Pizza Paradise Near Phoenix

La Piazza Al Forno

5803 West Glendale Ave.

Glendale, AZ 85301

After our drive from the Grand Canyon, checking into the hotel, and a quick nap we were ready to get to the the hockey game we had tickets for. Where to eat though? Of course I had planned where we were going, just wanted to make it a little more dramatic. We were headed to Glendale, so it was an easy decision, La Piazza Al Forno would be our destination.

La Piazza wants everyone to know that they make  "real" pizza. Neapolitan pizza. Pizzas like the ones being baked in wood fired ovens in Naples. They use San Marzano tomatoes, double 00 flour, and mozzarella that they actually make at the restaurant. On their website they discredit square, stuffed, round, and extra thick pizzas, stating that they, "are not real pizza". La Piazza is actually certified by the Italian government to adhere to the set of guidelines based on Neapolitan tradition. With these boastful claims I was very excited to try their real pizza.

We arrived at the restaurant at 5:30 on a Thursday night. We must have hit it at a good time, because we did not have to wait and were seated immediately. This restaurant had a cool vibe to it, but still seemed warm and inviting. That might be due to our waitress, Sandy. She had a lot of tables, but her charming personality was very evident, and she kept things moving. The menu is not overly large. Pastas, salads and appetizers are on the menu, but we were here for pizza, so that is what we got.

Katie selected this Bianca Pizza. Their version of a white pizza had fresh mozzarella, extra virgin olive oil, ricotta cheese, garlic, and basil included on it. Katie really enjoyed this pizza. She liked the big cloves of garlic, fresh dough, and top notch ingredients. I ate a piece of hers and it was a little mellower than I like my pizza, but some red pepper flakes remedied that situation. I know that Katie liked the dough here, because she ate all of her crust.

Here's a pizza that is much more my style, the Italian Stallion. This meat lovers dream included Prosciutto di Parma, Sopressata, Schreiner’s Sausage and Pepperoni. When this hit the table the first thing I noticed was it was served smoking hot. There was plenty of meat on this pizza, but it was not greasy at all. All the ingredients worked well together and formed a cohesive unit that made the pizza great. You can tell that they really take the time and care into only adding items that will make a pizza taste great. One of the best pizzas we have had outside of NYC.

I was not really too hungry for dessert, but the Homemade Cheesecake looked really good. I am not really a cheesecake guy, because sometimes it can be chalky, but this was very creamy. It is made on the premises, with a good solid flavor and not too rich. The chocolate syrup was a nice touch. Nice finish to the meal.

La Piazza Al Forno was all it was cracked up to be. The pizzas were great, and the dessert put this place over the top. Prices were pretty fair here. The pizzas are more than enough for one person, and they run $8 to $14. Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives visited here two years ago, and the waitress told us that this place hasn't been the same since. Expect a wait on most nights. Also be advised that they are closed on Sundays and Mondays. The restaurant can tend to be a little on the warm side, even in March. The brick oven is probably the cause of this, but this is Arizona so most people are probably used to this already. Well worth the trip here.

Out of five antiques, (because the city of Glendale is known as the antique capital of Arizona), five being best to zero being worst, La Piazza Al Forno gets 4 antiques.

For more information on La Piazza Al Forno, click here: http://www.lapiazzaalforno.com/index.html

Spicing It Up at Salsa Brava?

Salsa Brava

2220 East Route 66

Flagstaff, AZ 86004

When I looked at the map and saw that we would be going by Flagstaff on our way to Phoenix, I knew we had to make a slight detour. I had it planned just right too. After seeing the Grand Canyon the day before, we could sleep in a little, leave Williams at 10:30, and be in Flagstaff just before lunchtime. We would still be able to make it to Phoenix for our hockey game that night. What was the cause of all this timing? A restaurant of course! Salsa Brava.

