Jockamo's Pizza

Potato Skin Pizza

Let me start this review by saying that I normally love Jockamo's Pizza.  For those of you who have been to Bazbeaux's, it's very similar (the owner of Jockamo's used to be affiliated with Bazbeaux)--they both have a pretty sturdy, almost crackery crust and tend to be loaded with toppings.  I'd venture to say that toppings are where it's at with this style of pizza (Some Guys also leans this way), and  the crust is just there for support.  While I go to places like Brozinni for the awesome, chewy, flavorful crust, I go to Jockamo's for the excellent topping combos.

Let me also preface this by saying that Tim and I usually craft our own combo.  We love the meatball topping option here--large, halved meatballs that have plenty of flavor on their own--and we combine it with mushrooms and usually goat cheese or blue cheese.  And it is devine.

Tecumseh

The Cheese Louise is also a solid pick (cheddar, ricotta, parmesan, mozzarella, gouda, red onion, and bacon)--sub mushrooms for the red onion and you end up with the Quattro Formaggio from Bazbeaux, another steller pizza.

But this time.  Oh, this time.  We were at Jockamo's for a friend's birthday, and decided that we'd both venture from the norm and try new pizzas.  I went with a 10" Potato Skin Pizza:  Skin-on roasted potatoes, tomato, green onion, bacon, and cheddar cheese ($10.60).  It sounded so awesome!  But it was just lacking.  Not enough flavor there (hard to believe, with that combo, right?).  I think it needed more sauce, perhaps--they have a flavorful, fresh tasting pizza sauce that did brighten up the bites that contained more of it.  Otherwise, it was just lacking in salt or something.  Disappointing!

Tim got a special, the Tecumseh, which involved venison sausage, mushrooms, tomato, and green onion.  He was so excited for the sausage, but said it was pretty bland.  Also disappointing!

I did start my meal with their excellent spinach salad, though ($3.95).  Spinach, chopped egg, raw mushrooms, and bacon topped with a tangy bacon dressing.  The mushrooms give the whole thing a meaty quality (so does, you know, the bacon), while the spinach makes you feel like you're being healthy.

While this meal was, unfortunately, one of the worst we've had at Jockamo's, it still wasn't bad--it just wasn't as good as we know it can be.  And that's probably what made it seem even worse--it has such potential.  It CAN be great, this visit was just sub-par. So, it's still absolutely worth a visit.  Craft your own, or go with the Cheese Louise, Slaughterhouse Five, Philly Jack, or Meatball--all great.  I've also had their lunch slices of cheese & bacon several times, and it's outstanding (so why wasn't the Potato Skin Pizza???  Ugh.). Breadsticks are good to.  Don't let this review scare you away.  Go.

Website:  Jockamo's Upper Crust Pizza

Good Morning Mama's

We don't go out for breakfast/brunch much anymore, but every once in awhile, if we can get ourselves moving early enough on a weekend morning, we do enjoy a going out.  Because it was Tim's birthday weekend, we decided to head out to Good Morning Mama's last Saturday morning.

We arrived around 10am or so, and there was a wait (10-15 minutes), but we decided it was short enough to stay.  They do offer free serve-yourself coffee in their lobby, although Tim got the dregs of the pot and by the time they brought more it was time to be seated.  After that incredibly-short-for-a-Saturday-in-Broad-Ripple-wait, we took our seats and perused the menus.  It's not a massive menu, but there were several things that sounded pretty good.  I searched for the perfect combo of sweet-and-savory items, and Tim was drawn to the Specialties.

He ended up getting the Stuffed Burrito Sonoma ($8.99), which was filled with eggs, bacon, chorizo, jalepenos, onions, tomatoes, and cheese, and comes with a pretty tasty salsa and sour cream.  I had a bite and went back for another, it was so good.  I sort of regretted not picking it myself!  Definitely the highlight for me.

I got "Ty's Plain Ol' French Toast," ($4.99) which is just a vanilla flavored egg custard base (as opposed to their java option, which I've had previously and is pretty good but felt like overkill on this particular morning) and is topped with powdered sugar and cinnamon butter.  It was pretty average in terms of restaurant French toast, but good.  The cinnamon butter was a nice touch, but something had a strange after taste.  Not sure if it was the bread they chose, or the cinnamon, or what.  I still managed to stuff down three pieces, so it wasn't completely off-putting or anything.

To satisfy my need for something savory, I opted for a side of bacon ($2.29) and received four decent slices of bacon.  It was pretty good, a bit crispy but not overdone, and heartier than you get at some restaurants.

