Now That's (Waco) Italian

When I arrived in Waco several years ago an acquaintance told me that there was no decent Italian food in town. It took only a few short months to confirm that he was correct. In the subsequent years, there has not even been a hopeful prospect open.

Every new venture we get here is another chain, another Mexican food place, another barbecue joint, or another steak and burger house. You can count the number of chef owned/family owned restaurants that have appeared in recent years on the fingers of one hand.

Let’s do a quick rundown of the available Italian choices in Waco. The Big 2 are both reputable chains – Carino’s Italian Grill (I think they have dropped Johnny) is a national brand that owns, operates, and franchises over 170 restaurants in 29 states and a few in the Middle East. The originators are an Austin, Texas based group named Fired Up Inc. It was started in 1997 by two former Brinker (Chili’s and On the Border) employees.

The Olive Garden is owned by an industry giant The Darden Group. Darden Restaurants is the #1 casual-dining operator (in terms of revenue) with more than 1,600 restaurants in the US and Canada. Its flagship chains include seafood segment leader Red Lobster and top Italian-themed concept Olive Garden. Both chains cater to families with mid-priced menu items, themed interiors, and primarily suburban locations.

I think most people in Waco have probably eaten at Carino’s or its main competitor The Olive Garden. Both have signature gimmicks (bread sticks and salad vs a fresh bread loaf served with a seasoned olive oil dip) that have stood the test of time. I know that many people go to OG for just the salad and bread sticks alone.

I know people long for a Macaroni Grill or maybe even a Carrabbas in our town. We could set our sights a bit higher and hope for an excellent chef-owned Italian dining experience. But the OG and Johnny are what we have and they are what they are. Both of these chains serve average pasta and Italian dishes that appeal to a broad range of tastes and budgets. The Olive Garden gets a slight nod for having a few more adventurous offerings and specials and a far better wine program. If there were no other choices then eating at the OG or with Johnny would be understandable.

I do think that Gratziano's Restaurant is worth a mention although I can truthfully say that I have only ordered from their menu once. Their lunch buffet for $6.99 is a good value featuring soup, salad, pizza, two or three pastas, dessert, and a rotating chicken entree. All are OK for a quick lunch. The quality has improved from two or three years ago. I don't usually think of it as an evening stop because I eat lunch there fairly often. It is never really crowded at lunch, it is quiet enough to talk, and the brownies are tasty. The decor is a little tired after several years and could use a bit of upkeep. New table covers, tables that fit on the carpet, and some better lighting might give the place a new look.

What else is there here in Waco? I guess I won’t even mention Fazioli’s. How about Baris? My wife calls it M-Baris. I will admit that I have eaten at a couple of incarnations of the Baris Empire including the newest, Mama Baris located in the Hewitt/South Waco end of town. Although it really isn’t any better than the chains, it is locally owned.

That brings us to the new guy in town Rosati’s. And guess what? It’s a chain as well! The Rosati Family started a small restaurant in New York in 1895. They later moved to Chicago and ran an import business until they opened another restaurant in 1927. The Family expanded into the suburbs in 1959 and in 1979 began franchising their concept of Authentic Chicago Pizza. A least 10 Rosati family members owned carryout-style restaurants. Then a bad thing happened. Family members/stockholders disagreed about who could franchise the restaurants and a bunch of legal stuff happened. Now there seems to be a lot of different Rosati’s all over the place. Waco’s franchise is the first in Texas.

Located in the Wal-Mart parking lot on Hewitt Dr. at Imperial, Rosati’s has been open for over a year. It has recently added some space next to the takeout pizza counter. The expansion was needed and judging from the crowds on Fridays and Saturdays they probably could expand again. The tables are packed together and the noise level is high. This is family pizza parlor ambience not a romantic candle lit bistro. Go early or plan on a wait.