Salsa Brava has been featured on Diners, Drive In's, and Dives, been featured in travel books, and is almost always picked as one of the best Mexican restaurants in Flagstaff. With all of these accolades, I was really looking forward to eating here. So much so, that we actually got here five minutes before they opened. Yes, we may have been going faster than the speed limit to get here.

Salsa Brava is kind of off by itself, not really in the center of town. The interior is a little on the loud side. Lots of bright colors. After placing our order with our friendly, young, waitress we headed for the salsa bar and waited for the food to come out.

Sorry I did not get a real good shot of the salsa bar here. On this trip, we have hit quite a few places that have had salsa bars. I don't really know how I feel about them. On the one hand, it is good to have a variety of salsas to choose from, but it is also kind of a pain to have to walk up there every time you want more salsa. Most places give you very small cups to put the salsa into, thus making for extra trips up to the salsa bar. This was the case here. They offer five different salsas ranging from very mild to hot, or warm in this case. I am not really a fan of tomatillo salsa, but this one had a nice flavor. The best of the bunch was the pineapple habanero salsa. This salsa tricked you into thinking it was going to be sweet, and then on the way down it had a nice kick to it. Very good with the just average chips.

Let's start with Katie's lunch, the Navajo Taco. Here Navajo fry bread is topped with beans, chicken, cheese, sour cream, salsa, lettuce, and queso. Kind of a like a puffy taco. The chicken was very tender with a good amount of white meat served on this. Katie really enjoyed adding the tomatillo salsa to this, adding extra flavor. The serving size for this taco was very generous.

On Guy Fieri's trip to Salsa Brava, he had the Stuffed Sopapilla, so of course, I had to try it too. To be honest, before I came here I had no idea what a sopapilla was. I can not recall seeing it on any menus I have encountered while doing this blog. Basically, it is a fry bread filled with beans, cheese, and your choice of meat. I went with carnitas. They kind of got a little lost here. The sopapilla was kind of like a chimichanga, but with fry bread. The beans were the dominant portion of this plate. After eating this I wrote in my notes, "good, but not spectacular". The rice was good, very light, and had a subtle garlic flavor.

Was Salsa Brava worth the slight side trip here? Yes, it was. The food did not blow my mind, but it was very solid. Portions are on the big side, which is always a plus. I actually liked the Navajo taco better than the sopapilla. This place is not really about heat either. The items we had that advertised heat did so but without a big punch. The prices were pretty good. Our meals were under $10, and almost all of the other meals are right around this price point. A good scene for the amount of food you receive. The service was solid throughout our lunch. As the lunch hour approached this place filled up quick. Glad we made time to try it.

Out of five lumberjacks, (because the mascot of Northern Arizona University is Louie the Lumberjack), five being best to zero being worst, Salsa Brava gets 3 lumberjacks.

For more information on Salsa Brava, click here: https://www.salsabravaflagstaff.com/

Punching In at Pizza Factory

Pizza Factory

214 W. Route 66

Williams, AZ 86046

After a long day, we did not want to go to a sit-down restaurant. We had driven from Las Vegas to the Grand Canyon, and then back to our motel in Williams. When we were checking in at the Howard Johnson's, we enquired about a pizza place in the area. The woman at the desk mentioned Pizza Factory, saying that it is better than Pizza Hut. With that ringing endorsement, how could we not choose to try it?.

I was surprised to learn that Pizza Factory is a chain pizza place. I have never heard of them before. When I was writing this review I looked it up and they have 120 units in five western states. They started in 1979 in Oakhurst, California, and by 1985 they started franchising their concept across the west. One reason I may have never heard of this pizza place before was that they seem to open in out of the way places. Some of their restaurants are located in; Orofino ID, Lovelock NV, Medical Lake WA, and Weed CA. Not exactly big cities on this list.

