Food fight, my parking spot secret ... and Desparate Housewives!

CONSTANCE: While Mathias and I usually agree or share similar opinions on MOST things, there are a couple of areas where we are a nice complement to each other. That's a euphemism for we horribly disagree but go along to get along! The first is parking the car. If it were up to Mathias, we'd park in Meadville to go to the Millcreek Mall, and he'd consider that a good parking spot. His theory is grab the first spot you see. Not me! I visualize a parking spot close to the Macy's entrance, and boom - we're there. Sometimes it takes a drive down the adjoining row, but more often than not, my secret parking spot visualization does the trick the first pass!

The second area of complementary thinking is Sabo's Pizza. We're already in third quarter of our year-long Erie Pizza and Wing Odessey and we've had similar reviews of all the local pizza and wing places until now. Food fight, oh, it's on!

We ordered based on the phone special, of a large pizza with one topping and 20 wings for (with tax) $19 (seems to be the local going price). Mathias wanted diced tomatoes on his half and I love sausage. The wings were Cajun ranch flavored with a hint of Parmesan. It was only a 15 minute wait on a busy Friday night, and about a 15 minute drive to get there, so our order was ready when we got there ... and also lukewarm when we got home. Our bad not Sabo's fault.

The wings looked like Part Tavern wings, kind of burnt, but I had an open mind. The sausage was saucer-shaped, like the pepperoni at Uptown's and Luchetti's, so I knew I'd love it. The crust is fresh dough made daily guaranteed - and it was delish!

The wings were very meaty and crispy and tasted like you could make them at home. Which I thought was a good thing; however, Mathias did not, and I quote him from FaceBook, "The wings tasted like wings you'd get in eastern Europe, before the fall of the soviet union; a bird like creature, cooked in machine oil and sprinkled with the flavoring of an herb only found near the abandoned Chernobyl nuclear facility." Ouch - how did you really feel Mathias?

I thought they were good ...




There was a piece of my pizza left over for breakfast meaning that Mathias ate four pieces on Friday night. And the leftover wings were devoured by Mathias for lunch on Saturday too, before I realized how much he hated everything.

I was surprised to see Mathias eating an "I love you man" sized bowl of cereal - Apple Jacks, his favorite, because he was still unsatisfied and hungry from Sabo's.

Overall, I'll give Sabo's a 5 outta 8 slice review. I think it would be a nice place to eat in too and I'd probably try the antipasto salad next time too. Their menu is pretty comprehensive too including subs and calzones. Oh, I have a confession to make ... I thought their name was Scavo's at first, just like on "Desperate Housewives" ... oops, my bad!

The 411:
Sabo's Pizza
7374 West Ridge Road
47404500

TKO at Ringside Restaurant ...

CONSTANCE:

Round 1: Started at 4 p.m. on a Friday with a quick FaceBook post asking for Erie Pizza and Wing suggestions for our blog. Lots of great suggestions, and a few we haven't tried yet. We settled on Ringside Restaurant, closest to home on a Friday night that wrapped up a looooong week.

Round 2: No coupons, so the crafty Mathias (M: I was just hungry, not crafty, but thanks for the thought, Constance- my Amish babe!)called and asked if they had any za and wing specials. They did - 30 wings with a large one item pizza for $18.98 with a 2-liter Coke product (M: I'm more of a diet Buttermilk man of god myself-what with being Amish and all). That sealed the deal.

Round 3: Sausage selected for topping and Hot Parmesan cheese wings. The crust is hand tossed too.

Round 4: Hated to put on shoes, but it was so cold and snowy (M: You should have heard her-I didn't know Amish women knew such curse words). So I put them on but didn't tie them ... a nice compromise I thought! We walked in the restaurant, and the hostess informed me my shoes were untied. How polite is that? Our order was ready when promised. 45 minutes on a Friday night wasn't unreasonable.

Round 5: Got home and the pizza looked delicious - clumps of sausage. Crispy hand-tossed crust, my favorite. The wings looked wonderful too, although the cheese smelled like stinky feet or kitty litter when I first opened the package. Mathias didn't agree ... but I know what I smelled! (M: did you check you shoes? Maybe you stepped in something; after all, we took the horse and buggy to the restaurant).

Round 6: The taste - delicious! The sauce was tart and unique. Crust - da bomb! (M: Constance, you're so Ghetto-Amish). And sausage was clumpy and very generous. The wings didn't taste like they smelled either. Crispy. Lots of meat. Hot and spicy but not overkill. Very tasty and a great experience. They gave us a coupon sheet from ValPak (don't know how we missed it ourselves, but they honored the coupon price for us) ... no doubt we'll be back.

Best $20 ever spent and a 7 outta 8 slice rating.

Round 7: Za leftovers for breakfast and wings for lunch.

Round 8: Blogs can have as many rounds as the blogger wants, but just in case you're wondering how many rounds there are in a boxing match? According to Yahoo Answers: Championship bouts are twelve rounds, and non-championship bouts ten rounds. (M: I once took the the World Amish Heavyweight Champion Asa "The Not-so-Meek" Troyer 12 rounds. It got dark so we fought by candlelight and he snuck a patented "Barnburner" past me.

