Marsico's Pizza and Restaurant

It's finally happened. We've found the best pizza on the planet earth. I know, it seems like we're always saying this, but this time it's true. To be fair, we only tried one variety of pizza here, but we're sticking to it. It's the fresh spinach and garlic pizza. This is a square pizza with no red sauce. Just tons of garlic, olive oil, the freshest spinach ever, and delicious cheese.

Marsico's is on 259 N Main St in Taylor. It's in a cute house, with lights on the trees out front. Inside it's quite charming, and even a little fancy - cloth napkins and tablecloths, and a nice decor. They don't serve alcohol, but you can bring your own bottle, and everyone else did the night we went. We opted for the NEPA staple, RC cola. Shoulda brought a bottle.

It's a tiny place; only 8 tables in the room we were seated in. There may be another room, though, we're not sure.
So, here's the deal: If you go here, bring a bottle, because you will wait a long time for dinner. How long? We grew beards in there. Long ones. Danelle crocheted an afghan. I made a quilt! Ok, maybe I exaggerate a little, but we were there for an hour and a half (total), and there were only 5 other tables occupied. Normally we'd be upset about waiting so long, especially on a work night, but once we tasted the pizza we forgot all about it. It was totally worth the wait. This pizza is amazing, especially if you are of the mindset that there is no such thing as too much garlic. There is enough garlic on this pizza to kill Bela Lugosi, or maybe two teenage vampires from the twilight series. This pizza was so good that we could only wait three days before we had to have it again (we ordered it for takeout this time). It's like crack, only legal.

I would've taken a photo, but my cell phone fell in the toilet (at home). But that's a story for another blog.

Johnny Rockets

How do you eff up a grilled cheese sandwich? Ask Johnny Rockets in Moosic. Come on, it's not Johnny Rocket science; you butter some bread, put cheese between the bread, and grill it. I ordered a grilled cheese and tomato sandwich. What I got was toast with some kind of flavorless cheese product, which was not melted, a cold slice of tomato and no sign of any kind of butter.
Danelle ordered a burger (which she liked) and fries. The fries were undercooked and therefore limp and greasy. But here's the thing - we were the only people in the place! Why were they in such a hurry to get stuff out to us, to the point where everything was undercooked?
Once again, we actually choose to go to a place that was empty at 5:30 on a Friday night. Why can't we learn from our mistakes?? Honestly, I wasn't happy the last time we went either. I had an egg salad sandwich, which had a vinegar-y taste. Like it wasn't fresh, so they put vinegar in it to make it last longer. Gross. And it's like 6 or 7 bucks!
Side note: Stanges Quick Serve on Birney Ave. has the best egg salad in town. They make it right in front of you! http://www.stangesquickserve.com/

Back to Johnny Rockets. We like the classic 50's diner vibe; the jukeboxes on the table, the retro booths, etc. We were expecting Potsie and Ralph Malph to walk in at any moment.
Another thing we couldn't help but notice: It's like Lord of the Flies in there. No one who works there is over 18. Our waitress was a little too attentive...a sweet kid, but she came over about 5 times during the meal to ask us if everything was ok. I was polite, because as you know, it never pays to send stuff back to the kitchen.

The potential for success is there. Johnny Rockets has all the elements. They are in a sweet, high traffic location, right next to the biggest movie theater complex in the area. But when people aren't coming to your restaurant, it's because the food isn't good. It's that simple.

Alfredo's Pizza Cafe

1040 S Washington Ave.
We like it here. It's usually crowded, and for a good reason. The food is good. The pizza's good. It has a charming ambiance. And it's not too expensive.
So tonight, (Valentine's Day) was no exception; it was packed.

This time we tried something different - the Pizza Alfredo Plus. This is a thin crust pizza with Alfredo sauce, approximately 20 lbs of artery-clogging mozzarella, and fresh spinach. It's good. And filling. After one piece, we were done. But not really, because we got the cannoli to take home for desert. I just finished it. Delicioso! I once got a cannoli from a bakery in Visalia, California, and it was like a deep fried tortilla filled with frosting. Yeah, that's right, frosting. But I digress.