The City of Williams definitely fits in on this list as well. After checking into the motel, we called Pizza Factory to order one of their pizzas to go. The very friendly voice on the other end took the order and told us it would be twenty minutes. We braved the 19 degrees cold and got to the pizza place fifteen minutes later. The pizza was all ready for us. There were about five other parties eating at the restaurant. This was your average pizza place, with a few video games in the corner, some TVs showing some sporting events, and a small salad bar off to the side. We were eager to get back to the motel and relax, so we grabbed some red pepper packets and Parmesan cheese and hunkered down for the night.

As you can see from the pictures above we went with a pretty basic pizza, Large Pepperoni and Sausage on half, then Olives and Pepperoni on the other side. Before biting into the pizza I noticed that they were very generous with the toppings here, especially the olives. Of course, I have never known a pizza place to go easy on the olives. It seems like they use a dump truck to pour them on top of pizzas. Anyways, this pizza was still hot after our five-minute drive back to the motel. The crust was pretty good here, nice chew and decent flavor. It did its job of holding the toppings, and staying firm. The cheese was okay, and the toppings were plentiful. A pretty solid pizza, and definitely better than Pizza Hut. 

Out of five route markers, (because the city of Williams was the last to have its section of Route 66 bypassed in 1984), five being best to zero being worst, Pizza Factory gets 2.5 route markers.

For more information about Pizza Factory, click here: https://williams.pizzafactory.com/

Cruising Down Route 66 to Twisters - CLOSED

Twisters 50's Soda Fountain

417 E. Route 66

Williams, AZ

The drive from Vegas to the Grand Canyon is a long one. It always looks so much shorter when you look at the distance on a map. Anyways, we made it to Williams at about 1pm on a Wednesday. On the way to this small town, which is at the start of the road to the Grand Canyon, we needed to stop and stretch our legs. It was also a good time to get something in our stomachs for the final hour that we had to drive before we reached the canyon.

Before leaving for our trip I had written Twisters 50's Soda Fountain down as a possible lunch location for us. Twisters is located right on Route 66, the main drag of this tiny tourist town. Twister's really has the roadside diner vibe down to an art. They have the old car stationed out front. There is a gift shop with souvenirs off to the back of the restaurant. The menu even features classic diner foods, some even named after famous 50's icons.

We are one of two parties of two at this time of the day here. It is also evident that this is not the peak of the tourist season around these parts. I am sure in the summer, or even a little later, during spring break this restaurant and town will be crawling with tourists. After checking out the menu, we made our selections and waited until the food hit the table.

Started off with the Chili Cheese Fries. Chili out of a can, average fries, but lots of cheese made these pretty average tasting. We did enjoy the serving size of this appetizer though.

For a lunch option, Katie selected the Fried Chicken Sandwich. This chicken sandwich was served on a sesame bun with all the fixings, red onion, tomato, lettuce, and pickles. Katie called this sandwich, "solid and good for a snowy day". She felt the produce used here was fresh.

I had worked up a pretty big appetite during our drive, so I had the Big Bopper Burger. This half-pound double patty cheeseburger was nothing spectacular. In fact, it was very average. Could have been frozen patties, which I would expect from this tiny place. This burger was served with the same fries used with the chili fries.

Twisters was what I expected it to be. It is a 50's diner run by a local family. The food is okay. It serves its purpose of feeding road-weary travelers and tourists that have just come back from the Grand Canyon. We did not have anything from their soda fountain, but the reviews for their ice cream are pretty good. They even serve a Brooklyn Egg Cream, which you do not see a lot of places. Service was fine here, but of course, we were the only ones in here at the time of our departure. Prices were pretty good for a sit-down restaurant. Burgers and sandwiches were $8.66, and most appetizers were $4.66. Yes, you read that right. All menu items ended in 66 cents, in honor of the route that they are situated on. Just another thing that makes this little diner unique.

Out of five railroad tracks, (because the city of Williams is the starting point for the once-daily round trip to the Grand Canyon on the Grand Canyon Railways), five being best to zero being worst, Twisters 50's Soda Fountain gets 2 railroad tracks.

