Piccolo Italia

Piccola Italia

Unica Cucine Italiana

837 West Park Avenue

Cobblestone Village

Ocean NJ 07712

732.493.3090

www.piccolaitalianj.com

Hello fellow food lovers! I hope that today finds you all well and unscathed by the wrath of Irene. Hopefully, everyone was as over- prepared as we were (The Captain made sure of it), and you have enough water, batteries and food to last you through to next Hurricane season, or blizzard, whichever comes first!

 Anyway, Friday night in the midst of all of the hullaballoo about Irene, Joe and I had a hankering to go out to eat, which is unusual for Joe, but not so much for me. I knew that I was in for a weekend of being stuck inside and cooking everything in the house, so I was determined to go out beforehand and NOT cook on Friday night if I didn’t have to. After debate about where to go, a little dance that we usually go through whenever we are going out to eat, we settled on what I thought was Piccolo Italia. We loaded into the car and started on the 5 minute trip to the restaurant, except on West Park Avenue the Captain went into the left turning lane! I quickly questioned where he was going, he said, “that Italian restaurant that we haven’t been to in a long time”. I said “Piccolo Italia is in Cobblestone” he said “I was going to Mike and Nellies!” OK. So this went on for a while back and forth and we finally established that he thought the restaurant we were going to was Mike and Nellies and Liz, Joe and I thought we were going to Piccolo, so obviously majority ruled. We went to Piccolo Italia.

We haven’t been to Piccolo in probably close to 10 years, so there have been quite a few changes. The most notable one is the size of the restaurant. When we were there last the restaurant was a very small storefront in the corner of Cobblestone plaza in Ocean Township.  The restaurant has doubled in size moving into the storefront next door. The décor is nice and tasteful, warm colors and wood, wine bottles and a nice mix of modern and traditional art and elements. It was early, around 5:30, so there weren’t too many people there yet. More people began to filter in as we were finishing up and I think that if New Jersey wasn’t in a state of emergency and if the Governor hadn’t told everybody to “get the HELL off the beach!”  then it probably would have been a lot more crowded.

I can’t remember what was on the original menu specifically, but I could see that the menu had changed a bit, I am not sure if they have changed hands or chefs from the original restaurant. The menu , though changed, still looked really good.

We were greeted right away and the busboy asked if we wanted sparkling or tap water, we chose tap. The server came over and she took the drink order; I was the only one to order a drink, I chose just a house Pinot Grigio and it was good, I failed to get the name of it however so I will try to get it and make a note later. When the server came back she told us what the specials were in addition to the menu selections, one of which we ordered. After she brought the drinks we were ready to order, we ordered the Eggplant Rollantini appetizer that was on special, Cockle Clams with Toasted Garlic,Basil, Roasted Corn, Jersey Tomatoes, wilted arugula and bacon appetizer (on the menu this is PEI mussels and cockle clams, but none of us are crazy about mussels so we asked if we could just get the clams, no problem). For our entrees The Princess chose the Porcini Seared Day Boat Sea Scallops with Truffle Mashed Potatoes, Beurre Blanc, Port wine reduction and Sautéed mushrooms. I chose the Grilled Double Cut Pork Chop with smoked Gouda and bacon Risotto, French beans and a Maple Ginger Reduction. The captain asked if he could just get Linguini with white clam sauce (no problem) and Joe ordered the rigatoni with just marinara sauce (also not on the menu but no problem).

After we ordered the busboy came over with a large crusty roll for each one of us. They were very good, crusty on the outside and soft on the inside, it’s a good thing that they only give you one, because you really could fill up on bread that good. While we were waiting for our appetizers, another server came over and gave us each a plate from the chef, it was a taste of something that (I guess) the chef was working on, a shrimp fritter with a black bean and tomato Pico d’gallio and remoulade sauce. The shrimp fritter was delicious and the beans and tomatoes fresh and cold and tasty, Liz and I got to split Joe’s (because he don’t do that).

Tommy's Coal Fired Pizza

Tommy’s Coal Fired Pizza

Rt. 35 and West Park Avenue

Oakhurst NJ 07755

732.695.6010

http://www.newjerseycoalfiredpizza.com/

While we were in Florida we really didn’t eat much pizza, once in almost 8 weeks to be exact, because, frankly, good pizza is hard to come by in Florida. So needless to say we all had a hankering for some good pizza. This time around there was just three of us, The Captain, Joe and myself went to Tommy’s on Friday night.

