Road Tips

Zianos Italian Eatery - Fort Wayne, IN

During a trip back out to Fort Wayne to do a couple days of seminars for our largest account, my colleague from Montreal wanted to go out for some Italian food.  We had gone to Salvatori's, an Italian restaurant with six locations in and around Fort Wayne, on a previous visit.  (Click here to see the Road Tips review on Salvatori's.)  I suggested we take a look at some other Italian restaurants around the area.  I found a couple that weren't too far from our hotel and I did a mental coin-flip and settled on a place called Zianos Italian Eatery for dinner that evening.  

George Rongos grew up in the small village of Polykerasos, Greece and immigrated to the U.S. in 1954.  He ended up in Fort Wayne where relatives from Greece had moved to years before.  George was 18 when he got to the U.S. and couldn't speak English.  On top of that, George wasn't properly schooled in his home country and couldn't read or write in his native Greek language.  

Less than a year after George got to Fort Wayne, he got a job at a steel mill that was just west of the downtown area of the city.  George willed himself to learn how to speak, read and write the English language and turned out to be a quick learner.  In 1965, he married a Greek girl - Eleni - who had also immigrated to the U.S.

Just across from the steel plant was a small grocery store - Joe's Grocery.  George would go into Joe's Grocery on a regular basis and would half-jokingly say that he was going to own the place one day.  When Joe died in 1985, his widow wanted to sell the business.  By this time George Rongos had over 30 years in at the steel plant and was eligible for retirement.  George and Eleni bought the grocery store with an eye on changing a few things up.  

George and Eleni were frustrated that a grocery store in Fort Wayne didn't have some of the basics needed for traditional Greek cuisine.  They would go to Chicago to buy the foods and ingredients for the recipes Eleni had brought from Greece.  But they also realized that there wasn't a place that offered ingredients for Mexican food, for Middle Eastern food, for Eastern European food, and for Northern Africa cuisine - cultures that had settled in Fort Wayne in the 1950's, 60's, 70's and into the 80's.  

George would go to food purveyors in Chicago and buy all different types of international foods for his clientele.  If someone would come in and ask for something, George would do some investigating and would find a distributor who sold the item.  George's Grocery eventually turned into George's International Market.  

Pictured right - Eleni and George Rongos.  Photo courtesy Salsa Grille Facebook page.  

Eleni and George had five children - Judy, Mike, Jimmy, Chris and Jerry.  All five children worked in the grocery store growing up with the parents instilling an ethic of hard work and attention to detail into each of their kids.  When George and Eleni decided to retire from the business in 1997, Chris and Jerry Rongos took over the business from their parents.  That same year, George's International Market moved to its present day location just south of downtown Fort Wayne.  (Chris and Jerry Rongos eventually opened a fast casual Mexican restaurant - Salsa Grille - attached to the grocery store.  Using ingredients sourced from George's International Market and making their own line of various salsa, Salsa Grille became a popular destination.  There are now five Salsa Grille locations in the greater Fort Wayne area.)  

Jimmy Rongos got into the property investment business and became a partner in Liddell Investments, a Fort Wayne-based property management firm.  Some of the properties Liddell Investments owned were restaurants and night clubs.   In 2009, Jimmy took the plunge into the restaurant world opening Zianos Italian Eatery.  The restaurant became a local favorite for their family-friendly offerings at an affordable price.  Today there are three Zianos Italian Eateries around Fort Wayne.

The original one is on Covington Road on the city's southwest side.  This is the one that my colleague and I ended up when we went to Zianos for dinner.  (see map)  It's located on the corner of a strip mall just off Jefferson Ave, the main road into central Fort Wayne from that side of town.  It's not a big place on the inside and pretty generic looking in terms of the overall atmosphere.   We noticed a lot of people coming in to pick up "to-go" orders, including pizza.  The place seemed to be popular with families.  

We took a seat at a table on one side of the restaurant.  Our server that evening was a young lady by the name of Abbi.  After leaving us a couple menus, she came out a big later with a plate of complementary bruschetta for the table.  We both ordered a couple Peroni beers they had on tap to start out.  The bruschetta was very good and a nice start to our experience at Zianos.  

Looking through the menu, I was sort of taken aback by the pricing.  Not that it was outrageous, just the opposite.  It appeared to be a great value up and down the menu.  Appetizers such as baked ravioli, meatballs with mozzarella and marinara sauce, and garlic cheese bread were all under $7.00.  A small house salad was $2.99, pizzas started out at $10.49 for a 10" size, entrees such as chicken marsala, tilapia Florentine, and fettuccine alfredo with shrimp were all priced under $15.00, and pasta dishes such as spaghetti & meatballs, Fontanini sausage and peppers with penne pasta, and lasagna were all under $11.00.  And each night during the week there's a special meal offered that comes with a meal for $9.49.  No wonder it was a popular place for families!  

My colleague is vegetarian and Zianos had a handful of options on the menu including the pasta primavera shown below.  It was served to him piping hot as you can easily see the steam rising from the plate.  It featured a mixture of fresh broccoli, cauliflower and mushrooms with penne pasta in a white wine butter sauce.  My buddy said that the veggies were cooked perfectly with a bit of a crunch and weren't mushy at all.  He said his meal was a spot-hitter.  

I ended up getting the meat (ground pork/beef) filled ravioli topped with a marinara sauce.  Along with the meal, I got a glass of the Seaglass Pinot Noir.  Grated parmesan and fresh herbs were sprinkled on the top.  I didn't really expect much from the looks of the dish, but from the first bite all apprehension went out the window.  The marinara sauce was tangy and a bit sweet, the pillowy ravioli were easy to cut and the meat inside the ravioli had a great flavor.  I was more than impressed with what I ordered and how well it tasted.  

And on top of that, it was all a great value!  Two beers, a glass of wine and two pasta dinners set us back just under $60 bucks with taxes and a nice tip for Abbi who was on top of things for us during our visit.  It's no wonder families gravitate toward Zianos Italian Eatery because of the great value of the food they serve.  The place is a little generic in atmosphere, but the food more than makes up for the bland surroundings.  We were both more than happy with what we got and did I mention that Zianos was a great value?  That's something you don't exactly see in restaurants these days.  

Scenes from the Road

Fall has always been a busy travel time for me.  Since I'm now the North American sales manager for a company out of Germany, I've been doing a lot more flying than driving since Labor Day.  (And that will continue into December.)  My travel has taken me to far flung places such as Southern California, Toronto, Dallas-Fort Worth, and - just recently - Washington D.C.  Over the years, people ask me, "Man, it's great that you get to go to all these places."  But people who travel for a living know that it's not all that great - eating alone in a restaurant, waking up in a hotel room not knowing where you are, not being able to take in sights like a tourist, etc., etc.  But there are times when I'm able to catch moments with my camera that will make the business trip more memorable.  I've got a few photos that I've taken on my recent trips that I thought I'd share with you today.  

Business travel does have its perks - hotel and airline points, eating in good restaurants, meeting with clients and making new friends.  But most of the time, it's airport, rental car, hotel room, restaurant, meetings, restaurant, hotel room, meetings, restaurant, hotel room, airport and home.  I don't get to really go and do and see like I would want.  But every once in a while, I do take the time to take a step back and enjoy my surroundings.  

When I'm close to the ocean, I like to go near the water and clear my head.  In this case, on a trip earlier this fall to Southern California, it was actually going OVER the water and heading out to the Newport Beach Pier after I had lunch.  There was parking nearby and I was able to get out to the end of the pier to hang out for a while.  

While it was a sunny day and warm inland, there was a cool breeze coming off the water.  When I got out to the end of the pier, I noticed a number of fishermen who were dressed more for late fall in the Midwest than a sunny day in Southern California.  I was in a polo shirt and jeans, and it was a bit nippy.  But being able to smell the sea air and take in the sights of the beach up to Huntington Beach and down to just north of Laguna Beach gave me a moment of zen that I need from time to time.  And water always seems to be involved when I have moments of zen.  

For September, the weather was a little strange.  In the months of May and June, the California coast line is usually inundated with low clouds and misty precipitation.  "May gray and June gloom" are the terms residents use when they have to put up with dreary weather in the mornings in late Spring.  But by 11 a.m., the clouds burn off and it turns into a glorious day.  That's what happened every day I was out in Southern California.  Locals said it was highly irregular for that time of the year.  Each morning, it was fog, low clouds and misty rain.  You certainly couldn't see the Santa Ana mountains east of Orange County.

But in the afternoon when I would get back to the room, the day had turned sunny, warm and beautiful.  The Santa Ana mountains were majestic off in the distance.  Days like this in Southern California always remind me of the deadpan weatherman (played by George Plimpton) giving the forecast in the movie L.A. Story - "Sunny, 72."  

Whereas, the equally expressionless anchor in the movie (played by Sam McMurray) says, "The next forecast will be in three weeks."  I said, "Sunny, 72" many times while I was out in Southern California a few weeks ago.  