For more information on Twisters 50's Soda Fountain, click here: http://www.route66place.com/Twisters_50_s_Soda_Fountain_s/32.htm

Stumbling Upon Serendipity - CLOSED

Serendipity 3

3570 South Las Vegas Blvd.

Las Vegas, NV 89109

Many of New York's most popular restaurants have opened branches in Las Vegas. Grimaldi's Pizza, Carnegie Deli, and this place Serendipity 3. I am sure I'm missing others I can not think of right now. It is funny that none of these places have opened at the New York, New York Hotel. It seems like they would fit right in there.

New York export Serendipity 3 is on the strip at Caesar's Palace. Detached from the rest of the resort, Serendipity is off by its lonesome in a freestanding building that is hard to miss. It is nice that you do not have to walk through a large mall or casino to find this restaurant. It is right in front, where you can not miss it.

Serendipity was started in 1954 by a trio of friends. Since then, they have had a strong list of celebrity customers, had a sappy John Cusack movie named after them, and become a part of pop culture. Besides the Vegas and NYC locations, there are also Serendipity's in Boca Raton and Georgetown, in the Washington, D.C. area.

We got to Serendipity at 3pm on Tuesday and still had a fifteen-minute wait. If there was a wait at this slow time, this place must be packed on weekends and at mealtimes. Be advised of this. This Serendipity is larger than the location in New York. Their trademark Tiffany lamps are not hanging from the ceiling but are placed on the tables. This place reminds me of Farrell's but with loud pop music. We got a steady dose of Britney and Taylor Swift to accompany our lunch. After perusing the extensive menu, this came out of the kitchen.

Katie selected the High Heel Sandwich. This sandwich comprised prosciutto, buffalo mozzarella, tomatoes, arugula,  basil pesto, and balsamic glaze. Katie liked every part of this sandwich except the prosciutto.  She thought the meat was too fatty and lacked a pleasant flavor. The produce was fresh, and the balsamic added an interesting taste to this sandwich. She mentioned that she would avoid this sandwich in future visits here. I did not try this; it was not my cup of tea.

If you ever wondered what a $16 Chili Cheese Dog looked like, wonder no more. This foot-long hot dog featured Serendipity's chili with bits of filet mignon. It was good, and the portion size was enormous, but it was not worth $16. No chili dog is worth that. The chili could have been a little spicier here. The hot dog had a decent snap and a nice meaty flavor. This chili dog really needed the cheese to be melted. It's definitely a knife-and-fork hot dog.

Now, to the reason almost everyone comes here, the Frrrozen Hot Chocolates. They now have eight versions of this famous drink. We ordered the Peanut Butter Frrrozen Hot Chocolate for Two. Wow, this was worth the visit here. This is just like it sounds. Imagine a hot chocolate frozen to a slushy consistency you could drink through a straw. Peanut butter settled in the bottom of the glass, and every once in a while, you would get a good taste of it mixed with the chocolate. Perfect finish to our meal here.

The food here was good, but it could have been better. The portions are enormous, and so are the prices. If you must eat here, I would stick with the basics, hot dogs, burgers, and salads. The presentation is fun and whimsical, with oblong dishes and swirls of sauces applied to the food. The real draw here is the dessert portion of their menu. You can never go wrong with a sundae or frrrozen hot chocolate on a warm day in Vegas. That will be our game plan next time we are here, skip the food portion of the menu and head straight to the desserts. Now, if only Doughnut Plant would follow the NYC to Vegas trend and open a location in Sin City!

Out of five pillbox hats (because pillbox hat-wearing First Lady Jackie Kennedy once tried to buy the frozen hot chocolate recipe but was declined), five being best to zero being worst, Serendipity 3 gets 3 pillbox hats.