However, amateur bouts are usually four rounds, and the number of rounds is gradually increased after a fighter turns pro. So a fighter may move from four rounds to six to eight to ten, and finally to twelve if he gets a title shot. Now we know - TKO!

The 411:
Lou Bizzarro's Ringside Restaurant
3202 Sterrettania Road
Phone: 833-8444

Presque Isle Pizza -Once Bitten Better Twice! Do-over Rocked!

CONSTANCE: Once upon a time, Constance and Mathias tried Presque Isle Pizza and the chicken ranch pizza was less than impressive. It's taken 10 months into our 2009 blogging adventure to revisit Presque Isle Pizza again. A coupon in the ValPak landed in the mailbox this week. We ordered a 14" large pizza with banana peppers and 20 wings that were Cajun lime flavored. All for under $20 with the coupon.

It was a beautiful Fall day, and after doing the weekly obligatory errands, we called in our order. Perfect timing as it would be ready upon our arrival. On the way home, since I had finished reading Twilight (I'm a little slow with this trend) we hit Blockbuster and picked up Twilight the movie to have za and movie night. Redbox was out, or our "date night" would have been under $20 for dinner and a movie.

The Groundhog Day pizza was delicious! Hand tossed crust and excellent sauce with the perfect amount of banana peppers - the only thing better would have been waking up to a leftover piece for breakfast this a.m. but alas, Mathias had a midnight snack.

The wings came with carrots, celery and Ranch dressing included with the price. They were wet, and finger-licking good! The lime was a nice balance and the only flavor of its kind this year.

So are there any readers who haven't seen Twilight yet? I am into the second book in the series of four now, so it was nice to see the movie and picture the characters and locations from my mind's eye. I will say everything was spot on for me, except the meadow scenes. And I did like diamond Edward's special fx better than how I envisioned.

Presque Isle Pizza gave us a coupon sheet to revisit them again soon. Nice photos of someone's kids and the claim to be Millcreek's best wings rang true! Highly recommended! 7.5 outta 8 slice rating.

See you next week where our adventure is yet to be determined, but we'll be influenced by some advertising ploy or testimonial of a friend and make it a great one! Have a good week!

The 411: Presque Isle Pizza
West 32nd and Sterrettania
Erie, PA
838-1008 or 833-1008

Boro Homecomig Tradition - Charlie's After the Game

CONSTANCE: Flat Stanley joined us this year for the Edinboro Homecoming Parade, Football Game and post-celebration at Charlie's! Back in the day, it was called Uncle Charlie's and located next to the bowling alley in town. But in recent years, the name has been changed to Charlie's and the new location is in the Giant Eagle Plaza, before you get into town, if you're coming in on Rt. 99 from Erie.

Flat Stanley got to meet lots of BORO friends, and their kids this year too. We shared Jamaican jerk wings and a large pizza with half pineapple and half sausage. This week's blog was one of my favorites all year because the atmosphere was like a trip down memory lane. The total bill was under $20 and everything was delicious. Mathias did think the wings were kind of salty, but they were dry and packed with an afterpunch. Sinus clearing - always a favorite.

We took home one sausage piece and a couple of wings to savor later. Overall, 8 outta 8 slice rating.

Promises were made to hit Charlie's next year after the game and invites have already been extended to those that couldn't make it this year. Thanks Bud, Pam, Drew, Donna, Julie, Sandy, Bob and EVERYONE who made the day and pizza and wing blog so memorable and delicious! See you next year, but hopefully sooner ... Go Scots!

The 411:
Charlie's Pub & Eatery
606 Erie Street (in the Giant Eagle Plaza)
Edinboro, PA 16412
734-1715

Welcome Flat Stanley - Guest Blogger from FLA

CONSTANCE: The package arrived earlier in the week. Flat Stanley, a school project for my niece Emily. As part of Flat Stanley's visit, we're supposed to show him a good time and introduce him to the unique local and regional attributes of our area. What better introduction to Western PA than our Erie Pizza and Wing weekly blog experience.

This week's pizza and wing selection was quite the production. It started with a radio commercial I heard - only once though, so I only had part of the story: hand tossed dough, two blocks west of Peninsula Drive on either West Lake Road or West Ridge Road, and the name had three words in it, and I thought it was "On ... something something".

Mathias and I started on Peninsula Drive and then headed west on West Ridge Road. He took the right side of the road and I took the left. No businesses seemed to match the description from the radio commercial. We circled down to West Lake Road next on our pizza quest. We were almost at Peninsula Drive and then I saw it - the big flashing sign that said ON THE ROCKS! And it got even better - pizza special $5!

We went inside to order and were greeted by a bouncer. It looked like the place was set up for a private party. There was a comedian getting ready to start and since we were placing a carry out order, we could order and wait for free - no cover.