Of course, when you're in Southern California, you have to go to In-n-Out Burger.  I snuck away from the trade show one day and tried to get into one near the show venue.  But the line was literally out the door and the drive-thru had something like 25 cars in line.  (And I don't think I'm exaggerating.)  So, I got up the next morning and went to one near my hotel in nearby Irvine right when they opened at 10:30 a.m.  And I have to say that I was NOT the first customer in that location that morning.  By the way, when I was in Dallas recently, there was an In-n-Out Burger near my hotel, but I never went.  Quite honestly, I would probably go to a Whataburger if the two were side-by-side.  (And they were close together, but I didn't go to either one when I was in Texas.)    

And as a longtime Iowa sports fan, it's always good to see like-minded people when you're over 1000 miles away.  I saw this license plate in the parking lot of a brewpub I had lunch in one day.  Hawkeye fans are truly everywhere.  

I had to go back up to Toronto for a trade show in October and when I got off the plane, I was on the interminable walk from the gate at Toronto Pearson Airport to Canadian customs.  I was discombobulated with my directions last year and always thought that downtown Toronto was northeast of the airport.  Actually, it's southeast of the airport and as I looked to my left walking to customs, I saw the skyline of Toronto complete with the CN Tower, the tallest free-standing structure in the Western Hemisphere.  The tower was the world's tallest free-standing structure from 1975 to 2007, and the world's largest tower until 2009.  Since 2007, 9 other free-standing buildings or towers have been built that have all surpassed the CN Tower in height.

Last year when I was in Toronto, my hotel room faced the west.  So this year, I asked for a room at the same hotel with a room that faced the east.  When I got settled into my room and when I opened the shades in the living room part of my hotel space, I saw this spectacular view of the near-full moon rising over Toronto.  Pictures from the camera phone doesn't do justice of the remarkable vista, but it's still not that bad of a pic.   

Speaking of remarkable pics, nearly every morning had a glorious and colorful view of the pre-rising sun coming up over downtown Toronto.  (You can click on the pictures to make them larger.)  The clouds over Lake Erie to the south and east of downtown Toronto gave the sunrise a spectacular color scheme.  It was mornings like these that helped make the time away from home a bit more bearable.    

When I stayed in the same hotel near the airport last year, I had a view of a large transport plane that was sitting on the tarmac.  When my colleague from Europe and I were walking from our hotel to the hotel near the airport where the trade show was being held, I remarked that the plane was still there.  "It's Russian," I said.  "I can tell by the flag.  I wonder if it's been seized by the Canadian government after Russia invaded Ukraine." 

We were out to dinner that evening and I looked it up on my phone.  The plane - an Antonov an-124 super freighter aircraft - landed on February 27, 2022 loaded with COVID 19 supplies from Europe.  The next day, the Canadian Transportation Agency closed all air space to Russian aircraft due to Russia's incursion into Ukraine.  Two months later, the Canadian government started proceedings to seize the plane and convert the assets into proceeds for the Ukrainian government. 

However, that hasn't happened.  The plane has been parked for just over 1000 days - 1007 days, to be exact.  And the airport has been charging the plane's Russian owners - Volga-Dnepr Airlines - about $1100 Canadian dollars ($770 USD) a day since.  The total is now over $1.1 million Canadian dollars and about $775,000 in U.S. dollars.  Nothing has happened in terms of selling the seized plane or handing it over to the Ukrainian government, and it's been sitting so long on the tarmac that it's easily seen in satellite photos that are shown on Google Earth.  The Antonov an-124 entered service in 1986 and there were just 55 built.  25 remain in operation around the world - not counting the one still sitting in Canada.  The an-124 is the largest heavy-lift airplane in the world.  The previous largest - the Antonov an-225 - was destroyed in the opening days of the Russian/Ukraine war as it was being outfitted with new engines at an airport just outside of Kyiv.  Only one of the Antonov an-225's were built and it could carry a payload twice the amount a Boeing 747 cargo plane can carry.   

One funny picture picture that I got while staying at my hotel in Toronto was the one below right.  Marijuana is legal across Canada, but can't be smoked in public buildings including hotels, restaurants and other places that outlaw smoking tobacco.  And these signs were just outside the front door of hotel.  

And being a Hilton Lifetime Diamond member, the hotel had a goody bag for me when I checked in.  Two of the treats were these Nestle Aero bars that are only available in Canada.  Now, if I had smoked pot when I was there (I didn't) those candy bars would have been gone in 30 seconds.  But even without the help of marijuana, I devoured the first of the two candy bars upon arrival into my room since I hadn't had anything to eat all day long.  I've found over the years that there are many types of snacks (like ketchup potato chips) that are available in Canada, but not in the U.S.  These Aero bars were fantastic and it's probably a good thing they aren't sold in the U.S.  For me, anyway...

Renting cars on my travels has been an adventure since I gave up on Hertz earlier this year over a billing dispute that started in March of 2023.  (I lost a wheel cover on a Tesla 3 in Montreal and they wanted to charge me $331 Canadian dollars - $235 US dollars - for a wheel cover that costs $25 dollars US.  We negotiated down and I paid an amount in August of this year, but I told Hertz that I would never rent from them again because they ripped me off.  And I was a Hertz Gold Plus member for nearly 25 years.  They didn't care.)  

So, I've been using National and Avis - I still get a deal on renting cars through National on my old company's account; and I got a deal through Hilton hotels to be an Avis Preferred Plus member.  I have to tell you - I love National.  Their cars are nicer, lower miles and generally cleaner.  Avis - I don't care much for their selection process, whereas National you go to the Emerald lot and pic out any car.  And if they don't have the kind of car that you want - like a sedan - they'll make sure they get you one from the pool right away.  

I rented Avis in Dallas and I had my choice of five different vehicles on their app through an upgrade for being Preferred Plus.  The less pimp-ish of all five was this 2022 Chrysler 300S.  (I could have had the red two-door car next to it, as well.)  Actually, it was a nice ride, but it had 56,000 miles on it and it needed a deep wax job.  I had rented a 300S in Southern California a number of years ago and they're OK.  I just don't like driving black cars.  

Near my hotel in the north Dallas suburbs, I kept passing this store in a strip mall along Belt Line Road.  I was sort of amused by the store's name - Condom Sense - and I had to pull into the parking lot to get a closer look at the place.  From the outside it appeared to be a vape store, but when I looked it up on the internet after I got home, it turned out to be an adult shop - one of ten Condom Sense locations in the greater Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex.  Founded in 1990 at the height of the AIDS crisis, Condom Sense started out selling safe sex products before morphing into a full-fledged adult pleasure store that their web site says welcomes couples of all persuasions in large, well-lit, clean store fronts.  Now, I don't know about if they sell vaping products like their signs said in the front window, but I didn't see anything on the web site that alluded to the fact that they sold vaping products.  

That was the extent of my sight-seeing during my trip to the Dallas area, but my next trip was going to be to Washington D.C. a week after I was in Dallas.  Plane travel these days is usually a hassle with full planes and people stuck in middle seats who aren't happy.  I usually take the window seat so I can rest my head up against the plane's wall.  A plus for me during plane flights is having the middle seat empty.  A double plus is having the whole row to myself, but that is few and far between.  (That happened to me on a flight back from Paris about 8 years ago.  It was great!)  But when you have your own row AND the row across the aisle empty, well, it's like having your own personal jet.  And that happened on my recent flight between Chicago O'Hare and Reagan Washington National.  It makes air travel more tolerable.  

As we were coming in for a landing at Reagan Washington National, we were coming in from the north on the final approach.  It was a beautiful clear day and I was on the left side of the plane facing Washington D.C.  It was my first ever visit to Washington and I was able to see Georgetown University, then the Capitol Building, the National Mall up to the Washington Monument.  Just before we landed, the Jefferson Memorial along the Tidal Basin was plainly visible.  I was like, "Shit!  Why didn't I have my camera phone ready to take pictures on the final approach!?"

Then divine intervention took over.  The pilot suddenly hit the throttle and we rose and turned away from the final approach.  I thought, "Wow, I haven't been part of a go-around for a long while."  

About 30 seconds later, the pilot came on the flight intercom - "Well, folks, as you've probably noticed, we're not on the ground.  We were coming in a little high and a little fast and we decided to go around and give it another shot."  

That gave me the opportunity to get my phone out and set up my camera with a bit of a zoom on it.  The picture below left is the campus of Georgetown University.  I didn't really know where Georgetown was, but it was further out to the northwest side of Washington D.C. than I realized.  If I were seated on the right side of the plane, I would have had a great view of Arlington National Cemetery and the Pentagon on final approach.  (I drove past the exit ramp for the C.I.A. on my way from the airport to my hotel in Rockville, MD.  I thought about getting off and going to see the entrance to the facility, but I thought better after a few seconds.)  

I completely missed the White House which is located north - or to the left in this picture - of the Washington Monument, and we flew almost right over the Lincoln Memorial so I didn't see that.  But I was able to get a shot of the Capitol Building, the National Mall and the Washington Monument.  The now-closed RFK Stadium is in the background of the Capitol Building.  

I particularly liked this photo (below left) where the Washington monument's reflection is shown in the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool and it is lined up perfectly with the Capitol Building.  (And with the Lincoln Memorial which would be out of the picture at the bottom.)  This picture was just dumb luck.  