The next time we go, we're both interested in trying the Eggs in Purgatory (eggs simmered in Pomodoro sauce).  We've been making our own version at home lately (thanks to my sorority sister, CincyEats, who posted her recipe and inspired me to try it), so I'd love to see how theirs compares.

Website:  Good Morning Mama's

Twenty Tap - Revisit

Just a quick post since this is a re-visit.  We hit Twenty Tap last Friday night to celebrate "Tim's Birthday, Friend Edition."  Since we both got different sandwiches from last time, I thought I'd mention them here.

I got the Pressed Cuban sandwich, which includes ham, pulled pork, swiss, mustard, mayo, and pickles ($9).  I'd had it once before, and while I remember enjoying it, it was even better than I had remembered.  The pickles are house-made and have an extra special oomph, and the dijon mustard/mayo combo adds a nice creamy-tangy element that totally makes the sandwich. I didn't read the menu carefully, but my friend did, so she was able to order hers "spicy"--they add sriracha and sub pepperjack for the swiss.  YUM. 
 
My side was the mixed green salad (more fennel present this time than last) and, yes, I also ordered the pimento mac and cheese.   

 Tim got the Pressed Brisket sandwich:  House smoked Fischer Farm's Brisket, peppadew, arugula, onion, cheddar, and anchovy butter ($9).  I had a small bite and enjoyed the meaty but tender brisket.  Tim raved about it, so I think it was definitely a hit for him.  Looking at the picture, it sure doesn't look "pressed," though.  Hmmm.  Didn't notice that before.  He got fries as his side this time, and they were fresh and crispy and sprinkled with parsley and other yummy seasonings.  I may have stolen one or two.

My one complaint that night was about the service.  We sat at the bar, and had to flag the bartenders down every time we wanted something.  We were there early, so it wasn't overly busy, and there were two of them there.  But never once did we have a bartender say, "Can I get you another?"  Strange.

Website:  Twenty Tap

Brozinni Pizzeria

In my family, we like to celebrate birthdays as many times as possible.  Once with immediate family (Tim, his kids, me), again with extended family (often on both sides), and then usually yet again with friends.  To kick off Tim's birthday festivities this year, we took his kids for a family dinner at Brozinni Pizzeria (on Emerson Ave., just north of County Line Rd. on the south side). He and I used to go there often when I lived on the south side a few years ago, and we were excited to take the kids.

Brozinni's specializes in "New York Style" pizza.  Massive slices, thin and flexible in the middle (in a good way), puffy and delicious around the edge.  You can actually buy their pizza by the slice during lunch hours (think Sbarro or Luca Pizza), but this pizza is far superior to either of the ones I mentioned above.  It's not mass produced, and it's made with quality ingredients and tastes fresh, unlike those chains.

We started off with some delicious (if completely unnecessary in terms of carb requirements for one day) breadsticks ($3.09).  They are made with the same dough as the pizza, with the addition of some parmesan and herbs sprinkled on top before baking, and they're enormous.  They come with a slightly spicy cheese sauce and marinara.  We got an order of four, and between the four of us we could only finish two.  We all wanted more, but I knew that none of us would eat much pizza if we did.  The boys really liked them--our 5-yr-old, especially, and he kept trying to steal another one while we waited for our pizza.  I also recommend the garlic knuckles (4 for $2.50), which are made with the same dough and drenched in garlic butter.  I mean drenched.  They make you feel awful afterwards (which is why we didn't get them this time), but man, are they tasty!  If you can handle a lot of butter, do give them a try.

We got a 20" pepperoni pizza ($15.99 plus $2.50/topping), and it was massive.  Massive!  The picture above doesn't do it justice.  That spatula is giant-sized, too, so it's hard to get perspective.  They slice it into eight pieces, so you get the same giant slices you'd get if you bought them by-the-slice.  Each of the kids polished off one slice, and I was pretty impressed that they did.  The crust on these is just so flavorful and the perfect texture--it's probably my favorite part of this type of pizza, and they do it well.

If I had one complaint, it was that it was pretty greasy from all that pepperoni.  However, that's to be expected with pepperoni.  If you don't want grease, pick another topping.  (They do have some great preexisting combos--my favorite might be the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway, which consists of ham, bacon, chicken, and a 'zesty ranch sauce' instead of tomato sauce.  It is crazy good, although, no, probably not any better for you than pepperoni.)  I'd also recommend the calzones, which utilize the same flavorful crust--that might be a review for another day.

Website:  Brozinni Pizzeria

Michael's SouthShore

Last week I met my high school friends for another dinner, and this time we opted for Michael's SouthShore (up near Geist).  We went on a Tuesday night, and the place was pretty empty, but I can only assume it gets a lot busier on the weekends since it's been around for awhile.  Otherwise, I have no idea how it sustains itself!