I have eaten Rosati’s food on several occasions during the past months. Their pizza comes in three different thicknesses – traditional thin (which I didn’t particularly like) – Double Dough and Chicago-Style – a deep pan variety. I can recommend the latter two as very good. This pizza is not cheap. Expect to pay between $12 and $20 for a large pizza with two or more ingredients. The crust is crispy, thick (but not doughy), and flavorful. The toppings were plentiful with a good balance between the cheese and tomato sauce. The Chicago-style looks great when it is brought to the table.

A discussion of who has the best pizza in Waco is reserved for a future post. For now, I think you can say that Rosati’s is representative of Chicago Pizza and could be ranked in any Waco Top Ten List.

Rosati’s offers an array of sandwiches and lunch specials that are reasonably priced and some are very tasty. The Vienna Beef Chicago hot dog may remind some of Chicago, and the meatball sandwich is a good choice.

Rosati’s has a very tasty marinara sauce that is puts to good use on a limited variety of pastas. It has a bright and tangy tomato flavor with a hint of lemon. Get a $2.50 side of large meatballs to add some oomph. I was less impressed by the meat sauce that didn’t seem nearly as tasty.

This is the section of the menu that could be improved by adding a few additional choices. I do not taste as though they are using fresh-made pasta. My mostaccioli arrived well past al dente. Why not add some linguine, fettuccine, or penne a specials? If you stick with basic spaghetti or ravioli you will be OK. The pasta entrees come with one bread stick. No replacement was offered. I was disappointed in the Baked Lasagna. Both my tastings of this dish have had a strange flavor in the ricotta layers that I did not find agreeable. The price range for a nice sized serving of pasta is from $7 to $9.

Many restaurants will allow you to add on a dinner salad to your pasta entrée for a reasonable additional charge. Rosati’s smallish house salad or Caesar costs an additional $4 and the tablespoon of accompanying dressing is served in a tiny plastic cup.

They have an active bar that features a broad range of beverages, frozen drinks, and martinis. The modest selection wine is below average even for Waco. My recent dinner for four that included a medium pizza and four pasta selections approached $60. Not outrageous but not a bargain/value either.

Mondo Hondo

Lunch at Hondo’s today was certainly a better experience than the original occupant Beef O’Brady’s. Located in the corner space of Hewitt Drive’s WestRock Centre, Hondo’s offers a simple menu of appetizers, salads, burgers, and sandwiches. Not too much here that you haven’t seen before.

If you are a fan of the University of Texas (I am not), you will enjoy the burnt orange decor, the football posters, and the orange clad servers. If you are not, then let’s hope you enjoy the burgers. This is Waco. They do have a Baylor doormat.

Mine was a chili cheeseburger and my companion tried the bacon cheeseburger. Both were cooked to order and served in baskets with one side. The onion strings were unremarkable but tasty and light. Hondo’s gets extra points for having unfrozen potatoes. The fries arrived just a bit limp – probably from sitting in the basket a few minutes too long but they had a good potato flavor. Not as good as Kitok’s or Cupps but much better than frozen.

I ordered the chiliburger just to see what they called chili. The ownership of this restaurant is Texas based so I was hopeful that they would be able use good chili. The menu described the burger as large and messy but I had no difficulty with it. Although there wasn’t a lot of chili on it even though the menu made it sound like a cupful at least, thank goodness the chili had some flavor and no beans.

It is a good thing it was not that messy because we were not presented with any kind of dinnerware. No forks, no spoon or straw to stir my tea, or a knife to slice the burger in half (if I was a lady). Service was spotty but our drink glasses were refilled several times.

If I had to compare Hondo’s to others, I would say that the burgers were about equal to Crickett’s in flavor and size – and without the beer joint smell. If Chili’s were located next door, I would probably eat at Chili’s over Hondo’s because of the menu variety and a slightly better burger at Chili’s. But since it is not. And I don’t live near Chili’s – so I might eat at Hondo’s again because it is acceptable quality and convenient. The cost of lunch consisting of two burgers (comes with a side), two drinks, and tip was $20.