Just past there, the Jefferson Monument loomed in the distance.  Jutting out into the Tidal Basin, the Jefferson Memorial was easy to spot.  I knew most of the memorials were close, but I didn't know how close.  From the air, they all looked within easy walking distance of one another.  But I'm sure that if I went on a walking tour, I'd be walking a long way in between the sites.  

During this trip, I was able to knock off two more states that I have visited or set foot in.  Reagan Washington National is in Virginia and I had never been there before.  And I visited an account up in Wilmington, DE - the first time I'd ever been in Delaware.  I'm now up to 47 states that I've been in - I'm only missing Idaho, Oregon and Alaska.  I was able to knock off a number of states - New Jersey, New Hampshire, Vermont, Connecticut, Rhode Island and Maine - on a visit to New England earlier this year.  And I've now been to Washington D.C.  

I bagged the trade show early on Sunday and drove Connecticut Ave. down into the heart of Washington D.C.  I did see the White House off in the distance through some trees and barricades, and I did see the Lincoln Memorial off in the distance.  But they were having a parade that day and a lot of streets in the downtown area near the White House were closed off.  Or, maybe they're closed off at all times due to security issues.  It would be nice to spend some time in Washington D.C. at some point.  I know if I went to the museums, that would be four or five days, minimum.  

So, that's my photo dump for my most recent trips across America and into Canada.  Thanks for indulging me with my descriptions and explanations.  Sometimes you do get to spend some time looking at stuff when you're traveling for business, but it's not the same as if you're there to be able to go and do and see the sights in a given area.  Still, even a ten to fifteen minute stop to see something neat is worth it to me.  

Selma's Chicago Pizzeria and Tap Room - Ladera Ranch, CA

The trade show I was attending in Southern California got over on a Sunday afternoon and I was hungry for a pizza.  Most of the pizza places in the immediate area around Irvine I had found on-line were gourmet-style or to-go only places.  I wanted a place where I could get a good pizza and unwind with a couple beers.  I remembered that I had found a place last year that served tavern-style thin-crust pizza like I get in Chicago.  (That place - Rance's Chicago Pizza - was excellent.  Click here to see the Road Tips entry on Rance's.)  But in searching "Chicago Tavern Pizza" another place came up - Selma's Chicago Pizzeria and Tap Room.  It was in the town of Ladera Ranch about a 15 to 20 minute drive from where I was.  Since I'd already had Rance's tavern-style pizza, I thought I'd drive down to Selma's to see how good their pizza was.  

Michael Phillips grew up in Ohio and loved his mother Selma's cooking prowess.  When he moved to Southern California in the 60's to become a Los Angeles cop, he missed his mother's cooking and looked forward to his trips back home to have some of his mother's home cooked meals.  

By 1978 Phillips was tired of being a cop.  Phillips partnered with another fellow Ohio native Bill Cunningham to open a pizza joint that served Chicago-style deep-dish or tavern-thin crust pizza along with pasta dishes made from recipes from Phillips' mother Selma.  They initially named the business BJ Grunts, but were quickly hit with a federal trademark cease-and-desist letter by Rich Melman, the longtime restauranteur who owned the R.J. Grunts restaurants in Chicago.   Phillips and Cunningham quickly pivoted and renamed the restaurant BJ's Chicago Pizzeria.  

Over the next nine years, Phillips and Cunningham opened a number of locations from Los Angeles south to San Diego.  But when the stock market crashed in the fall of 1987, much of their regular clientele quit going out for dinner.  Contemplating bankruptcy, Phillips got a pep talk from his dad who told him that while bankruptcy would be the easy way out, he made commitments to the banks and his employees and he needed to stick it out.  While it was tough for Phillips and Cunningham - they still had to close one of their locations - the recession began to wane in 1988 and more people started to come back to their restaurants.   

By 1991, Phillips and Cunningham were wanting to do something else with their lives, the two partners ended up selling the local restaurant chain to their accountants.  The new owners eventually changed the name to BJ's Restaurant & Brewhouse.  After the corporation went public in 1996, BJ's grew to a national chain.  

Michael Phillips, Jr. grew up watching his father become a successful restauranteur and learned the art of cooking great food and customer service while working under his father's wing.  When Michael Phillips, Sr. retired to Maui in 2003, Michael Jr. and a longtime buddy, Eric Miller, came up with a new Chicago-style pizza concept served with craft beers.  They named it after Phillips' grandmother and Selma's Chicago Pizzeria & Tap Room in the fall of 2003 in Rancho Santa Margarita, CA.  

Pictured right - Michael Phillips, Jr. and Eric Miller.  Photo courtesy Orange County Register.

Catering to families and craft beer enthusiasts, in 2007 Selma's opened a second location in San Clemente, then the Ladera Ranch location opened in 2011.  A fourth Selma's location opened in San Juan Capistrano in 2016.  However, just about a month or so ago, Phillips and Miller closed the San Clemente location of Selma's which had been open for 17 years.  

(By the way, Michael Phillips, Sr. "unretired" in 2009 and opened a fast casual seafood cafe by the name of Coconuts Fish Cafe.  Today, there are two locations on Maui, with other locations in Scottsdale, AZ, a couple locations in the greater Dallas area, and one that is slated to open in the Sacramento, CA area in the coming months.)  

The Ladera Ranch location for Selma's is located in the Bridgemark Plaza retail complex along Crown Valley Parkway, about a mile east of Interstate 5.  (see map)  There was parking available in the spacious lot that served the complex.  

The main dining room was a mixture of brick walls, reclaimed barn boards and large windows looking out to the front of the restaurant.  There were a number of large booths, banquette seating along one wall, and sturdy tables in the center of the room.

The beer list was posted on the reclaimed barn board wall.  They had 30 beers on tap including the cult favorite Pliny the Elder from the Russian River Brewery in Santa Rosa, CA.  Well, let me back up - they had it on the wall, but I was informed they were out of it when I ordered it.  Most of the beers were local, but they also had some nationally distributed craft beers, as well as Guinness.  

The bar area was jam packed when I got into the place as many people were watching the end of the Los Angeles Rams game on the three televisions in the bar.  There was no way that I was going to be able to get a place to sit, let alone get served properly in the bar area.

Off to the side of the bar was the large patio area.  There were a number of people on the patio which was fenced in and topped with sail tarps.  Topping it off, there were a number of loud kids out there and I didn't want to listen to that as I just wanted to get some food, get some beer and just chill out after the trade show.  I continued to wander around the restaurant to find a comfortable area to sit. 

One of the rooms off to the side of the dining room was the "Chicago" room - a room that paid homage to the city of Chicago in pictures that were hung on the wall.  It featured banquette seating along one of the long walls and was probably used for small parties or group gatherings.  A painting of Selma Phillips with what I was told her great-grandchildren hung at the back end of the room.

Even thought it was loud in the dining room with families having pizza, I ended up seated at one of the four-seater tables in the room.  After a short bit I was greeted by a young woman by the name of Aliyah.  She was balancing about five tables at once and apologized for not coming over sooner.  She dropped off a menu for me and said that she'd be back.  When she did come back she took a deep breath and said, "OK, what can I get you to drink?"  When I asked for a Pliny the Elder, she gave this anguished look on her face and said, "Oh, I'm sorry.  We ran out yesterday and won't get more until tomorrow at the earliest."  I sort of grimaced and looked up at the beer menu.  There was a Mortal Bloom hazy IPA from the Founders Brewery back in Michigan that I got.  Even though it was good and I hadn't had it before, I was really looking for a Southern California hazy IPA as an alternative to not having a Pliny the Elder.  Oh well.  

Even though I was there for the pizza, I took a deep look through the menu to see what else they had.  They had a number of appetizers that appealed to families or large groups including chicken tenders, fried cheese sticks, and garlic-parmesan fries.  They had a number of salad choices on the menu - as in something like 12 or 14.  Sandwiches included a classic meatball with marinara and mozzarella cheese; oven-roasted turkey with avocado; and three or four different types of wraps.  Finally, they had a number of pasta selections including short rib-stuffed ravioli that came with a mushroom cream sauce.  Now, THAT gave me pause and made me reconsider my mindset of having a pizza.  

But in the end, I ordered a small pizza with my standard Italian sausage, pepperoni and mushroom.  When Aliyah brought out the pizza I was stunned to see the size.  It said in the menu that small pizza's were 10" and this looked like it may have been an inch or two shy of 10".  I just sort of shrugged my shoulders and dug in.

I'll have to say that it was a good pizza.  I think I liked Rance's tavern-style pizza better, but this was still good.  It had a nice crispy crunch, the Italian sausage was flavorful, and the pepperoni was salty and slight spicy.  The mushrooms were fresh and plentiful.  This pizza could have easily been served in a pizza place in Chicago.  And it definitely passed my "Does it taste good with a beer" test that I gauge when I want to compare pizzas.  

Earlier before I got to Selma's, I had a somewhat distressing call from a former neighbor of mine and with some somewhat upsetting news.  My mind was sort of elsewhere for the whole meal and I knew I had a couple phone calls I had to make after I finished.  I was a bit discombobulated when I left the restaurant.  (Everything turned out fine...)  