When Tommy’s Oakhurst opened up down the street from us, of course your first thought is, “oh great, another pizza place”. Well not really, it’s actually much more than just a pizza place. The décor is very cool, with old pictures of Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr. etc. you get the picture. Dark wood and an open kitchen with the coal fired ovens on display. The bar area is very comfortable, and it’s a nice place to go even just to have a drink and watch the sport du jour, something which actually was lacking in Oakhurst for a long time.

We haven’t been to Tommy’s in a quite a while and it seems that they have added a few selections to their menu. The décor was the same and for a Friday night in the summer it was not too crowded, but it was early. By the time we were finished there were a lot more people coming in.  We were seated promptly in a booth that had vantage points of TV’s airing pre- season football, much to Joe’s delight, Pizza and football, what’s better than that? The waitress came over quickly and took our drink order, The Captain ordered a beer (unusual?), he wanted Corona light, however, they don’t carry it, so he settled on Heineken light. Joe ordered a coke and I ordered the Red Sangria. I am not a big red wine drinker (or really any wine),however, I am a sucker for a good Sangria. This one was good, full bodied and plenty of fresh fruit in it with a hint of brandy flavor.

We have really only had the pizza here before, so this time I wanted to sample a couple of other things. We ordered the coal oven roasted wings (a small order), a large pie, original style, half sausage and I ordered a black and bleu Caesar salad with blackened Chicken.

The wings came out pretty quickly.

They come on a sizzling cast iron plate (not sure if this is what they are cooked on), and they are “smothered “ in roasted onions with a roasted green banana pepper and some garlic bread, you also have an option of having buffalo sauce and blue cheese, we picked blue cheese but passed on the buffalo sauce.  The wings were very good, perfectly cooked with a nice “crust”, they were seasoned well and the roasting process makes them crispy and juicy. The Captain especially liked these and he’s not even a wing fan, he never orders the usual fried wings when we go out. The onions were tasty but usually we both stay away from too much of the onion and pepper thing to save on our Tums bill!

Black and Blue Caesar Salad with Blackened Chicken.

The black and blue salad came out soon after the wings, even though I really intended it to be for an entrée for me. It was fine, I just put it aside until the pizza came out. The salad is basically exactly what it’s name says it is, it is a Romaine Caesar Salad that has blue cheese and blackened Chicken on it and some crispy croutons are on it as well. The salad was good, the lettuce was fresh and crispy so I knew the Caesar dressing hadn’t been sitting on it for too long. The chicken was a tad spicy for me, but I am a lightweight when it comes to spice, so for most people it would probably be fine. The blue cheese was sharp and there was not so much of it as to overpower the taste of the salad, but still enough to relieve the spiciness of the chicken.

When we ordered the pizza, the waitress had asked us if we wanted the crust golden or dark. Well, The Captain likes his dark and Joe and I like it Golden, so we asked for the “darker side of golden”, and they did a pretty good job. The sausage side of the crust was darker which was good because Joe doesn’t eat the sausage pizza. The pizza here is good, the crust is thin but not so thin that there isn’t a little bit of chewiness and bite to it. The red sauce is sweet and smooth, it’s not chunky, and the crust isn’t smothered in the sauce. The mozzarella cheese is fresh and it melted nicely on the pie, it’s not too salty which I like, but Joe wanted a little extra grated cheese for some more flavor. The Italian sausage was cut into little cubes instead of big pieces and was flavorful and sweet.

All in all, the dinner was very good, the pizza was better than I remember and the wings were definitely the star in this meal. I would recommend this restaurant if you are looking for a nice pizza dinner, but want a little better than the corner pizza joint.

Have you been to Tommy’s? If so how did you like it?

Happy Eating!

Chrissy

Ozona Pig

Ozona Pig

311 Orange Street, Palm Harbor Florida, 34683

727-773-0744

www.ozonapig.com

My family and I actually ate here a few weeks ago and I have just gotten around to downloading the pictures. I had a copy of the menu; however, I left it at the house in Florida. So here goes….

I heard about Ozona Pig when I was in Palm Harbor in February. One of the contractors that were working on my house told me about it. I didn’t go at that time as I was alone down there and I think that good barbeque needs to be enjoyed with a group. I suggested this to The Captain one night when I was getting sick of eating Grouper. The Princess had just come home from a month in Italy, so pasta was out and Joe just eats chicken tenders wherever we go anyway. Surprisingly, The Captain agreed to go, so Pig it was.

Ozona Pig is located off of Alternate 19, off Tampa Rd in Ozona (Palm Harbor). It’s sort of tucked away behind the Pinellas trail and the whole neighborhood has a very Florida Keys feel to it. They have a small parking lot behind the building, which we were able to park in no problem, and they also have a few spots out front. It wasn’t very crowded but it was a Monday night and it was early.

