Lefty's ... Lefty's ...

The 411:

Lefty's
1248 Brown Ave
Erie, PA
454-4805

Maria's ... SSShhhhhhhh ... what a great secret discovery!

CONSTANCE: Since we started our year - 52 delicious weeks - of discovering Erie Pizza and Wing places in January, we've heard from everyone we talk to about so many Erie favorites. The same names seem to resurface over and over again. You know who they are, no doubt! That's why discovering Maria's Pizza last night was such a treasure. We discovered it on our own. No prompting from friends. We had done a drive by on our way to pick up our CSA veggies last week. And then, Mathias found a coupon in the Coupon Keeper in the Erie Times-News.

It was destiny!

So we stopped in yesterday before picking up this week's crops. As a quick sidebar, we got a plethora of healthy veggies, from leaf spinach and turnips to snap peas and radishes. It's forced up to eat healthier on our non-pizza and wing blog nights!

Actually that's a nice segue to our wings at Maria's. We had the Coupon Clipper coupons, but wanted wings with our za, so Mathias asked if we could negotiate a wing AND pizza special. And he started to explain about our blog and how most places have 15-20 wings and a 1-topping large pizza with tax for about $19 or $20. The owner said that his prices were pretty good without a coupon and he wouldn't offer us a special. That's when we grabbed the menu and realized that he was right. Mathias was all set to negotiate and I think a little disappointed when he didn't get the chance.

So we selected a large pizza with bacon - a first to try that as a topping. And 12 wings with Cajun flavoring. The wings come with carrots and Ranch dressing. The good kind too (not the watered down kind). And come to find out that the wings are baked, not fried! Healthy!! Or healthier at least!

We went to pick up our CSA crops and were back in 1/2-hour to pick up our dinner. The total was about $15, so this is counter-intuitive to our search for the best deal with coupons to use each week.

The owner was very nice, and the young man working the counter was too. Actually he followed us out to the car to ask for our blog address to see what we had to say about Maria's.

We were surprised to learn that they've been in business since 1992. Previously at another location and now at their current location for three years. Their restaurant was refreshing - blue's and yellow's ... not the expected red's, white's and black's color scheme we've seen ad nauseum. Their menu provided a lot of FAQ's and it was again refreshing to know that they support our community via fund raisers for local organizations. That's important to me and hopefully to all of you readers too. We all live and work here, and it's nice to give back and cross-support our community like that!

We ate the za and wings while watching a Seinfeld episode - the one where Kramer gets free coffee for life! And then Rescue Me. If you haven't seen this week's episode, the last 10 minutes are so worth it! You'll enjoy how they handle what could be really sensitive situations with drama and humor!

The crust wasn't hand tossed, but it had the same fresh taste and was crispy and delicious. The sauce was the perfect mix of spices and tangy-ness for me. The bacon was really innovative too. Have I lived in a cave up till this point? Don't know why I never tried that before!

And the wings were very light tasting and packed with flavor. Not greasy at all. And the Ranch dressing was the perfect - did I mention FREE too - complement to top off the flavor!

Our experience was a great one - the thrill of discovery through the taste of flavor - I'd say 7 outta 8 slices.

Don't wait for a coupon to try Maria's - you won't need one! Oh, if you miss the entry turn, just turn on Pacific and drive around back to the front. Tell them Constance and Mathias sent you and enjoy!
The 411:
Maria's Pizza
2340 West Grandview and Pacific Avenue
866-5499

Maria's Here We Come ...

This week we're trying a brand new place - not referred by anyone - aren't we living on the edge? Read our latest Erie Pizza and Wing review this weekend. And we're also going to post on DiningVerse.com too.

Thanks for your interest and support ...

A Faux Friday

CONSTANCE:
I heard tell of Skippereno's ... and finally got to live the legend last night on our faux Friday. This was the shortest-longest week ever wasn't it. With 5-6" of rain in 8 hours, flooding, continued clouds and rain all week. No wonder Thursday night really felt like a Friday night! With the 4th of July holiday, we wanted to get a jump on the blog to enjoy more traditional fare of this holiday (a.k.a. can you say Smith's hot dog WITH skin - that's another blog isn't it?).

Blob-reader, Jim, suggested we try Skip's (might this non-native call it that too?) and to ask for the tick, spicy pepperoni. So we did! To stretch our blog-budget, we found two great coupons in the phone book. So for 20 wings and a large, 1-item pizza, our bill totaled $20.13 which is pretty typical, and maybe a couple of bills on the high side.

In searching for the history of Skip's and it's rebirth, I found a great article from ShowCase, linked here in case you're interested to learn more:
http://www.goerie.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071026/ENTERTAINMENT06/710260342/0/ENTERTAINMENT04

The article doesn't really go too much into the za and wings - that's what our blog is for. I was totally blown away with the wings. We ordered Parmesan Ranch and they were the freshest wings we've had during our year-long adventure. They just tasted light, and were crispy without having that greasy, heavy taste. Is it an oxymoron to say they actually tasted healthy? It's our blog - guess we can say what we want. They were amazing!! My favorite thus far!