Later that evening, I was at the gas station near my hotel filling up my rental car to get ready to take back the next morning.  As I pulled up to the pump and got my wallet out to put into the pump, I realized that I didn't have my American Express card.  In a bit of a panic, I had to mentally retrace my movements earlier in the day.  I thought, "Geez, did I leave it at Selma's?"  I got back in the car and made a phone call to Selma's.  I explained to the young lady that I think I left my card at the restaurant.  She asked me who my server was and I did remember Aliyah's name.  

She put me on hold and moments later Aliyah got on the phone.  "I have your credit card here," she said.  "I saw you get up and walk to the restroom and I checked the folder to see if you had signed the receipt.  And you hadn't.  I just figured that you would come back to sign it after you went to the restroom."

"So, I didn't even sign the receipt," I asked as I started out back toward Selma's.  She said that I hadn't.  "Geez, I'm an idiot.  OK, I'm on my way."  

20 minutes later, I got to Selma's.  It was just before 9 p.m. and the place had cleared out substantially.  I walked in and the young lady at the front hostess stand greeted me.  "I think Aliyah has my credit card," I said.  Seconds later, Aliyah came out from the back holding the folder which held my Amex card and the receipts I hadn't signed.  I told her that I was a bit out of sorts when I was there, but everything was fine now.  Except that I had to drive all the way back to get my card.  

"I just thought it was sort of strange that you left your card and didn't sign the tab," she said.  

"I know," I said in an exasperated tone as I signed the receipt.  "I'm an idiot."

I then reached in my pocket and pulled out a $20 bill.  Her tip would have about $8 or $9 bucks if I put it on the receipt, but I handed the folder back to her along with the $20 bill.  "Here, this is yours, too.  Thanks for holding on to this."  

Her face lit up and said, "Thank you!  It wasn't that big of deal.  I was just more concerned that you might not come back and get your card before closing tonight."  I told her that if I hadn't stopped to get gas before going back to my hotel about 30 minutes earlier, I would have probably gone back to Iowa without my credit card.  

I probably should have given her double the tip for being trustworthy and holding on to my card for me.  Aliyah's service the whole time I was there was efficient and she was such as sweetheart.  I thought the Chicago tavern-style pizza was good - not great like some places I like in Chicago - but good.  Good for Southern California, let's put it that way.  The place was a little loud for me, but I got past all that.  And even though they were out of Pliny the Elder, I was impressed with the beers they had on tap.  I would have to say that if you're in the southern part of Orange County and have a hankering for Chicago pizza, Selma's Chicago Pizzeria and Tap Room is a good place to go.  

Pane Vino Osteria - Addison, TX

If you've been keeping up with Road Tips, you've seen that I've been doing a lot of travel outside of the Midwest for the last couple months.  Next up on the list of "exotic" places was Dallas/Fort Worth for a hi-fi industry/headphone trade show.  The show was in the north Dallas suburb of Addison and I spent much of my time out there (save for a day trip over to Fort Worth to check out an audio dealer over there, and a foray into Dallas for dinner one evening).  Addison is lot like Irvine, CA - a lot of corporations are there and because of that there are a number of hotels and there are over 200 restaurants in about a five square mile area.  Of course, a lot of them are national chains - which I try to stay away from when I'm out and about - but I did find some single location restaurants while I was there.  About a mile away from my hotel was a little Italian place in a strip mall that I decided to check out one evening.  This is the story of my visit to Pane Vino Osteria.  

Joseph Ajro and his wife, Blerta, owned and operated a couple Italian restaurants before he opened Pane Vino Osteria in late 2015.  He wanted to do an upscale Italian place with a full-time chef and a sommelier.  Pane Vino Osteria stood out amongst the large number of corporate-owned restaurants in the Addison area.  

In 2018, the Ajro's sold the restaurant to one of their workers and went on to run a fast-casual Italian restaurant Pastaza that specialized in pizza, pasta and sandwiches.  I tried to find out who the owner was, but all I got out of one of the workers when I was at Pane Vino Osteria was that it was run by the chef whose name was Vinnie.  

Pane Vino Osteria is located in Addison Walk, a small upscale strip mall along Belt Line Road near the Dallas Parkway freeway.  (see map)  Addison Walk is a mixture of restaurants and shops, and Pane Vino is tucked in between a manicure/pedicure nail shop and a Korean BBQ.  (You gotta love the diversity in Texas strip malls!)   The restaurant was sort of tucked back into the mall building with a small outdoor patio in the front.  

Inside Pane Vino, I found a long narrow space with dark wood accents, a brick wall behind the bar, banquette seating along the wall opposite the bar, and a row of tables through the middle of the restaurant.  The lighting was subdued and music from artists such as Benson Boone, Teddy Swims, and Satin Jackets was playing in the background.  

Toward the back of the restaurant was an open kitchen where a beehive of activity was taking place.  I'm always sort of interested in seeing how restaurants run their kitchen and the one at Pane Vino was as open as any restaurant kitchen I've seen.

I ended up sitting at the bar.  A couple flatscreen televisions were on the wall and the bartender - Agri - tuned one to the Thursday Night NFL football game.  After a moment, he came over with a menu and a wine list for me to look over.  To start out, however,  I got a Yellow Rose IPA out of the Little Pint Brewery in the small town of Magnolia, TX located about 40 miles northwest of downtown Houston.  

The menu was pretty interesting, to say the least.  The first thing I found under the "Shareables" column was a Wagyu beef carpaccio with chopped red onions, a garlic aioli and shaved parmesan cheese.   They had shaved ribeye steak on oven-baked crostini, meatballs with an herbed polenta in a tomato sauce, and a chipotle chicken with goat cheese flatbread.  Two items on the appetizer menu - the pepper-crusted seared ahi tuna with pickled onions, cucumbers and a ponzu sauce; and the crab cakes in a white white/butter sauce - I seriously considered getting.  I've found lately that getting a couple appetizers instead of a main entree is sometimes more fun.  

Soups included a lobster bisque and a house-made tomato bisque.  They had a handful of salads on the menu including a buffalo mozzarella capresé salad.  And they had pizza on the menu including a traditional margarita pizza and "pizza di carne" with Italian sausage, meatballs and pepperoni that I thought about getting.    

Main entrees included an 8 ounce beef tenderloin filet served with crab-stuffed shrimp; seared scallops; and a seafood cioppino.  Agri told me that they still had a lamb osso bucco special left over from the weekend on the menu that night as a special.  I seriously considered getting that, as well.  House specialities included a wood plank salmon; blue crab-stuffed shrimp; and a parmesan-crusted chicken.  

Of course, they had pasta at Pane Vino including tortellini in a wine and butter sauce; a spicy pork rigatoni with peppers in a brandy cream sauce; and a lobster-stuffed ravioli with shrimp, sea scallops, and crab meat in a brandy lobster sauce.  All those sounded great to me.  

But I've been on a bolognese case over the past few months and they had my current favorite Italian dish, tagliatelle pasta with a bolognese sauce.  The bolognese was a mixture of ground beef and pork, as well as pancetta in a tomato cream sauce.  Fresh herbs were sprinkled on top of the pasta and sauce, and it was finished off with grated parmesan.  A couple slices of toasted crostini came with the pasta.  To go along with the meal, I got a glass of the house chianti - the Castiglioni chianti from the Frescobaldi winery in Tuscany that was bold and went extremely well with the pasta dish.

The tagliatelle with bolognese was simply wonderful.  The sauce was meaty and stuck to the tagliatelle pasta.  Each bite was filled with so much flavor and goodness that I had to stop a couple times and savor the zesty taste in my mouth.  This was a great meal.  

After dinner, Agri asked if I wanted to see if I wanted to see the dessert menu.  I was sort of full from the pasta dish, but I took him up on his offer.  And I'm glad I did because they had a blueberry bread pudding topped with a scoop of vanilla ice cream that made me melt.  But they also had a limoncello cake, as well as tiramisu and a creme brûlée.  One thing I didn't see on the menu was affogato - vanilla gelato with espresso and topped with a liqueur such as amaretto.  

I asked Agri if he could make an affogato.  Only thing, he didn't know what it was.  I asked if he had espresso, vanilla gelato and amaretto.  He said, "I have vanilla ice cream, but no gelato."  I told him that would work.  So, he brought out a small bowl of vanilla ice cream with an espresso.  He asked, "So, just a shot of amaretto?"  I told him that was perfect.  

He poured a shot, but the bottle was almost gone.  I saw that there was just a little left in the bottom, probably less than a shot and I said, "Just pour the rest of the bottle on top of the ice cream."  He did just that.  Then I poured the shot on the ice cream and finished it off with the espresso.  

"I've never had that," Agri said.  "That looks pretty good!"  I assured him that it was. 

And, of course, it was.  I mean, espresso with ice cream with amaretto?  Come on!  It's killer!  It's not heavy, it is sinfully delicious and is a great ending to a wonderful meal.