For more information about Serendipity 3, click here: http://www.caesarspalace.com/casinos/caesars-palace/restaurants-dining/serendipity-3-detail.html

Hoping for an Encore at Society Cafe - CLOSED

Society Cafe

3131 South Las Vegas Blvd.

Las Vegas, NV 89109

Breakfast in Las Vegas! Okay, maybe more like an early lunch depending on how much fun you had the night before, but still breakfast type foods. If you have read this blog before, you know I love breakfast. I like big plates of food. Pancakes, eggs, bacon, sausage, and toast, kind of like a sampler plate of what breakfast has to offer. I am, however, versatile. I can also appreciate a nicer, more refined breakfast. After reading the reviews of Society Cafe, I knew this was the kind of breakfast I would be getting here.

Society Cafe is located at the Encore Hotel. I had never been to the Encore before. It is really big and fancy. We came here because I did a little search for the best breakfast spots in Las Vegas, and this place kept getting mentioned. In fact, Society Cafe was voted one of the top 10 best new restaurants in America by Esquire magazine. So needless to say I was expecting a lot here.

Society Cafe is located just off of the casino floor, right by the shops that link Encore with the Wynn. We are greeted by a very nice host who shows us to our table. The vibe here at SC is that of a very elegant coffee shop. There is absolutely no crowd of people here at 10am. There are people here though, and it might just be that restaurant is spread out so you are not right on top of other diners. After checking out the one-page breakfast menu, we made the following choices.

Katie selected a healthy option to start her breakfast journey a Bowl of Granola. According to her the granola was really fresh and had an almond and coconut flavor. I, of course, did not try this granola. Too healthy for me.

I did about a 180 degree turn from Katie's granola with this Extra Large Sticky Bun. This pastry was served hot, topped with caramel and candied pecans. I really liked that they added extra caramel sauce to the bottom of the plate. The roll itself was soft, with a slight chew to it. One of the best sticky buns I have had. I definitely would get this again.

For the main part of Katie's breakfast, she had the Egg White Frittata. This frittata was stuffed with Crimini mushrooms, spinach, tomatoes, asparagus, and goat cheese. Katie really enjoyed this. The produce was farm fresh and there was plenty of pepper used in this to wake up the taste buds. For bread, she went with the rye. I always think it is weird when people go for rye bread with breakfast until I snuck a piece of it and it goes really well with breakfast.

When the Ultimate Steak and Egg Sliders were placed in front of me I felt a little ripped off. I am used to big platters of breakfast foods, and all that was here were two small sliders. Let me tell you though, these really packed a punch. They were filled with filet mignon, scrambled eggs, and creamed spinach, all sandwiched between split bacon and cheddar muffin. The steak was cooked very tender, the spinach really added a nice dynamic here, and the egg was buttery and spiced well. The real star was the bacon and cheddar muffin. The muffin actually had pieces of real bacon inside of it, which added lots of flavor to these beauties. These two sliders really filled me up. Very rich breakfast, and I am not just talking about the price.

Society Cafe surprised me. I was expecting it to be good, but maybe not this good. The portions were on the smaller size, but they still filled me up. The menu is small but is still filled with some items that we would love to try in the future. The Frosted Flake French Toast and the Mini Quiche Trio come to mind. I am not going to lie and tell you this place is a great value because it isn't. All breakfasts are going to set you back at least a $20 bill, which is a lot for breakfast. If you win a little in the casino, the high standard of food here will more than makeup for the loss of a twenty. Service was great, even though we noticed they had a hard to please crowd the morning we were here. Society Cafe has taught me that good things can come in small portions.

Out of five microphones, (because there was a famous nightclub in New York City called Cafe Society in the '30s. Acts included Pearl Bailey, Carol Channing, Lena Horne, and others), five being best to zero being worst, Society Cafe gets 3.5 microphones.

For more information about Society Cafe, click here: http://www.wynnlasvegas.com/Restaurants/CasualDining/SocietyCafe

Burger Bliss at Burger Bar? - CLOSED

Burger Bar

3950 South Las Vegas Blvd.

Las Vegas, NV 89119

When I learned we would go to Vegas for a few days, I hastily wrote down some restaurants I wanted to try. First on the list was this place at Mandalay Bay, Burger Bar. My excitement wasn't even directed towards their burgers. I mean, I wanted to try them, but there was something else lurking on the menu that pulled me towards Burger Bar: the Nutella Milkshake. More about the shake later.