Since it was a weeknight, and I'd had a large lunch, I wasn't looking for a huge entree.  I opted to start with the Beet & Arugula Salad ($8.95).  It was a big salad (I guess it should be, for almost nine bucks)!  There was a very hearty portion of both red and gold beets, along with a bunch of arugula, pickled onions, and quite a few large discs of goat cheese which were coated in sugared pecans.  (The picture to the right is after I had mixed it all up and broken up the goat cheese--it started as quite a lovely presentation.)  It was a tasty salad, for sure, with a nice zingy balsamic dressing.  The onions also added a nice zing, and all that zinginess contrasted well with the sweet, earthy beets, bitter greens, and creamy goat cheese.  I liked the sweet crunch that the pecans gave the dish, also.  In the end, though, there was just too much--I got both full and tired of it, so I ended up just eating all of the beets and leaving the extra arugula and goat cheese. (I know--I left cheese behind!  A travesty!  But also a sign that there was probably just too much for the salad to be perfectly well-balanced.)

As for all of you beet haters out there--you are just wrong.  Try them now that you're an adult!  They are so yummy!!!

For my entree, I opted for a bowl of the Chicken Corn Chowder ($4.95).  This was super good.  It's described as "smoked pulled chicken simmered with roasted corn, red potatoes, tomatoes, poblano and green bell peppers in a creamy chicken broth," and it was exactly that.  It was creamy and a little sweet, smokey and just a touch spicy--very, very good.  I would absolutely get it again, and have been thinking about trying to re-create it at home.  It came with a side of roasted poblano cornbread, which looked like it was going to be dry but actually wasn't.  It was sweet with a touch of spice from the poblanos.  I considered it my dessert and ate it last to finish off the meal--very satisfying.

There are many items on the Michael's menu that are overpriced (particularly the pasta and entrees), but you can get a good meal there for a decent price.  The sandwiches and burgers are in the $10-12 range, and my soup and salad combo ran me $14 for the whole meal.

Website:  Michael's SouthShore

Petite Chou

Ginger Holloway

I love Petite Chou.  For the record, it is my favorite of the "Chou" restaurants (Cafe Patachou being its American cousin, and Napolese its Italian foreign exchange student friend).  I love the French bistro twist it has; while it's still overpriced, just like its brethren, for some reason I'm slightly more okay with it because I'm getting food that's more than just ordinary breakfast.  The Croque Monsieur, while not exactly like the one I ate in the streets of Paris on a high school trip, is still heaven (if heaven is ham, Gruyere, and bechamel sauce...and I think my heaven would be).

But I digress.  What I really want to talk about is dinner at Petite Chou, not breakfast.  I had never been there for that meal, and was happy to meet a couple of girlfriends there on a Saturday night.

I started with a cocktail (it was girl's night, after all).  The Ginger Holloway caught my eye because I'm a big fan of ginger beverages (like ginger beer), and this one had organic ginger liqueur, pear puree, rosemary, and Prosecco ($8).  The ginger definitely came through, and the pear gave it a subtle sweet fruitiness.   I didn't taste much rosemary, although I did come across a few tiny pieces as I drank through my straw.  Luckily, it wasn't enough to be distracting.  Overall, it was pretty good.

I couldn't pass up the French onion soup (aka "Onion Soup Gratinee" - $6.95).  I have a hard time ever passing it up, and when I know it'll be done well, it's a must-have.  They definitely did a great job--I'm still thinking about this one, and can't wait to go back for it!  The broth was beefy and oniony, the onions themselves melt-in-your-mouth, and there was just the right amount of gooey melted Gruyere on top (plus it was properly browned in spots--yum).

For my main, I had the chicken crepe ($13.50).  Encased in a delicate, thin crepe were chunks of chicken breast, mushrooms, a bit of arugula, and sherry cream.  It was divine.  The cream gave the whole thing a rich, addictive quality, and kept it from being too dry.  The dish also came with a side salad of lightly dressed field greens that was a nice compliment.  I finished the salad, but between that and my soup, I could only eat half of the crepe.  It reheated nicely for my lunch the next day.

Both of my friends got the Petite Chou Burger with Frites ($12.95).  It featured brie, caramelized leeks, and mushrooms, and while I didn't try it, they both seemed to enjoy the dish.  As promised, they came with frites and an aioli dipping sauce, which I did try and enjoyed (the frites weren't Brugge-level, but they were solid).  The burgers also came with a starter salad, which the menu didn't mention--it was more of the lightly dressed mixed greens--so that was an added bonus.

The dinner menu at Petite Chou features a lot of other items I'd like to try, so between that and the delicious meal I had, I will definitely be returning. 

Website:  Petite Chou