Years ago, I had a boss who was my first culinary mentor who loved Italian food.  He had a rule that any Italian restaurant in a strip mall wasn't worth visiting.  I've long since debunked that notion as I've had some very good meals in Italian restaurants located in strip malls.  And Pane Vino Osteria was absolutely no exception.  I love everything about the place, the laid back ambiance, the service from Agri, and the food was superlative.  Don't let the location fool you - Pane Vino Osteria was a first-rate Italian restaurant. 

Buckley's - Seattle

Out in Seattle for a trade show earlier this year, the trade show turned out to be a bust.  I pretty much did everything and saw everyone I needed to see on Friday, and I went back on Saturday morning just to see if I missed anything.  I hadn't.  As a big Iowa Hawkeyes football fan, it turned out that Iowa was playing that day and I wanted to watch the game.  I looked up the list for Iowa Club Game Watch locations across the nation and found that there was a sports bar near downtown Seattle that hosted Iowa watch parties for their televised sporting events.  Wanting to watch the game with like-minded Iowa fans, I headed to Buckley's on Queen Anne in Seattle.   

Tim Buckley was a longtime pub owner in Seattle running the popular Belltown Pub since 1980.  In 2003, Buckley lost the lease to the pub's spot and was forced to find a new location to set up shop.  He decided to change a few things up and become more of a sports bar and grill.  In 2004, he found a location on Queen Anne street about six blocks west of the Space Needle. (see map) He recruited many of the same employees that he had at Belltown Pub and opened Buckley's on Queen Anne in June of 2004.  

In 2008, new ownership of a building forced the lease holders of a restaurant not far from Buckley's original Belltown Pub to vacate the premises.  Tim Buckley saw an opportunity to get back into the Belltown neighborhood that he loved so much and took over the spot at the corner of Battery and 2nd Ave. (see map) The  Buckley's in Belltown opened in late 2008 mirroring the decor at the original Buckley's on Queen Anne.  Buckley continues to oversee both restaurants to this day.  

There was a parking garage just next to Buckley's on Queen Anne street and I parked in there for a flat fee of around $10.50 for four hours.  I really didn't know how long I'd be there, but I figured $10.50 for four hours near downtown Seattle was a pretty good bargain.  

The place was already raucous a half hour before kickoff.  A lot of Iowa fans were in Buckley's ready to cheer the Hawks on.  The bar was already full and the bulk of the tables in the restaurant were taken, as well.  There was a couple who was getting up from a high-top table in a back corner by the bar and I asked the hostess if I could grab that table.  "I would suggest you get it as soon as you can," she nearly shouted at me as more people poured in behind me.  

The bar was elevated from the back dining area and featured four flat-screen television hung on the wall behind the bar.  There were two dining areas in Buckley's, the lower dining area behind a half wall by the bar and another area off to the side of the bar.  Looking around at the full pub and the increasing amount of people coming into the place, I knew I had scored a prime spot for the house.   

I was seated there for a few moments and one of the bartenders came out from behind the bar to wait on me.  Her name was Lauren.  And Lauren was working her butt off.  She handed me a menu and asked what I wanted to drink.  I didn't see a beer list, but Lauren pointed at the beer bottles and cans lined up on the back wall high above the back bar.  I immediately saw they had cans of Rainier beer.  "Oh, Rainier," I halfway exclaimed.  "Yeah, I'll have a Rainier!"  I hadn't had a Rainier beer in probably six years - the Old Style of the Northwest.  And it was just as good as I remembered.  

The game started and I held off on ordering food for a while.  Buckley's has "Blunch" on Saturdays and Sundays starting at 9 a.m., but it was after noon when I was there.  Blunch features at Buckley's include classic breakfast items such as eggs Benedict, a Denver omelette, and a breakfast burrito.  French toast, pancakes, and a deep fried chicken with gravy, two eggs and hash browns were part of the Blunch menu.  

Buckley's had the prerequisite bar appetizers - wings, nachos, and deep-fried cheese curds.  But they also had Thai short ribs, a chicken quesadilla, and deep-fried calamari for appetizers.  They had soups, salads and tacos which included shredded chuck steak, blackened chicken, shrimp or Alaskan cod with cheese, lettuce, cilantro and chopped onions.  After 5 p.m., Buckley's has a buttermilk fried chicken entree; a penne alfredo with chicken or salmon; and the Pub Steak - a 10 ounce Black Angus beef tenderloin that is marinated in Worcestershire sauce, herbs and spices.  

I was looking at a couple three things on the burger/sandwich side of the menu - the prime rib dip was enticing, as was the Reuben sandwich.  In the end, I got the mushroom/Swiss burger.  I asked Lauren if they could put bacon on the burger and she said, "Absolutely!"  And they had tots on the menu - you know me, I to get the tots.  But they also had sweet potato tots on the menu.  I had to give those a try.  Also, a small tub of a creamy peppery sauce came with the burger and tots.  

The burger was very good.  With all the Swiss cheese and an aioli sauce on top, the bun didn't fare too well.  It literally collapsed and fell apart after about four or five bites.  But, still, I can't complain about the quality and the taste of the Swiss cheese/mushroom/bacon burger.  

The tots were interesting.  They did taste like sweet potatoes with a crunchy outer shell.  The creamy pepper sauce had a bit of a spicy bite and I used it to dip the tots into.  I didn't finish them all as I was getting full after the eating most of the burger.  (A lot of the bun was discarded on the side by the time I was done.)  

As I was eating, a couple was sort of standing near the bar watching the game.  I had two stools open at my table and I offered them the seats.  Turns out that they were from Ames, but he went to school at Iowa and was an Iowa fan.  They were out in Seattle and he said that he did a Google search to see if there was an Iowa Hawkeye bar in the area.  "First place that came up in the search was this place," he said.  "We didn't know what to expect when we got in here.  I guess we should have gotten here earlier."  I told him that I got the last open table a half-hour before the game started.  They were both thankful that I offered them the stools that he ended up buying me a couple Rainier beers while we watched the game.  

I also didn't know what I was getting into going to Buckley's, but I was more than happy with the burger and tots that I got.  The place was rocking during the game and it was a wonder that Lauren was able to keep up with all the orders at the bar and taking care of the tables just in front of the bar.  And it was fun drinking Rainier beer again.  Buckley's was a cozy, yet fun place with a good burger.  

Tustin Brewing Company - Tustin, CA

I was on my way back to my hotel after checking out a couple potential dealers in the Orange County area near Anaheim and decided to find a place for lunch.  A quick look for brewpubs in the area came up with one that wasn't that far away from where I was and it had a number of very positive reviews.  Moments later I pulled up in front the Tustin Brewing Company in Tustin, CA.  

Jason Jeralds was on the ground floor of the craft beer scene in Southern California when he was working at the Huntington Beach Beer Company in the early 1990's.  Jeralds did a little bit of everything at the brewery from running the front of the house to being a brewer's assistant.  Wearing multiple hats he learned that the key to running a brewpub was good beer, affordable food in a nice place people were comfortable coming to, and a place that people would want to come back to.   

Jeralds worked on getting investors for his dream.  Not that people were lining up to throw money at a start-up business, but it was at that point in the mid-90's into the 2000's when banks and capital investment companies were more receptive to putting money in brewpubs given the larger margins on the making and selling beer.  Once Jeralds got his capital in place, he found a corner spot in a strip mall in Tustin that was big enough to make 750 barrels of beer annually.  After procuring a brewmaster and assistants, along with front of house help, Tustin Brewing Company opened in the summer of 1996.  

Brewmasters came and went, but in 2009 brewmaster Jonathan Porter won a Gold medal at the renown Great American Beer Festival in Denver for Tustin Brewing Company's Golden Spike Light Ale.  A year later, Porter got a Bronze medal for Tustin Brewing Company's Blimp Hangar Porter (named after the nearby Tustin blimp hangar).  In all, Tustin Brewing Company's brewmasters have won over two dozen awards in various beer judging contests.  

It was just before 2 p.m. when I pulled into the parking lot of Tustin Brewing Company located in a strip mall near the corner of Newport Ave. and Irvine Ave., not far from the California Highway 55 Freeway and Interstate 5.  (see map)  The tall turret in the corner attached to the building was prominent in the parking lot.  Even though it was well past the lunch rush, the parking lot serving the brewpub and other businesses was nearly full.  Thankfully, a car pulled out of a spot near Tustin Brewing Company's entrance.  

Upon entering Tustin Brewing Company, a number of their awards hung on the curved wall of the vestibule.  In addition to awards won at the Great American Beer Festival, Tustin Brewing has also won awards at the World Beer Cup that is held annually in Indianapolis, and the local, yet prestigious L.A. I.P.A. Fest.    

The vestibule opened into the large dining area.  Exposed brick walls were on one side of the room with an open kitchen area in the back.  The beer menu hung on the brick wall and they had a number of flat screen televisions on the walls throughout the dining space.

The bar was off to the side of the dining area with a small half-shelf made with reclaimed barn boards bordered the bar area.  The bar, itself, was also made out of barn boards with a somewhat narrow wood top.  It was a full bar with not only the beers on tap made by Tustin Brewing, but a line-up of liquor for mixed drinks.  