Because there is no such thing as an uneventful night out for us, let me tell you what happened. Shortly after we were seated, another older couple were seated behind us. That's when we smelled it. I smelled it first.
"Oh dear God, do you smell that?"
"No, what?"
"It smells like somebody emptied the ashtray of a car that's been sitting since the 70's under our table."
"Whoa...yeah, I just caught a whiff! It's the guy behind you."
Now, I get it when somebody's just had a cigarette and the smell is still on their clothing. It's both a familiar and annoying smell. But I swear this guy really did empty the ashtrays from several 1970's cars and then rolled around in it like it was catnip. You would not believe this stench. But here's the kicker...he was wearing an oxygen hose under his nose. And hobbled out halfway through the meal to have a smoke. 

Don't let this story prevent you from going here. You will probably have better luck than we did; everybody does. That's just our thing. It's how we roll. We love Alfredo's and will go here again.

Coney Island of Scranton

This is the one on Cedar Ave.and Lackawanna, not to be confused with Coney Island Lunch, down the street on Lackawanna Ave. The building says "Coney Island Texas Lunch" but the business name is actually "Coney Island of Scranton". Confusing. There is some sort of feud going on between the two businesses about which is the original, but I say, who cares? This shit will kill you if you eat it more than once a year, anyway.

I was feeling nostalgic for Texas Weiners, as it had been maybe 25 years or so since I had one. So I propose the idea to Danelle, who is from California. "Let's go get some Texas Weiners", I said.
"What are Texas Weiners, and why are they famous in Pennsylvania?", she asked. Hmm. Excellent question. I don't know why they are famous here, but did my best to describe one for her. "It's a small hot dog sliced down the middle and splayed on a grill, then you put it on a bun and put chili sauce on it."
"Oh, so it's a chili dog", she said.
"Noo, it's a Texas Weiner. Shut up."

She doesn't want to go. It doesn't sound that good to her, so I have to talk her into it. It didn't help that my brothers happened to be around to chime in, "You gotta go. The guy lines the buns up on his hairy forearms while he makes 'em". Now we've triggered her gag reflex. I figure there's no way I'm going to talk my obsessive-compulsive germophobe girlfriend into going now. So I convice her that modern day health codes don't allow this practice anymore, and if we see that going on, we'll leave.
So off we go, to get Texas Weiners!!

We get there, and it's different than I remembered. This is because the place was set ablaze in 2008, and they had very recently rebuilt it. And it's cute. It's old fashioned; black and white floor tile, nice and clean. So we order our weiners with fries. One bite, and I gotta say, profound disappointment. Not a lot of flavor. It's not at all how I remembered it. The dogs are flavorless, and the chili sauce is flavorless. It's like eating texture.

The fries probably would've been ok, except that Danelle luckily spotted the hair before we could eat one. Can you see it, glistening in the oil?? It's laying across that bump thing.

We actually ran into two of my brothers-in-law, who were in town for a mini family reunion, and who also had a nostalgic craving for Texas Weiners. "Yep, looks like an arm hair to me", said my brother-in-law Chuck. I don't know if you can appreciate how hard it is to photograph a single short hair, but there we were, all four of us, laughing hysterically, with the exception of Danelle, who is in panic mode, with our cell phone cameras, trying to get an acceptable photo of the hair. Oh what a scene we created! Oh, and by the way, the sight of the hair on the fries in no way curtailed the appetite of Chuck or Ed. Those men ate like contenders at a hot dog eating contest.

But even Chuck, who has very fond memories of this place, admitted that the food just wasn't the same as it used to be.  I've since been told that we went to the wrong place. The "original" recipe is down the street on Lackawanna Ave. But it doesn't matter. Danelle has post traumatic stress syndrome now and will forever associate it with Texas Weiners. I will have to go here alone someday and post a review.

Maybe I'm remebering these as better than they actually were, or maybe my tastes have matured. Or maybe they really aren't the same as they used to be. Go decide for yourself. But try to be objective instead of fiercely loyal. Let me know what you think.

Amber Indian Restaurant

This is one of our favorite restaurants. We've never been disappointed here. It has all the elements of a good restaurant: fantastic food, good price, exceptional service, and a decent wine list. And it doesn't hurt that we only live a few blocks away.