Burger Bar is located in the shopping mall that connects Mandalay Bay to the Luxor. This casual eatery is the brainchild of one of America's most talented chefs, Hubert Keller. Keller's restaurants include world-renowned Fleur de Lys in San Francisco, Fleur by Hubert Keller, and Las Vegas. Keller has also been featured on various versions of Top Chef, as a judge and contestant and as the author of two cookbooks, with another on its way soon. With these accolades, I was even more excited to try this place.

There are three locations of Burger Bar (this one is in St. Louis and San Francisco, and another is on its way to China later this year). This long and narrow restaurant is packed at 9 p.m. on a Monday night when we arrive. I know this is Vegas, and most people are on vacation here, but it is still a minor shock to see people eating so late. The restaurant is dominated by a long bar that caters to hip patrons fresh off their gambling wins and losses.

The menu here is, of course, dominated by burgers. They have 10 chef's burgers that you get as they are listed on the menu. They also have the build-your-own-burger option, where you pick what kind of patty and what you want on your burger. They offer eight types of meat with which to build your burger.  Meats range from beef to exotic options like buffalo, salmon, and turkey. It's not crazy exotic, but if you dislike beef, you have other options. Toppings are numerous here. They offer 47 different items to complement your burger. Some crazier ones include jalapeno bacon, pan-seared foie gras, grilled half a lobster, cranberry sauce, and black truffles for $30. We did not get too crazy with our picks, though. Let's see how they turned out.

Before we got to the burgers, we had this Appetizer Sampler with Skinny Fries, Buttermilk Fried Onion Rings, and Buttermilk Fried Zucchini. The fries and onion rings were the best of the three. The zucchini was too mushy and needed to be helped out by the plethora of sauces we got. Almost all of the six sauces we got were to our liking. The lone exception was the White Barbecue Sauce. The best of the bunch was the spicy ketchup, the cinnamon honey sauce, with the king of all being the chipotle aioli. This sauce could have made even wooden Popsicle sticks taste great.

Now, on to the burgers. First up was Katie's selection. She got a varied version of the Hubert Keller Burger. She had an Angus burger patty with blue cheese, sauteed spinach, caramelized onions, and a red wine and shallot reduction, all on a ciabatta bun. She felt this was a well-balanced burger with a subtle taste. The sharpness of the blue cheese was neutralized by the spinach and sweetness of the onions. It was a very juicy burger.

Writing this review, I realized I might have screwed up with my choice of burger. I should have gone with something more exotic. I was overwhelmed by the options for toppings here. I know what I was thinking in my head, though. All genres of food that we try, I have my, "go to item", that I use to judge a new restaurant by. In Mexican restaurants it's carnitas, in Italian places it is lasagna. With burgers, it is a Bacon Cheeseburger. My burger included bacon, cheddar, caramelized onions, and aioli. Pretty pedestrian, but this burger was delicious and very juicy. As I wanted, the burger was cooked medium rare, and the patty had a good flavor. The toppings were a great compliment to this burger and worked well together. The next time I am here, I will get a little more crazy with my selections, but at least I know Burger Bar makes a good burger.

As delicious as this Nutella Milkshake looks, it was equally as delicious to drink. It was not overly sweet and had a good chocolate/hazelnut flavor. The serving size of this shake was not the biggest, but it might seem that way only because we were sharing it. It's a good thing we split it because I was really stuffed from the burgers.

Burger Bar really lived up to the hype. The burgers were great, and the milkshake rocked it. The prices here are high, but being on vacation, you must occasionally splurge. Burgers start at $10 and increase depending on the number of toppings and extras you want to add. We had heard that service can sometimes be an issue here, but we did not experience that. Our server, Harmony, was efficient, kept things moving, and was sweet. We look forward to returning and trying other burgers here, but I wonder if I can get away from the Nutella shake.

