and we'd be happy to continue coming back for more.
We decided to eat lunch at the Main Street Grill in Lewiston. We had been there once before and were very impressed, so we thought it would make a great restaurant to include in the blog. We ordered the Fried Mozzarella to start and the Steak Wrap for lunch.
The Fried Mozzarella was some of the best we have tried in a long time. The batter was thick and tasted homemade. The waitress was more than happy to provide ranch sauce for dipping them in, and we enjoyed every cheesy bite. I believe there were 5 pieces in total, and the only drawback was having to fight over the last piece. :)
Our Steak Wrap arrived next. Per the menu, it consisted of thin sliced grilled steak, bell pepper, olives, mushroom, onion, cheddar cheese, and Main Street's own jerk sauce wrapped in a flour tortilla. The jerk sauce was awesome. It gave just a little kick, but it was not so spicy as to alienate those who like milder flavors. Between that dripping out of the edges and the melted gooey cheese, we savored every bite. (You just know it's good when it's messy!) We would definitely order both items again. The only thing I felt was missing with the wrap was a side of fries or potato chips or something. You can order them separately, but they are not included with the meal.
I should mention the service at Main Street is always great. Our server the last time was very friendly, and our server this time did not disappoint either. As I mentioned, she was happy to bring us ranch sauce, and she made sure our drinks did not go empty. All in all, it was another great meal, and we'd be happy to continue coming back for more.
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