We sat inside because of the heat, but they have picnic tables outside for when the weather is a little more agreeable.

It smells heavenly inside, meat lover’s heaven! The waitress came right over and took our drink order, no cocktails tonight, Joe had a soda, The Captain and I ordered unsweetened ice tea and The Princess had her usual just water. After examining their pretty extensive menu we placed our order: Pulled Pork nachos for an appetizer, Joe ordered the kids Chicken Fingers, The Captain and I both ordered the Beef Brisket Dinner Plates, and The Princess ordered a Boss Hog Salad with pulled Pork.

The nachos came out soon after we ordered; the standout in this dish was definitely the Pork. The nacho chips were pretty standard and I was a little disappointed with the “canned” cheese sauce, but the pork (of course the reason we came here) was amazing! It was tender and succulent, cooked perfectly and smoky; if I could have I would have wiped the cheese off and just ate the meat and chips. Of course, we kept the cheese on it, much to my cardiologists chagrin, and we ate the whole plate between the three of us (Joe don’t do that).

The dinners came out timed perfectly with us finishing the appetizer, which adds extra points in my book. So many places bring the dinners too soon after the appetizers, but not so here. Joe’s chicken was pretty much the standard fried tenders and French fries which he said were very good and Joe gave extra points for having honey mustard (not all places have it and sometimes he is relegated to ketchup only).

The BBQ plates included the brisket, a deviled egg, baked beans and cole slaw.

The beef was smoky and flavorful. I am pretty picky about the tenderness of my meat, much more so than The Captain, the meat to me was a little chewy, but it wasn’t tough, and it wasn’t dry, sometimes brisket barbeque can be overdone and dry which this wasn’t. The deviled egg could have used some more seasoning, but it was a nice touch to the plate, the cole slaw was your average coleslaw not too much mayonnaise but for me the shining star on this plate was, believe it or not, the beans! They were sweet and tender with a hint of….brown sugar? Maple syrup?  Overall this dish was very good and both The Captain and I enjoyed it.

The Boss Hog Salad with pulled pork.

This was a nice dish and I guess she liked it because she pretty much ate the whole thing, at least all the meat out of it. Basically, mixed Greens topped with pulled pork and a very tasty dressing: Mandarin orange sesame ginger vinaigrette…..Whew! That’s a mouthful!  There were a few cubes of cheese on the dish, and salad was a nice size, just big enough.

No dessert was ordered as we were pretty full and not to mention that Strachan’s Ice Cream (I will review that another day) is right down the road. . They also have a pretty good looking breakfast menu that looks interesting.

 Overall, I think that we all enjoyed our meals and the whole “feel” of the restaurant and we will definitely return on our next trip down to Palm Harbor.

Have you been to Ozona Pig? If so, please comment, I would love to hear about your experience.

Happy Eating!

Chrissy.

My New Food Blog

Hello All!
I am new to this blogging  business, and I have actually been putting it off a little, but my kids have been pushing me so, I will give it a try.
In case you haven't already guessed this is a Food Blog! Specifically, about restaurants that I have gone to in my home area, which is Monmouth County New Jersey, as well as restaurant experiences in the Pinellas county Florida area. I recently purchased a second home in Palm Harbor Florida and eat out quite a bit there, when I am in town. I will also be including information from any restaurants that I eat at when I am travelling.
Ever since I can remember, I have always loved to eat out. I was the youngest of four children and I was a constant companion to my Mom and Dad when they would go out to eat, usually without my older siblings who were in their teens and didn't have any interest in hanging out with their parents. My father loved Chinese food and Spanish food, he would take my Mom to restaurants in the city and when my mom would come home she would try to duplicate recipes. I loved to help my Mother in the kitchen and she was quite a successful cook, despite her Irish roots. She could make delicious Italian meatballs and sauce (gravy as some like to call it, however "gravy" in my house was brown, not red), and could make a fantastic Paella. Mind you, my Mom was cooking these dishes at home in the 60's and 70's when home cooks didn't cook like that. She even made Chinese food at home, no small feat in the days of LaChoy and we were the only people I knew that owned a real Wok!
I still love to cook at home, but, I love to go out too! There is nothing like having an absolutely fabulous meal that someone else cooks it, serves it AND cleans up after you! However, there is nothing worse than anticipating a fabulous meal and having it be a flop. In this blog, I intend to comment on the restaurants: locations, parking conditions, price, wait times/reservations and service, but the most important thing I will comment on will be the FOOD, if the food sucks and the ambiance is perfect then whats the point! Please forgive me if I ramble on about the food but leave out other aspects of the dining experience, after all the blog is called Rants and Raves!
The first review will be coming soon, I hope you all enjoy....