New Year's Gr-eatings

I am not publishing this story in time for most people to alter their December 31 plans but I am hopeful that 2008 will bring all of us some enjoyable new dining experiences. How far will you go from Waco to get a good and different meal? Temple? Corsicana? Hico? Reisel? Whitney? Is the best food in Waco, really in Waco? Colorado St Grill, Cheeves Bros., or Ama's.

My year-end top five places to eat in Waco are as follows:

135 Prime, 1424 Restaurant, Diamondback's, The Green Room Grill, and Cheddar's.
These are all good choices. They serve good quality food at reasonable prices and have at least adequate service.

Coming in 2008
The abandon Smoky Bones location is being revived as Don Carlos Mexican Restaurant. I could not find a website for the Houston Texas, based restaurant. There are several other Don Carlos restaurants scattered around the country. Several travel sites give the three Houston restaurants by the same name decent reviews. Houston-area Tex Mex chain known for potent margaritas, sizzling fajita platters and all-day happy hours.

Chipolte Grill arrives on Valley Mills Dr.
Mondo's in Westrock Center has just opened
Basaberu Who knows what this 6th street addition will turn out to be.

Here is a list of the hottest restaurant franchises of the past two years.:

Panera Bread We have a good one
Chipotle Mexican Grill Coming soon to Valley Mills Dr.

McAlister’s Deli Waco Drive location will be the 3rd

Starbucks How many do we have?
Buffalo Wild Wings Took over for Tony Roma's
Pei Wei Nice addition to Waco
Cold Stone Creamery I am surprised they have survived but I like their Ice cream

The three we don't have

Qdoba
RedBrick Pizza
Moe’s Southwest Grill

New in Town

A first visit to the new Yoshi Asian Cuisine did not produce great results. I would not tell you not to try this new addition to Waco that has taken over the Marie Callender's building at Richland Mall. You should be prepared to be underwhelmed. I did not find it significantly better than Summer Palace. Yoshi had some new wrinkles and some different dishes - frog legs, baby squid, and bok choy all were a change from the regular buffet line-up. Most of the rest of the offerings tasted about the same as any other Asian buffet in Waco.

Yoshi does have a stir fry station similar to Genghis Grill or B.D.'s Mongolian. You pick the raw ingredients you prefer and load them into a small bowl - heaping them high and skillfully balancing an impossibly large pile of meat and veggie. The chef then cooks it up for you. Not quite enough sauce choices made my companion's dish a bit on the dry side but it is nice to be able to pick and choose.

I was surprised that there was not much of a crowd at this new restaurant. Usually a new opening in Waco draws a nice crowd early on. This may just have been a slower week night but it was not a good omen. At $11.00 for the buffet at night, Yoshi needs to really build some great word of moth. The price tag for two adults came to over $26.00 before any gratuity. I did not feel that what Yoshi offered was measurably better than at other choices. Lunch may be a different story. I will check it out next week.

There are several arrivals in the area. Mi Tequila will try to survive where Trevino's could not.Hondo's Sports Bar and Grill will soon be taking over the Beef O'Brady's space in Hewitt.

Chipotle Mexican Grill is a popular chain of burrito/taco fast food restaurants. A chipotle (chi-POAT-lay) is a dried, smoked jalapeño pepper. I have eaten with at one in the Austin area. They are nearing the completion of construction on N. Valley Mills. The chain got its start in 1993 in Denver. There are over 500 of these nationwide. The price for a quick lunch is in the $6-$8 range.

Something So Right/Wrong

I revisited the Clay Pot this week at the request of some friends. I had not been there in over a year so I felt it was time to refresh my memory. There are many good things about a visit to the CP including the multiple spice smells as you walk in the door. The combination of curry, tea, and several other scents make your mouth begin to water before the menus arrive.