Behind the bar were the large vessel tanks Tustin Brewing uses during their brewing process.  The brewery expanded a few years ago to a capacity of about 1250 barrels of beer annually. Half-kegs were stacked next to the tanks and there was the faint smell of hops in the air.  The brewery had a very rustic atmosphere.  And on top of all that, classic rock music from the 70's played in the background while I was there.  

There is also an outdoor beer garden at Tustin Brewing Company.  Part of the outdoor patio was cover while the rest was covered with fabric sheets that allowed some sunlight to come into the area.  Faux veneer table tops with metal chairs were interspersed throughout the patio area.  

I ended up taking a seat at a table along the brick wall opposite the bar.  A replay of a Dodgers game was on one of the four televisions in a quadrangle in the corner.  I understand that Tustin Brewing Company is a hopping place on Sunday's in the fall as they have the NFL Sunday Ticket package that has access to all the league's games.

I was seated for over five minutes when I started to get a little twitch that maybe this was a bad idea.  But it turned out that they had just one server - a guy named José - who was taking care of the smattering of people in the dining area as well as out on the patio.  When José finally did acknowledge me, he turned out to be a great guy.  "Sorry for the wait, boss," he said as he sat down a food menu in front of me.  "Can I get you something to drink?"  

I turned toward the bar and tried to look at the beer menu they had behind the bar.  Then José pointed up behind me and said, "Here's the beer list, boss."  It was a huge beer list that I didn't see originally.  (My wife says I'm not very observant.)  They had a couple hazy IPA's on the menu, so I took the one with less alcoholic content - the Riwaka Wacka Wacka that they had on tap.  

The food menu turned out to be pretty interesting.  Appetizers included a shredded short rib quesadilla; chicken kebabs; Korean-smoked St. Louis ribs; and ahi poke served with a miso dressing with sliced avocado, onions, cucumbers.  There were seven different salads on the menu along with clam chowder and their "People's Choice" award-winning chili that was topped with chopped tomatoes and onions, along with cilantro and shredded cheese.  

Entrees included battered fish tacos (a hard no for me - grilled only, please); baked salmon with steamed broccoli and mashed potatoes; pesto shrimp pasta; grilled chicken with penne pasta tossed in a spicy cream sauce; and a sausage platter with a tri-pepper sausage link, kielbasa and Bratwurst.  They had a couple burgers to choose from along with a rib-eye steak sandwich; a pulled pork sandwich with barbecue sauce; a pork carnitas sandwich (that got my attention); and a Cajun-grilled ahi tuna sandwich.

I contemplated getting a burger, but I had one the day before.  I ended up getting the short rib grilled cheese sandwich - shredded beef short rib topped with a combination of Monterey jack, cheddar and mixed cheeses, finished with caramelized onions and Sriracha sauce served on toasted sourdough bread.  For my side, I got tots, naturally.  And they had Cholula that I could put directly on my tots!  That was a plus in my book!  

The sandwich was simply delectable.  The toasted sourdough bread held together very well with the juicy short rib beef and all the cheesy goodness that was on top of it.  The tots had a crunchy outer shell with that wonderful flaky potato inner core.  Combined with the tasty hazy IPA, this was a spot-hitter of a lunch.  

About the only set back to the meal was that José was a little slow on his watch.  But I chalked that up to the fact that he was the only server for both the inside dining room and the outside patio.  However, the lunch I had was outstanding - the grilled shredded beef short rib with a mixture of cheeses was wonderful.  And the tots were a great side dish - especially since they had Cholula to go with them.  Tustin Brewing Company was a great place to have lunch, and their menu items showed a flair with pasta and seafood dishes.  This was a good find during my trip to Southern California.  

Piacere Trattoria - Burien, WA

While I was out in the Seattle area earlier this year, I literally fell in love with the suburb of Burien, located just about 13 miles south of downtown Seattle and about a 10 minute drive from SeaTac International Airport.  There were great little bars, shops and restaurants all through the downtown area of Burien.  It immediately became one of my favorite little towns to travel to.  One place that I tried one evening came highly recommended by the bartender at the hotel I was staying at - Piacere Trattoria.  On a Friday evening, I drove to Piacere Trattoria to have dinner.  

Michele Godina grew up in the small town of Recco, Italy, not far from Genoa along the Ligurian Sea in the northwest part of the country.  Recco is famous for gifting the culinary world two things - focaccia bread (primarily focaccia with cheese), and pesto.  As a teenager, Michele Godina got interested in cooking while working in the kitchen at his mother's restaurant using recipes that had been handed down for generations in their family.  

When Godina was old enough, he attended culinary school during the day, then worked in the restaurant's kitchen at night.  After graduating from culinary school, Godina was invited to join the kitchen staff at a new Caffé Milano along Miami's South Beach.  Godina was there for five years before he was asked to join friends of his from Italy who were chefs in restaurants in Peru.

Godina made it back to the U.S. to work at restaurants in Las Vegas.  After moving to Seattle to work in a restaurant there, he met a young lady by the name of Jeannette Bastidas and the two soon married.  Michele and Jeannette started on an odyssey that took them from Seattle, to Washington D.C., to the San Francisco area, then to the Houston area in early 2021 before an opportunity to buy a small restaurant in the Seattle area came about later that year.

Pictured right - Michele Godina.  Photo courtesy Piacere Trattoria Facebook Page.  

In 2015, Frank Genzele, his wife Sue, and Genzele's cousin Frank Yellam, Jr. opened a small bistro in downtown Burien called Frankie's B-Town Bistro.  Genzele was the owner of Frank's Quality Produce at the famous Pike Place Market in Seattle, while Frank Yellam, Jr. was the proprietor Frankie Boy Produce that his father Frank, Sr. started in 1955.  Both Genzele and Yellam grew up in Burien and wanted to become part of the burgeoning food scene in Olde Burien.  Frank and Sue eventually bought out Frank Yellam, Jr., then in 2021 they decided to sell their restaurant.  

The Genzele's found a willing buyer in the Godina's who were keen to move back to the Seattle area.  Frankie's B-Town Bistro closed on February 19th, 2021 and the Godinas took over two days later.  It took about six weeks for the changeover and on April 1, 2021 (no foolin'!) Piacere Trattoria opened their doors.  Piacere is the Italian word for "pleasure" and that's what Michele Godina wanted his patrons to have on each visit to his small restaurant.  

It was around 7:30 when I walked into Piacere Trattoria.  I found a parking space on the street just a couple spots down from the restaurant.  (see map)  The hostess stand was unoccupied as the hostess was out front with people eating on the small sidewalk out in front of the restaurant.  It was a small dining room with a tile floor and faux candelabras hanging from the ceiling.  The open kitchen was in the back corner of the restaurant.  Michele Godina had come out from the kitchen to check with people at some of the tables in the restaurant.  He came up to the stand and asked how many.  "Just myself," I told him.  He grabbed a menu and led me to a small two-seat table in the far back corner.  As I turned to sit down facing the restaurant, I noticed a small bar at the front of the establishment.  

I asked Michele if I could eat at the bar and somewhat flabbergasted - but in a good way - he said, "Sure!  Absolutely!"  He led me back up to the bar and I took a seat on right end of the bar which had blue LED rope lights underneath.  A flat screen television on the back wall of the bar in front of me was playing a loop of scenes from Italy.  In the background, some excellent music from Italian-based artists S-Tone, Inc. (Stefano Tirone), Simona Molinari, Augusta Trebeschi, and the group Marchio Bossa played during my visit.

My server that evening was a young lady by the name of Mary.  She was pleasant and efficient all during the time I was there.  I got a bottle of Peroni beer to start off with while I looked over the menu.  Later in the evening, I got a house chianti to go along with my meal.  

Looking around the menu, I found a pretty interesting mix of items.  Starters on the menu included calamari, mussels in a white wine sauce, bite-size veal meatballs with a house-made marinara sauce, and a trio of bruschetta one with a traditional garlic and tomato-basil, one topped with smoked salmon, and one topped with a peperonata sauce and hummus.  Quite honestly, I seriously thought about getting the grilled octopus with a black olive sauce and the beef carpaccio for my meal that evening.

Main items on the menu included a braised lamb shank; grilled prawns, calamari and scallops served over a bed of sautéed arugula and spinach; and Caciucco - a Tuscan-style stew with prawns, scallops, mussels, clams, calamari and cod in a light, yet spicy tomato broth.  Pasta dishes included a seafood risotto; gnocchi with braised beef; and a pork rigatoni in a vodka tomato sauce.  They also had oven-fired pizza on the menu. There were a lot of great things on the menu and I was having trouble figuring out what to order.  

After I ordered my main dish, I got a mixed salad to start out.  It featured fresh mixed greens with sliced cherry tomatoes and cucumbers, a sliced avocado quarter, focaccia croutons, and shaved grand padano cheese.  It was finished with a balsamic vinaigrette.  It was an outstanding salad and a great start to the meal.   

I went with the tagliatelle pasta with a bolognese sauce.  The ground beef and pork in a tomato cream ragu was simply outstanding.  I've been on a bolognese kick over the past few months - even making my own at home.  But this was some of the best bolognese that I've ever had.  The bolognese stuck to the wide-cut tagliatelle noodles.  It was a one of those meals where I was truly sad when I took my last bite.  