Out of five ponytails (because in 2006, Hubert Keller was declared the winner of the best culinary ponytail. Mario Batali must be distraught!), five being best to zero being worst, Burger Bar gets 3.5 ponytails.

For more information on Burger Bar, click here: http://burgerbarlv.com/

Dining With Royalty at the Earl Of Sandwich

Earl of Sandwich

3667 South Las Vegas Blvd.

Las Vegas, NV 89109

This may seem like an odd stop on our food tour of Las Vegas, but there is a reason for it. We are getting our very own Earl of Sandwich in OC. It is going to be at Downtown Disney in Anaheim. So I really wanted to preview it before we got our own at home. I also was a little tired of walking, and this was about halfway from where we started our walk this morning to our hotel, so it seemed like a great place to stop and have a light lunch before our afternoon nap.

Now for the mandatory history lesson. In 1762 John Montagu, the 4th Earl of Sandwich, and commander of the British navy, invented the sandwich by sliding some meat in between two pieces of bread. Thus the sandwich was born. Something more mobile than the food of the day. Flash forward to present times, and the 11th Earl of Sandwich is still involved with sandwiches and a namesake restaurant, Earl of Sandwich.

Earl of Sandwich is not the type of restaurant that you would expect some British royal to be involved with, unless his title happens to be Earl of Sandwich. Then of course it makes sense. There are now 18 of these casual sandwich shops, with more on the way. This Vegas location is located in the mall area of Planet Hollywood, just outside the casino.

The menu at Earl of Sandwich is not going to blow you away their variety. They feature 12 hot signature sandwiches, assorted salads, wraps, soup, and desserts. Ordering is done at a counter and then you are given a pager to let you know when your food is ready. It took no more than five minutes for the sandwiches to hit our table. This is how it all came out.

Sandwiches are wrapped in gold foil and presented like gold bricks. We will start with Katie's sandwich selection, the Full Montagu. This sandwich consisted of roast beef, turkey, Swiss and sharp cheddar cheeses, tomato, lettuce, and the earl's mustard sauce. Katie felt that the bread was like Schlotzsky's Deli. I thought it was more like a ciabatta type bread. Katie enjoyed the thin sliced cheese, the fresh ingredients, and the mustard sauce on this sandwich.

I went with the Original 1762 Sandwich. This basic sandwich came with roast beef, sharp cheddar, and a creamy horseradish sauce. This sandwich was much mellower than the ingredients in it would suggest. The sharp cheese was not prevalent here. There needed to be more horseradish sauce on this as well. The roast beef is made in house, and it was tender, with a mild flavor. The bread held the contents of the sandwich well, and this was a hearty sandwich.

The item that stands out the most at the Earl is this Peanut Butter Brownie. Most of the time you see packaged baked goods at a sandwich shop they have been sitting there for who knows how long. This was not the case here. The brownie was baked perfectly. Not too doughy, with a slight crunch to the outer edges. The peanut butter sandwiched between the split brownie was the real thing, and it was plentiful. This dessert made it worth coming here for sure.

Now I know what we are in for when the Earl of Sandwich comes to Downtown Disney later this summer. The sandwiches were good, not great. I do not crave them like a crave that peanut butter brownie. The sandwiches are pretty solid though. I look forward to trying one of their sandwiches that features bacon the next time I come here. The prices were a steal in this neck of the woods at $6 per sandwich. I hear that they can have long lines at times, but that was not the case when we were here at 2 on a Monday afternoon. See you in summer Earl, just make sure to have some peanut butter brownies with you!

Out of five decks of cards, (because it is said that the 4th Earl of Sandwich was a big card player/gambler, and he did not have time for meals during games, so he was brought sandwiches), five being best to zero being worst, Earl of Sandwich gets 3 decks of cards.

For more information about the Earl of Sandwich, click here: http://www.earlofsandwichusa.com/

Get A Going to Hash House!