They have a lunch buffet for $9.99. Our favorite items are the Navrattan Korma, which is nine vegetables in an unbelievably tasty sauce, and the Chicken Makhni, which is pieces of chicken in a creamy, spicy tomato sauce. God, it's good. About 1/2 of the items in the buffet are vegetarian, so it feels healthy. If you have a cold, this food will clear your sinuses. It's awesome. They have some kind of soupy rice pudding for dessert (not sure what it's called) which is also delicious.

We give Amber Indian Restaurant two enthusiastic thumbs up, and strongly recommend it!

Royal Buffet, Dickson City

Sigh. I really don't want to write this. This is one of those places that everyone raves about, but we're not feeling it. Maybe it's us. Maybe we're too picky. Or maybe uncooked chicken and gristly meat are all the rage around here. Or maybe we're just jaded from eating out all the time. But wouldn't you agree that if you have to spit a mouthful of food out into your napkin, you're probably not going to go back to that establishment?

Ok, let me tell you about the place. It's across the street from Home Depot. We loved the decor. The floor has lights in it! The staff is very attentive and very nice. And that's why it pains me that we just weren't impressed with the food. We were impressed, however, with the sheer variety of food availabe. There is a complete salad bar. They have tons of seafood. There's a sushi bar. There is a hibachi bar, where you pick out your meat and fixins and the guy cooks it for you before your eyes. There's an unbelievable dessert bar. There's an American food section, complete with pigs in the blanket and mac n' cheese. Name it, and they have it.

But I think that therein lies the problem. If you have hundreds of items on your menu, then it's safe to say that it's impossible to have prepared even half of them fresh daily. Then again, it is cheap ($7), proving the old axiom "you get what you pay for".

I had a salad, chicken w/broccoli, rice, steamed dumplings, and sampled various desserts. The chicken and broccoli was a stir fried dish, and the chicken was sliced paper thin. However, it was raw. I mean slimy raw. And I didn't realize this until it was already in my mouth. Gross. I'm praying I don't get sick today. Danelle bit into what the sign said was a cream cheese wonton. She realized after she took a bite that it had seafood (which she hates) in it. She not-so-demurely spit it out into her napkin. Because she's a classy lady.
Then I bit into my steamed dumpling, which had pork in it. It was tasty, but had a huge hard gristle piece in it. So I spit it out into my napkin. Because I'm a classy lady.

Now that we've no doubt whetted your appetite, here's the deal: if you're really hungry, or just like to eat and you're not picky, this is the place for you. If you do go, and have to spit something out into your napkin, please tell us about it. And stay classy.

Uno Chicago Grill

Today we had lunch at Uno Chicago Grill in Dickson City. Why did we eat pizza at a chain restaurant when we live in NEPA? Because we've lost our minds! But only temporarily, as it will never happen again.
Really, it wasn't my idea. Anyway, here's the rundown:
We got there early - 11:10 am. (We'd been up since 4:30 am). We were the very first customers. The waitress seated us, and took our drink order. Right after we get our drinks, another party of five comes in. A family. With kids. Now, the whole restaurant is empty except for us, and it's a pretty big place. So naturally, they seat the family with rambunctious child RIGHT NEXT TO US! Literally no more than eight inches away from us! We could hear them chewing their food (and vice versa), for pete's sake. So right off the bat, we're pissed. One can only conclude that they obviously don't want repeat customers, because, come on, that is such a douchy thing to do to a customer. They could very well have afforded us a little privacy but didn't.
And why? Because the lazy server doesn't want to walk three extra steps?

We ordered a deep dish pizza, chunky tomato and cheese. It's just not good. Honestly, I can't even believe I'm wasting my energy writing this, because normal local people probably wouldn't go here anyway.
So here's my take on the pizza. Tastes like Prego sauce from a jar. The cheese is ok, the crust is way too filling, and not particularly flavorful. Danelle like it, though. But then again, her idea of haute cuisine is Kraft Macaroni and Cheese.

Unless you like being intimate with strangers and eating sub par pizza, skip this one and go anywhere else in town if you're craving pizza. I mean anywhere.