After I finished my dinner, Mary came around with the dessert menu.  They had favorites of mine like tiramisu, and cannoli stuffed with ricotta cheese with candied orange slices and chocolate chips.  The Italian-style cream-filled donut with a warm blueberry compote on the side also got my attention.  But my new favorite Italian dessert - affogato - was on the menu.  I had to have one of those.

Affogato consists of vanilla gelato topped with espresso.  Additions such as whipped cream - as shown in the picture on the gelato - and either a shot of amaretto or the Italian brandy grappa can be mixed in.  I went with the amaretto.  With everything in the skinny glass mug, when I poured in the espresso, then the amaretto, it all almost went over the top.  I had to eat down some of the creamy gelato before I could finish putting more of the amaretto on the top.     

A couple days later, I had lunch at a taqueria next to Piacere Trattoria.  I parked in almost the same spot I was in during my visit to the restaurant, and as I was walking past Piacere Trattoria, Michele Godina was out front getting the patio tables ready for the evening opening.  I stopped and mentioned that I was in a couple nights previously and I had to tell him that his bolognese sauce was some of the best I had ever had.  And it was!  Everything about my meal at Piacrere Trattoria was excellent - the food, the ambiance, the service.  This was one of those memorable meals that I'm certain I'll never forget.   

Pho Fusion & Bar - Davenport, IA

My wife has seemingly been on a tear lately finding restaurants on her own - especially when she's out with friends or on her own when I'm out of town.  (Which has been a lot lately.)  A couple months ago, she noticed a new restaurant had taken the place of one of our local favorites who suddenly closed their doors in May of last year.  In a food funk one evening, she suggested we head over to give Pho Fusion & Bar a try.  "I've been there a couple times," she said.  "I think you'd like it."   

We had grown fond of (the now-closed) Combine over in East Moline, so we were thrilled in 2022 when they put in The Combine Grill in a spot that had housed a couple previous restaurants along Utica Ridge Road on the far northeast side of Davenport.  The menu wasn't as upscale as The Combine's main location, but it was still good.  But it was also pretty expensive.  And they had a brunch on Sunday that they wouldn't waver from when we would try to go in to get a burger and a bloody mary.  We went a few times, but we weren't surprised when that location shut down in May of 2023.

Michael Thach was one of the long-time servers at the former Tantra Thai restaurant.  When owner Kevin Zhang sold Tantra last year it opened an opportunity for Michael Thach and his father to take over The Combine Grill in the summer of 2023.  Thach's father used to own a Vietnamese restaurant about 30 years ago and he brought his recipes on board along with a number of Thai favorites that his son learned when he was at Tantra.  When we found out that it was going to be a Vietnamese fusion restaurant - traditional Vietnamese food fused with SE Asian cuisine - we were intrigued.  

The restaurant opened in late October of last year, but for some reason we just never tried it.  Well, I should say I didn't feel like trying it through the winter last year and into the spring.  Finally, my wife tried it with a friend of hers when I was on the road one time this past summer.  She said it was very good.  My wife had been back one or two times since and thought it was very good.  Hungry and not really knowing what I wanted to eat after coming home from a week on the road, I agreed to give Pho Fusion & Bar a try.  

Subtle changes were made to what use to be The Combine Grill, but not by much. They had some faux green vine leafs (I really don't know what it was) hanging from the ceiling over the bar and they still had the televisions up on the wall as The Combine Grill was trying to pass itself off as an upscale sports bar.   

The dining area was pretty much the same, as well.  Comfortable padded booths lined the two walls of the dining room with tables in the middle of the floor.  More televisions were on the wall above the booths, but no sports were on.  Three or four of the televisions had aerial videos of Vietnam including the Golden Bridge, various temples and beach scenes.  

We were led to one of the booths under the televisions and given a couple menus to look through.  They were fairly busy in Pho Fusion that evening and the bartender had to step out from behind the bar and help with tables.  Her name was Julia and she was friendly and helpful all night long.  She got our drink order - a very dirty Tito's martini for my wife and a Kona Big Wave for me.  My wife had a pretty tough day at work.   

Along with our drink orders my wife immediately ordered some of the pork and shrimp spring rolls.  They came with a hoisin dipping sauce with chopped peanuts on top.  The rice paper-wrapped rolls were filled with chopped pork, a single shrimp, lettuce and cilantro.  They were pretty big, but very tasty.  

In addition to appetizers such as the spring rolls, the menu featured salads, soups and - of course - pho.  The pho came in two sizes, a regular-sized bowl and a large bowl was available for $4 more.  Brisket, meat balls, short rib, and rib-eye round beef were available proteins to add to the pho.  Vietnamese specials such as a pork chop with vermicelli noodles; grilled chicken and noodles; and rice flour crepes filled with pork belly, shrimp, bean sprouts and scallions served with a fish sauce.  They had a number of wok items on the menu including fried rice dishes; spicy pad eggplant; and noodle dishes with choices of protein items or vegetarian options.  They also had curry soups and about a half-dozen seafood dishes.  

My wife ended up ordering the panang curry - a rich and creamy curry broth with coconut milk with chopped red bell peppers, mushrooms and sweat peas mixed in.  She had a choice of protein to add to the curry and she chose chicken.  She had a choice of either white rice or brown rice to mix in with the curry.  My wife said that it was a bit spicy, but excellent in flavor.  

I got the spicy basil noodles - wide-cut egg noodles mixed with sliced green and red bell peppers, scallions and egg with a lot of crushed red pepper in a basil sauce.  The noodles came with a choice of protein and I got beef to go along with it.  The first bite - WOW!  It was definitely spicy, but after a couple bites my tongue got used to the spiciness and I was able to enjoy a number of flavors between the noodles, basil sauce, scallions and peppers.  It was absolutely delicious.  It was sort of a mix between Italian and SE Asian cuisine.  And I love both styles.  

Once we finished up, Julia came over to clean the table.  I had eaten all of mine, but my wife still had some of her chicken panang curry with the brown rice left.  Julia brought out a small container for her to fill for leftovers.  "So what did you guys think," she asked as she handed me the check.  

"I've eaten here three times now and I've never had a bad meal," my wife replied.  I had to agree - even though this was my first time there, my spicy beef basil noodles were outstanding.  I especially liked the fact that they had Kona Big Wave available, but the food stood out.  With Tantra under new ownership (and a new name - Lotus Asian Bistro), this will probably be our "go-to" for SE Asian cuisine for the foreseeable future.  

Beacon Tap - Des Plaines, IL

I've been staying in the Des Plaines area of the Chicago suburbs for a number of years and I've eaten at a bunch of area restaurants.  I'd been looking for a place to be able to hang out and watch sporting events on TV when I'm in the area and I was a little surprised that I had never had been to a place which is billed as the oldest bar in Des Plaines - the Beacon Tap.  I had a chance to go have lunch there on a recent visit to Chicago.  

Actually, the building that houses the Beacon Tap dates back over 100 years as it was originally built as a grocery store back in 1910.  During the height of prohibition, a number of "legitimate" businesses in the small towns near Chicago turned into speakeasy establishments allowing bootlegged alcohol and beer to be served.  In 1926, a man by the name of Joseph Scharringhausen bought the grocery store and turned it into a drinking establishment.  He named it the Beacon Tap Room and was able to stay in business due to friendly local law enforcement officials who turned the other cheek when it came to selling alcohol in the late 20's and up to the end of Prohibition in 1933.  

After Prohibition ended, the Beacon Tap Room was a popular destination for workers who worked at the nearby rail yards.  The original wooden bar was soon replaced by a marble topped bar, and the building was expanded to include a dining room.  After World War II ended, a man by the name of George Sontag bought the Beacon Tap Room and renamed it "Sontag's Beacon Tap".   Sontag expanded the food selection and made the place more accommodating for locals and tourists coming into Chicago to fly in and out of nearby O'Hare Airport.  

Sontag was also a big sports fan and he added televisions for sporting events that were shown on local and national broadcasts.  A big fan of boxing, Sontag was said to have a projection system brought in for big prize fights.  

Sontag sold the Beacon Tap in 1955 to a new owner.  That owner - and subsequent owners in the 60's into the 80's - did their own renovations and expansions to the original building.  A new kitchen and expanded dining room made the Beacon Tap more family friendly.  In 2014, the owner expanded the bar even more, added a large outdoor patio, and renovated the exterior of the building to give it more of a sleek, modern look while keeping the interior charm of the restaurant.  

But by early 2017, the owner ended up having problems paying for the renovations and much-needed electrical upgrades to the building.  The Beacon Tap closed its doors at the end of February and sat vacant for a number of months.  

In stepped local restaurateur Joe Calabrese into the picture.  Calabrese owned a handful of restaurants in the northwest suburb including the excellent Zia's Trattoria (now Zia's Social) and Cafe Touché in Chicago's Edison Park neighborhood.  (Click here to see the Road Tips entry on Zia's Trattoria from nearly 10 years ago.)  Calabrese liked to unwind at the Beacon Tap and thought it would be a nice investment for his Calabrese & Sons restaurant group portfolio.  

