Chus On Chow

Anyone who reads this blog regularly will know that we love Gianni’s Pizza in our neighborhood.  Time and time again, we enjoy their fare, and last night it was the Moshulu Park pizza – broccoli, ricotta, just so good.

My designer colleague Gertrud in Mannheim, Germany, also enjoys Gianni’s Pizza every week!  Either she really likes commuting, or Gianni’s has an impressive delivery policy, right?  Well, no – it seems that in her Mannheim neighborhood there is a Gianni’s Pizza, the food is great, and the staff and diners all put on a good, funny show.  Maybe the two Gianni’s can get some kind of sister city arrangement or something!  She has kindly provided some photos, and even tolerated my bad Mannheim Steamroller joke:  (click photos to enlarge)

Pizzateig, (pizza dough) protected by a German recycle rubbish plastic bag!

The Mannheim Steamroller, operator Pino

Salvo throwing the pizza base

Foodies, I hear that Man vs. Food is featuring Syracuse this Wednesday, September 1!  That should be pretty fun, as Adam takes on the Dinosaur BBQ, Heid’s, and Mother’s Cupboard right here in Eastwood!

It’s on the Travel Channel at 9PM Wednesday!   Here are some details.  Enjoy!

We like OIP’s char-grilled wings so much that we nearly always order them – the only variation tends to be when I’m feeling particularly gluttonous, and may order a pizza slice supplement for the wings.

I finally switched it up and ordered a calzone, something I’ve considered doing for ages.  I was not disappointed with the pepperoni and cheese one that I ordered – it was very tasty, and MASSIVE!  It could have easily served as two meals, although I went crazy and devoured the whole thing.  Calzones often come in generous portions, but this one could have blocked out the sun had I held it in the right position.

Lonnie also got adventurous, and ordered a Philly Cheesesteak with onions.  I previously made a big deal elsewhere on this blog about eating cheesesteaks and other treats in Philly, which was great fun.  But Lonnie said that this one beat all the ones she tried there!  Oh boy, that’s an argument waiting to happen!

Lonnie has already written here about how much we liked Gianni’s Pizza.   Naturally, we had to go back.  This time, while doing a bunch of holiday prep, we wanted to treat ourselves.  I ordered their Moshulu Park Pizza, which is broccoli, garlic, and ricotta.

The broccoli was cooked just right, the garlic was just the right amount, and there was a generous portion of ricotta.  We both thought it was another winner.  Best of all, it was a beautiful day, so we were able to have it for one of our first front porch meals of the season.

And wait, that’s not all!  Gianni had been touting his Dart Wings on our previous visit, and I was in a fairly gluttonous mood, so I decided to augment our order with some of these.  He had described them as spicy, and they were, but not like the level of really hot wings, just a nice little snap of heat.  The flavor was round, quite savory, and a bit sweet.  I really went for it.  Lonnie liked the flavor, too, but is not quite as fond of sweetness in wing sauce as I am.  In any case, they will go into our short list of local excellent wings; these are the first ones in awhile that I think can compete in tastiness with OIP’s char-grilled ones.

I should point out that for me, places get bonus points for varying from the classic Buffalo Wing formula, lots of butter, Frank’s Hot Sauce, etc.  I like that type of wings, too, and there are a number of places near here that do them very well, such as the Change of Pace.  Come to think of it, I have no idea what Dart Wings are, exactly, except that they taste great!  I’ll have to ask Gianni for details next time I’m there.  Go visit Gianni’s here on Burnet Ave.

I love Indian cuisine.  There aren’t a whole lot of choices in our area, but thanks to our friend Owen, we found out about the new Taj Mahal, and it’s near us, at 3138 Erie Blvd. in Dewitt.  It’s in a building that used to be Quiznos, in a plaza that has the Guitar Center (it figures that Dave would notice that!).

The decor is pleasant and new.  They were doing a brisk business the Wednesday night we were there.  The service was polite and attentive, yet the staff seemed to be rookies.  If it’s true that the restaurant’s forbear is Samrat up on the SU hill, I wonder if they are actually grad students.  They did well enough, and I’m sure they’ll be on a more firm footing soon.

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