I noted a few changes in the menu since my last visit and ordered Nancy's Special. This combination of noodles, meat, and fruit slices sounded delicious and looked almost as good when it was served. The flavors were fine but... Some of the fruit was a bit past its prime. The spring roll was dried out. The portions were small. The price was too high for what was served. All good reasons to come here only once a year. I keep hoping things will get better.

That's kind of a theme with several Waco restaurants that have a good deal of potential and a number of redeeming qualities but just can't seem to get it right. The taste/quality of the food at Clay Pot is generally good to very good but they trip up on some important details that keep them from being a really good restaurant.

A recent visit to Zack and Jim's Hog Creek Icehouse was much the same story. The 8,000 square foot facility is a great looking place. Big open dining room, private upstairs, and a large patio out back. This place was made for music both indoors and outdoors.

Nothing too original on the menu but with a little effort Hog Creek could compete with Lake Brazos Steakhouse or Cotton Patch or any number of others that have this type of burger, sandwich, CFS, or steak menu. Unfortunately the kitchen can't execute this simple basic Texas concept. The service was efficient. The drinks appeared right on time but the food took forever on a day when only 20-25 people were in for lunch.

When it did arrive, the food was just not up too par. When I asked my companions to compare our lunch with Lake Brazos, we all agreed that the food was superior at LBSH without question. Although the building was more interesting and exciting, even the burgers did not meet expectations.

I saved the number one complaint for last. The smell of stale beer and smoke for the bar covered the whole dining room. Despite being enclosed, the smells from the bar ruined the dining atmosphere. Not much excuse for this. I understand that this is a bar. I doubt if food sales at lunch pay 10% of Hog Creek's bills but really.... most people will find this a turnoff.

The technology exists to properly ventilate the non-smoking areas of a restaurant. I just takes a little effort to have a kitchen that can turn out top notch Texas standards. It is so easy for something(s) right to be canceled out by something wrong.

Comings and Goings

On a drive down I-35 a couple of weeks ago, I saw that Temple is getting a new BJ's Restaurant/Brewhouse. I have eaten at the BJ's at Vista Ridge Mall near I-35 and Lewisville area. It is a decent upscale burger place that would have certainly added to the Waco food scene. Too bad our two new sites - Legends Crossing and Texas Central Marketplace couldn't land this one. Oh well, we will at least have another great Bush's Fried Chicken.

BJ's is an 11 state chain that originated in Santa Ana, California in 1978.

Our menu features BJ’s own delicious, innovative spin on your favorite foods, including deep dish pizzas, salads, sandwiches, pastas, steaks, baby back ribs and so much more. And of course, everything tastes better with BJ’s own handcrafted beer.

Yanni's in West has given up on the difficult task of attracting people off of I-35 and from Waco to enjoy the tasty Greek fare they presented. As stated in an earlier post, the owner purchased the 1424 restaurant here in Waco. I hope they present some Greek specialties at 1424. Most of the food I had at Yanni's was quite good.

I continue to be amazed at how many fast food restaurants can be jammed into the 4th, 5th, 6th street corridor at 1-35. The rebuilt McDonald's is open - but what a disappointment. McD's has all sorts of interesting designs that would have looked great in that area. Instead, we get the fashionable tan cinder block decor. How special! The Whataburger is undergoing an interior redo that promises to be a unique Waco look.

At least, the new Basa-whatiz on 6th St. looks interesting. It this a restaurant during the day or a lounge at night. Slow construction (and street blocking) probably not enough parking could turn this whole area into a Saturday night war-zone.

Another McAlister's on Waco Drive? Why? Another Mazzio's Pizza coming to the same area? Again why? Everyone knows the bowling alley has all the good food in that block. Seriously, why not a nicer Zio's Italian Kitchen instead of the sibling Mazzio's???? Both are owned by the Tulsa, OK based Mazzio's Corporation. Why couldn't we get the nicer one?