We ordered a large, one item - sausage, my favorite and 20 wings. The wings were on special for 40 cents too. If you eat in, they are 25 cents each! The bartender was very helpful and we chatted it up about the signature wings. We settled on CPR! Cajun-Parmesan-Ranch! Our wait time was 15 minutes and we were just in time for the comedian. And I use the term loosely ...

I'll admit, I was excited when I saw the piano. My experience has been good with piano-guy comedians. Until now ... he was the most raunchy, foul-mouthed man ever. He even looked like a dirty old man. I swear I was blushing. I think Mathias was too. It was the longest 15 minutes ever.

We headed home to watch The Office and enjoy our za and wings. You'll see by the photos that for $15 (including a $2 tip) everything looked fantastic and trust me, it tasted even better.

The hand-tossed dough was crispy and fresh. Mathias said that the sauce tasted like cherries. It was very flavorful and the most unique sauce we've had all year. The sausage had caraway seeds in it too which is my sausage of choice.

The CPR wings were crispy and tangy with a hint of hot. Sinus clearing but not too hot.

Our za and wings were worth the drive time discovery to find On The Rocks, and also well worth enduring the porn version of Weird Al. Flat Stanley, being a minor, waited in the car and didn't enter the bar or have to endure porn Al (thankfully).

My rating ... for the first time, a half-rating ... 7.5 slice rating outta 8 slices. I hope On The Rocks advertises more, so that more people have the opportunity to discover them too. And until then, I'm doing my part as word of mouth, er, um ... blog, is the most successful form of advertising. True that!

The 411:
On The Rocks
3040 W Lake Rd
Erie, PA 16505-3844
(814) 464-1581‎

If you have trouble making decisions, try the "Tumbleweed"! Or any of the other 50 flavors ...

CONSTANCE: We've always wanted to try Chipper's. It looks like a garage ... small, on the corner, not anything special. But special it was - 51 flavors of wings - one for each state and Puerto Rico! And dozens more than Baskin Robbin's has ice cream flavors. We settled on the Tumbleweed, a butter garlic blend meshed with mesquite. The wait time was about 45 minutes, but well worth it. Twelve wings were $6.25. Since Chipper's doesn't have wings, we called Hungry Howie's as we were leaving.

It's my birthday on the first day of Fall, and I had a free pizza coupon to use with a $5 purchase as Hungry Howie's. We got Cajun crazy bread and a medium pizza with green peppers with ranch spiced crust. Funny how we'd never tried green peppers all year. A first night for many things!

We got home and everything was still hot! The wings were crispy and flavorful and came with veggies and ranch dip too. The tumbleweed flavor was really good. I have messed up taste buds this week due to a wicked sinus/cold infection so they probably were even more flavorful than I was able to enjoy.

Hungry Howie's, although a chain, is locally owned and they always have a fine za. Even though the phone order taker thought my name was Donnie (and I even spelled it C-O-N-N-I-E!!).

The other first of the night was pretty unique too. Mathias was shocked that I'd never had a Wendy's Frosty and dipped my fries into it. So we had dessert first. The salty taste of the hot fries was the perfect complement to the cold chocolate of the Frosty. Delicious!

My slice rating for the pizza and wings would be a 6 outta 8 slice review. I'd definitely go back to try the other 50 flavors at Chipper's: lizards, Chads, CB's ... so many sound intriguing!

And when you go to Hungry Howie's sign up for the birthday club so you can get a free za to help celebrate your special day! It almost makes getting a year older all worth it!

The 411:
Chipper's Tavern
4808 Wattsburg Road
(intersects with East Grandview)
825.5176

Hungry Howie's
128 W 12th St # 100
Erie, PA 16501-1751
814.464.0202
www.hungryhowies.com

We Parked It @ and Played Pool and the Reverend Joined Us Too!

CONSTANCE: We parked it @! And it was fun ... and delicious!

We had a rehearsal dinner Friday night, so pizza and wing night got moved again. We'll get back on schedule soon though, promise!

Like Eli's, so many friends have suggested the Part Tavern for pizza and wings. Being in Lawrence Park, we decided to order and eat right there. A twist to our adventures.

We ordered a large pizza - split toppings - half with hot peppers for me and tomatoes for Mathias. And the wings recommended were the Herbie flavor. Yum! We got to play two games of pool while waiting, and Mathias even got to play Reverend Horton Heat on the "juke box" while we waited. "Big Red Rocket of Love" filled the tavern, and some of the bar patrons knew it too and were jamming with us!

The wing photo is a bit misleading. The wings looked burnt and I was ready to turn my nose up at them, but then I just tried one. And I was hooked! Crispy, flavorful ... and to remember the name, I'll just remember "Herbie the Love Bug!"

This was def one of my favorite blog weeks. Even though Mathias beat me at pool and won both games (but I had only one ball left each time). $20 including tip and an 8 outta 8 slice review from me!

The 411:
Park Tavern The
4205 E Lake Rd
Erie, PA 16511-1356
(814) 899-8661
www.theparktavernpa.com