Before they could reopen the restaurant, the building underwent some much needed upgrades to the interior decor and ecosystem.  A new wood floor, barn-board walls, and exposed brick walls from the original building were part of the interior upgrades to the building.  New flat-panel televisions were hung in strategic places around the inside of the building, as well as outside in an expanded patio.  A new and updated menu was also put into place.  In the fall of 2017, the Beacon Tap reopened to a welcoming community who immediately noticed the changes and embraced the updated restaurant and its new ownership group.  

I had a Zoom meeting that lasted for a couple hours and decided to head out for lunch to the Beacon Tap before I went to see a couple accounts in the afternoon.  I had probably driven past the Beacon Tap on Lee Street numerous times before, but had never really paid attention to the place.  It was right at noon when I pulled into the spacious parking lot on the south side of the restaurant.  (see map)  

Going into Beacon Tap, I found a large dining area with exposed beams with white holiday lights hanging from the beams.  Large flat-screen televisions hung from the barn-board walls, and a number of hardwood-topped tables were placed around the room.  Music from country artists such as Blake Shelton, Cole Swindell, Lainey Wilson and Jordan Davis was playing in the background.  

The large oval bar hasn't been touched during all the renovations, save for the steel bed kick-panels on the bottom.   Eight large screen televisions hung over the center of the bar and block-glassed windows along the back wall allowed light from the outside to come in.  

Outside, there was a large patio with umbrella-covered tables.  It was an unseasonably warm day in Chicago (we had a late summer in the Midwest) and there were a few people who were seated outside.  It was a bit too windy for me, so I was going to eat inside.

The outdoor bar - the Tap Room - is used for special events or overflow on game days in which the inside space is filled up.  There was a large slab off the patio for people to congregate.  Flat-screen televisions hung from the walls and space heaters hung from the ceiling of the outside bar to keep people warm on those chilly fall days or evenings when they're watching football.   

There were a number of tables open, but there were only a couple people seated at the bar when I got in there, so I took a seat there.  The bartender/server that day was a spunky young lady by the name of Amber.  She handed me a menu and I asked what they had available for beers.  "Oh," she exclaimed.  "Let me find a beer list."  She turned back around and rummaged around on the bar's island and came up with a beer menu for me to look over.  After a quick glance, I ended up getting a pint can of the Maplewood Brewery Son of Juice hazy IPA.  

The menu at the Beacon Tap is what I would call upscale bar food.  And that's what Joe Calabrese was going for when he took over the restaurant seven years ago.  They had a number of salads to choose from - all of which could have protein items added.  Appetizers such as smoked wings, pulled pork quesadilla, chicken & waffle bites, and blackened shrimp were available.  Sandwiches, wraps, burgers and tacos were also available.  And - most importantly, to me - they had a Chicago tavern-style thin-crust pizza on the menu.  I wasn't going to get the pizza that day, but it was close enough to the hotel that I stay at where I could come back in the future to give it a try.  

Three or four things jumped off the menu at me including the smoked corned beef reuben sandwich; the Sicilian brisket sandwich - Beacon Tap's take on the Italian beef sandwich; and the Texas rodeo which consisted of smoked house brisket, pulled pork, andouille sausage, and spicy Southern-style cole slaw all served on Texas toast.  All of them sounded great and I immediately wanted to come back to try one (or all) of them at some point in the future.  

But in the end, I ended up getting the Beacon Burger - two-4 ounce patties flat-grilled and topped with Merkts cheddar cheese, a spicy and creamy garlic sauce (think Guy Fieri's Donkey Sauce), lettuce, tomato, pickle and onion and served on a garlic-buttered grilled brioche bun.  Sriracha onion strings also came on the burger, but I asked Amber to put them on the side so I could savor them without all that was going on with the burger.  A choice of a handful of sides came with burger and they had tots.  That was a no-brainer.  But even better, they had Cholula available to put on the tots!  

The burger had a lot going on.  The oozing Merkts cheddar cheese made it a multi-napkin burger, and the brioche bun - while it was soft and spongy - held together very well with all the messiness of the cheese, sauce and the veggie toppings.  The two patties were perfectly cooked, still juicy and tender - not overcooked in the least.  This was an outstanding burger.

I started to stay in the Des Plaines area over 15 years ago as it seemed to be centrally located to the accounts I had in the greater Chicagoland area and with easy access to the express ways/toll ways in the area.  I really thought I had found most of the good places to have food and hang out over that time, so I have to say that I'm kicking myself for not finding the Beacon Tap earlier than this.  With my current position, I don't get into Chicago as often as I used to, but the next time I am in there, I'm heading back to the Beacon Tap.  The place had a wonderful neighborhood-friendly vibe, the service was very good, they had a great selection of craft beers to choose from, and the burger was outstanding.  I definitely want to try their tavern-style pizza at some point, and some of their sandwiches sound delicious from the description on the menu.  I really wish I would have discovered the Beacon Tap sooner than this.   

 

Royal Khyber - Santa Ana, CA

While out in Southern California earlier this fall, I was in the need for some comfort food one night and my go-to for the past few years for comfort food is Indian.  I did a quick look on the internet for an Indian restaurant in the immediate area.  It turned out there weren't a lot near my hotel, but I found one that was about a 10 minute drive away called Royal Khyber that had been in business a long time and seemed to have a lot good reviews on the place.  

Arun Puri first learned how to cook hanging onto the apron strings of his mother in India.  He later went to Dubai and learned more techniques from a handful of chefs there.  But when he and his wife Urmil migrated to Orange County, California in the late 1970's, they found that there were no Indian restaurants in the immediate area.  In fact, the closest one to their house was up in Los Angeles near the campus of UCLA.  Tired of commuting to get Indian food, Arun and Urmil decided to open up their own restaurant.

The couple found a small space in Newport Beach and opened Royal Khyber in 1981 - the first Indian restaurant in Orange County.  They had great success and eventually outgrew their space in Newport Beach.  Local philanthropist and developer Henry Segerstrom - a fan of Puri's style of Indian cooking - suggested that they move to a new mall area that Segerstrom was developing near the Costa Mesa/Santa Ana city limits.  In 1999, the Puri's moved Royal Khyber to its present day location.  

As I said, it was about a 10 minute drive to get to Royal Khyber which is located along Sunflower Road across the street from South Coast Plaza shopping and entertainment district.  (see map)  I recognized a Maggiano's Little Italy restaurant across the way from a previous visit I had there with a large group on a factory tour some 25 years ago.  

Even though it was a Saturday night, there were a number of tables that were open when I went inside.  I was shown to a table in the back corner of the restaurant.  The South Asian decor was accented by LED lights in the ceiling that would change colors.  The fabric chairs they had at the tables looked like they were straight out of the 1970's.  The good sign to me was that there were a number of Asian and South Asian patrons in the place.  

My server that evening was a young man by the name of Ali.  He was a great kid, sort of soft-spoken and very polite.  He asked me if I wanted some sparkling or regular water and I told him that I just needed the regular water.  Little did I know that he brought out an $8 bottle of European spring water to the table.  I wasn't going to bitch about it, but thought that was a bit deceptive on the restaurant's part.  

I ordered up a large bottle (22 ounces) of Taj Mahal beer to start out.  Ali brought the beer along with a lentil papadum wafer with some plum sauce and a somewhat spicy chutney sauce.  It wasn't overpowering, but it did get my attention after biting into the papadum with the chutney sauce the first time.  

The menu at Royal Khyber was not unlike many other Indian restaurants I've been to in the past.  Tandoori chicken, grilled lamb chops, kebobs, and biryani dishes dotted the menu.  There were a number of vegetarian offerings on the menu, as well as small plates such as curried mussels.  

I had my eye on a couple three things - but I boiled it down to either the butter chicken (I would have rather had butter lamb), and the lamb rogan josh.  I decided to go with the lamb rogan josh - medium in spice level.  I ordered some of the garlic naan to go along with the lamb rogan josh.  

Ali brought the lamb rogan josh out about 10 minutes after I ordered.  It looked promising with a hearty bowl of curried lamb and spices with a rich curried tomato sauce.  Basmati rice came on the side topped with shaved carrots and cilantro.  

Now, I would like to say that the lamb rogan josh was outstanding, but it wasn't.  I mean, it was all right, but it didn't seem to have that distinctive curry and spices flavor that I've had in similar dishes at other Indian restaurants in the past.   And the garlic naan wasn't that great, either.  It really lacked the forward taste of garlic that I've had elsewhere, as well.  I don't want to say the meal was disappointing, but I guess I expected something a bit more exciting in flavors given the longevity of the restaurant.  

And that is probably my synopsis of my meal at Royal Khyber.  For as nice a place and for as long as they've been in business, I thought my meal was underwhelming.  I'm far from an Indian food expert, but I know what I like in certain flavors with Indian cuisine.  And the lamb rogan josh didn't have that pizazz in flavor that I've experienced at other Indian restaurants in the past.  And the garlic naan was sort of bland in its flavor, as well.  The saving grace is that my young server, Ali, did a wonderful job that evening.  Royal Khyber must be doing something right if they've been in business for over 40 years.  But they didn't do it for me.