Great Expectations

In the last two weeks, I have visited two newer establishments in the Waco area. One I had eagerly anticipated - The Green Room Grille and the other - The Wild West Steakhouse and Saloon in West I stumbled on by accident. These are two very different kinds of food experiences. The Green Room will cost you $40 to $50 per person while dinner for two at the Wild West will be less that $50 for two. Both of these places met the expectations I had for them before I entered the restaurant but neither scored an A.

It would have been very easy for the Wild West to establish itself as one of the better outpost country steakhouses in and around Waco. It is in a nicely refitted building with a lot of stuff on the walls that give it a country barn sort of atmosphere. It was comfortable and not too noisy even though they had a good Saturday night crowd.

You can have your steak grilled or charbroiled - with or without garlic butter. My charbroiled sirloin came medium as ordered with a side of delicious mushrooms. They are not stingy with the garlic at the Wild West. My steak had a teaspoon of chopped garlic and melted butter sizzling on top.

Although we seemed to change waiters at least twice during the meal, I can't say that the service was anything but attentive. At least four people combined to make my experience a good one.

So why is the Wild West not quite an A? It is the little things. Lets start with the salad. The nice sized side salad served with dinner was tasty enough and had enough different ingredients that you could call it a garden salad. But it was obvious that there were bowls of salad made up in advance and placed in the refrigerator. Instead of filling a small bowl from a larger premade salad, my small salad was left to dry out a little around the edges uncovered in the chiller. I was glad to hear that they had a bleu cheese dressing (which had real chunks of bleu) but disappointed to see it served in a two ounce tub with a plastic lid.

One of the biggest failings of local steakhouses like Lake Brazos, Miller's, Lone Star, or Heitmiller's is to serve condiments is a very cheap and unappealing way. Why not bring it in a small bowl with a serving spoon? Unless we are talking fast food at a counter, I don't enjoy liquid butter and salad dressing in a squeeze bottle or ketchup, sour cream, and salad dressing in packages. It is such a short step to butter, dressings, and sauces presented at the table in a proper way. Plastic containers at the table do not add to that homey atmosphere.

Wild West also fell short in the bread department as well. Rolls (preferably homemade), French, Italian, German or a sourdough loaf would work fine. The sliced white bread I was served with my steak and baked potato seemed laughable.

The Wild West Steakhouse and Saloon serves up a good steak at a reasonable price but could have been so much better if they made some very small upgrades to their presentation. Try it yourself and see.

Top Five

I had an inquiry about why I have not been more specific about what are the top places to eat in Waco. I can make numerous excuses but the fact is I just have not wanted to go to all the trouble that this complicated question produces.

The Top Five restaurants in any community can be defined in a lot of ways. I really don't consider chain restaurants the equal of chef/owner establishments. Yes, chains do occasionally have professional chefs that prepare excellent dishes but most of the time the food is prepared to exact recipe standards by a skilled cook who has been trained to follow specific instructions for those items on the company menu.

Some where back in Omaha, an executive chef is designing these dishes right down to the last cut. At some places, all the sauces and ingredients are prepared in advance and shipped to each location where they are combined according to plan and laid upon your table.

In my book, the food may taste just fine but this is not in the same category as a restaurant that allows a professionally trained chef to design a menu, select fresh meats and vegetables, and prepare the food according to local tastes and preferences.

Waco and surrounding area (10 miles)
Top Five Restaurants
Top Five Chain Restaurants
Top Five Hole-in-the Wall Restaurants
Top Five Barbecue Joints
Top Five Tex/Mex
Top Five Burgers

Top Five Restaurants
135 Prime
1424
The Green Room Grille
Diamondbacks
Elite Circle Grill

Top Five Chains
Cheddar's
Outback Steakhouse
Pei Wei
Logan's Roadhouse
Cotton Patch Cafe

Top Five Barbecue
The Rib Crib
Rudy's
Uncle Dan's
Dickey's
Michna's

Top Five Hole-in-the Wall
El Tapatio
D's Chicken
Park's Buffet
Tony DeMaria's
Clay Pot

Top Five Burgers
Kitok Restaurant
Dubl-r Hamburgers
Kupps
Fuddrucker's
George's

Top Five Tex/Mex
Ninfa's
El Tapatio
La Fiesta
Siete Mares
El Chico

It is all opinion.