Hash House A Go Go

3535 South Las Vegas Blvd.

Las Vegas, NV 89109

Imperial Palace kind of has a reputation with some of my friends. When I told them I would be coming here for breakfast, most of them asked, "Why would you want to go there?" I admit, IP is not the most glamorous hotel on the strip. They do not have the biggest casino around. The decor looks like it looked when I first started coming to Vegas in the early 90's.

I am not afraid to admit that I do like Imperial Palace. They at least try. In this day of age with all of the big fancy hotels opening up, with their sprawling casinos, it is a breath of recycled air that Imperial Palace has stayed true to itself. They can be called cheesy for having celebrity impersonators dealing black jack, even though most of these dealers only slightly resemble who they are trying to be. At least most of the people here look like they are having a good time. The same can not be said of the mega casinos, which feel very sterile compared to the good old IP.

It is not just the fun vibe of the casino that has brought us here of course. We are here to eat, and there is a place that has been on my list of places to try for some time now. A place that has been on numerous television shows. Been featured on many lists as a top breakfast spot. A restaurant known for huge breakfast portions. Of course we are talking about Hash House A Go Go.

This location of HHAGG at Imperial Palace is very large. We got to the restaurant at 10am on a Monday morning and still had a thirty minute wait. Not too hard to make use of time waiting in a casino, so we threw a few dollars in a poker machine and made ten dollars. That's how this big gambler rolls.

Anyways, the vibe inside the restaurant could be classified as a hip, new age style coffee shop. Pop hits blaring from overhead speakers. Young, hip servers slinging around huge platters of food. The menu here can be a little overwhelming. Not really outrageously huge, but almost everything on it kind of has a twist, so reading the descriptions is a must. Let's see how are food came out.

I was perplexed as to what to get. I settled on the Hash House Famous Meatloaf Hash. This hash combined two eggs, roasted red peppers, meatloaf, spinach, and mozzarella cheese. I really liked this breakfast, but it lacked the wow factor for me. It really needed something else to bind it together, maybe some gravy? The meatloaf here could not stand on its own, kind of bland. The potatoes were cubed too big for my taste. It kind of sounds like I did not like this, but that is not the case. I was just expecting more. The portion size is large and the elements of this plate were all very fresh. I really liked the biscuit as well.

I had seen this Fried Chicken Benedict before on TV shows, so I was really happy when Katie ordered it. For starters this thing is seriously huge. This Benedict was made up of sage fried chicken, spinach, smoked bacon, mozzarella, tomato, scrambled eggs, and chipotle cream, all served on top of a split biscuit and mashed potatoes. Big time flavor is what comes to mind here. The chicken was tender, the chipotle cream was delicious, and the biscuit wrapped everything up nicely. This is a must get when coming here.

Not that we needed anymore food, but I knew this would be our only chance to come here for this visit to Vegas, so we ordered an Apple Cinnamon Flap Jack. The flavor here reminded me of apple cinnamon Cream of Wheat, very comforting. I am always leery about putting syrup on fruit pancakes, but it really made a difference here. This was more like an apple danish than a flap jack. Not as heavy as I imagined, and for as full as I was, I did not get tired of eating this.

I may not have been wowed by my meal here, but the other things we got more than made up for it. Hash House A Go Go will definitely be on my list of places to have breakfast in Vegas from now on. The service was pretty good for us on this busy Monday morning. The food came out hot and in a timely matter. Prices were great for the amount of food you get. Most breakfasts were $10 to $15, not bad for a big breakfast on the strip. They also have three other locations in town, off of the strip, in case you do not want to be seen inside the Imperial Palace. We will proudly come to Imperial Palace anytime for this breakfast though.

Out of five red dresses, (because the international running/drinking club, Hash House Harriers is known to run in red dresses), five being best to zero being worst, Hash House A Go Go gets 3.5 red dresses.

For more information on Hash House A Go Go, click here: http://www.hashhouseagogo.com/vegas/