Outdoors in the Middle of Nowhere

I recently made my second visit to the Cyclone Coral Barbecue. This seasonal favorite is located east of Temple in a very rural portion of Bell County off of Highway 53. The open air pavilion is opens in April and closes in October. They are open on Friday and Saturday nights only. It is a great place to take groups - especially out-of-towners. They can't believe the drive to get from Waco to the Cyclone.

I have eaten Mikeska's Barbeque on many occasions. Texas Monthly Magazine calls them the "First Family of Texas Barbecue." That of course is mostly hype but they have several family members engaged in the trade throughout Texas. John, Clem, Mike, Jerry, Rudy, Louis, Maurice, Tim, Sam, and many other members of this Czechoslovakia family are scattered all over Texas cooking barbecue from Temple to El Campo.

Janell Mikeska runs this location and does a great job. She was all over the place directing staff the night we were there. The $12.50 all you can eat family style dinner is better that average food. It would have to be to get customers to drive 30 to 45 minutes to get there.

The brisket is served nicely sliced and is very lean. The pork spare ribs are very good - dark and smokey but not overdone. They have just the right amount of toothsome texture to let you know they have been recently prepared. The sausage has a peppery taste that makes it stand out from other milder stuff. Sauce is served warm in a little pitcher and is a good compliment to the meats.

The sides of corn on the cob, potato salad, beans, and home baked bread are all good. I really like the sweet vinegar slaw. It is special and had to be refilled several times. Peach cobbler is extra but is a welcome ending to the meal. Beer is served but I saw some tailgating in the parking lot as some waited a few minutes for tables.

It may be the middle of nowhere but the atmosphere and barbecue are great.

Catching Up

Summer is a little slow in the food blog department although there is some news in the Waco community. As I mentioned (not by name) in a previous post, Buzzard Billy's will be closing its current location. The property has been sold and may become the location of a hotel. I have found the food at Billy's to be mostly above average. It is certainly not the best seafood/Cajun restaurant around but it does contribute some variety to the Waco food scene. Perhaps a new location will allow the owners to upgrade the interior. Certainly the smoking - non-smoking areas can be arranged better. The ventilation system never quite seemed to rid the restaurant section of all of the bar smoke. The old woody walls and unfinished floors did little to enhance my dining experience. If you don't own the building or have a long-term lease, it may not be smart to spend big buck on improvements. I hope they survive and find a new location that they can freshen up.

I have eaten at a Chipolte Grill on a couple of occasions. It seems that we are getting one in Waco. I think that one of these can survive here in Waco. I can usually wade through the different options and produce a decent burrito or soft taco. In Waco, I would always try to open a new restaurant in the fall and be ready for the Baylor school year and the the holiday season. January 1 is usually not a great target date and I don't think Chipolte will be greeted with the long lines that Pei Wei generated. More like Dickey's or Buffalo Wild Wings.

Speaking of Pei Wei, it is hard to argue with success but our version has yet to reach its stride in service, comfort or quality. A recent visit to a Pei Wei in Plano convinced me that the Waco location can do a better job. Bring the orders out at the same time (or in the proper sequence if an appetizer is ordered) all hot and plated properly.

On a rare drive through Killeen last week, I noticed that there is a Texas Land and Cattle Company on Highway 190. I generally regard this steakhouse to be one of the better franchises. Probably a cut above Outback. Could they be a candidate for Texas Central Marketplace or Legends Crossing?