And blog-reader Jim definitely nailed the za! There's even a photo to show you the detail of how the pepperoni curls and it took every ounce of self control to leave some for leftovers today. I liked that the slices were cut smaller. It allowed me to eat 5 pieces (which actually would have been about 2 regular slices). A little game I play with myself.



So excited to have the leftovers today. Thanks Jim for sharing! We've had some other great reader comments too, and the year is young and we're looking to try them all. Continue to comment and share your favorites - we'll get there!

Oh, got to play the "Erie" game and saw my Erie best-friend's brother at Skip's while we were waiting yesterday too. It was his birthday and he had to pick up his own birthday pizza. We teased him about that! He suggested a place over on Parade ... 8th and Parade maybe? Anyone else with more info on that would be appreciated. And Otis's too for wings. And another friend tried Alfee's after our review and was also pleasantly surprised. I will have to check and see if she spotted the gargoyle too! This blog is turning out to be a win-win for everyone!

Thanks for reading and good eating will be had by all when you eat at Skip's! 8 outta 8 slices for sure!

The 411:
Skippereno's Italian Restaurant & Pizzeria
1604 West Grandview Blvd.
(Greengarden at Grandview)
864-8888

Curb my enthusiasm ... so good they're on speed-dial!

CONSTANCE:
I didn't believe we hadn't done a blog to Barbato's yet. They're one of my Erie favs. Have you ever tried their salad bar at lunch time? The wedding soup is to die for. But this isn't a soup blog, is it?

We had a coupon from the phone book to get a large 1-item pizza and 20 wings = $20.13 including tax. I picked the Cajun Ranch for the wings and Mathias selected ham for our pizza topping.

On a busy Friday night - yep we're back on our routine - we were told 10 minutes; that is unprecedented. But we had a little problem because someone has a new-found sitcom addiction - Curb Your Enthusiasm, the original HBO series. And we started watching while waiting for our pizza to be ready. It was the Christmas episode where Larry hooks up with the Black family after Cheryl leaves him.



They are all hilariously amusing and tie so many aspects of each episode together. We waited to finish before going to pick up our order. If you've ever watched the show, can you blame me? And I caution you if you haven't - there's 6 seasons on demand and on DVDs (hint: available free from the library!) ... you'll be having marathon sessions! Season seven starts this fall with the cast of Seinfeld appearing. Can't wait!

The pizza wasn't as fresh - but I blame myself for the delay in picking it up ... actually I blame Larry David! I dominated the wings this week - they were spot on with flavor and crispness. Thankfully Mathias and I have this magical way of balancing ourselves, and he adored the za.

I don't believe we had any leftovers. Or Mathias had a midnight snack? Hmmm ...

Barbato's is a favorite and one of Erie's hometown pizza and wing treasures. My rating this week is 7 outta 8.

Next week, thanks to a reader suggestion, Skippereno's is bumped to the top of the list! Retro ... love it!

The 411:
Barbato's Pizza and Pasta
1529 West 38th Street
Erie, PA
Phone: 814.868.1111

The Reverend, Races and Reunion Wreaked Havoc

CONSTANCE:
Gotta love summer in Erie ... so much to do. We're two weeks behind with our blog, but let me explain what happened. We went to see Reverend Horton Heat in Cleveland at House of Blues on Friday, June 12 ... our usually pizza and wing night. We had to scoot right after work and grabbed a quick bite to eat at Wendy's at Geneva Ohio on the way to the concert. The Reverend is a niche band, so if you've not heard of him yet, give him a chance at http://www.reverendhortonheat.com/. The concert was just incredible and we stayed afterward to meet the bass player Jimbo. Got an autograph and everything - Mathias was in heaven. Get the pun?? I guess it's not punny if you have to call it out.

So Saturday the 13th had us on the road again to Mercer Speedway. We were actually guests of Plyler Overhead Door in their luxury suite and had delicious fare (still not pizza and wings though). And Sunday, my roommate, Amy, from college was in town and we grilled gyros. Boy, Mathias should have been Greek! They were delicious and Amy even asked for the recipe. She was our first guest on the new deck.

So, that's what happened to the blog. But things happen for a reason. A while back, I had signed up to be a member of Hungry Howie's Pizza club. And at the time of sign-up, they asked for important dates in my life. So July 2nd is our anniversary. And they e-mailed a special offer to celebrate:

FREE Pizza for your significant other
when you buy any size pizza
at regular menu price
Second pizza must be of equal or lesser value

Perfect! Sausage for me and pineapple for Mathias. Our whole meal was under $10. Oh, I forgot to mention that I also got suspected food poisoning this week too (not from pizza and wings) so this was the first meal I enjoyed after that episode.

Hungry Howie's is a franchise, so I realize our mission is to first and foremost support Erie pizza and wing joints ... but the coupon and locally-owned franchisee slipped this one by for us!

I'd say a 6 outta 8 slice review. Love the crust topping - I had ranch. That's a unique niche!

We didn't get wings this week. So, read our next review from Barbatos that included the full shebang! Don't forget to sign up for the e-mail fan club at Hungry Howie's because nothing says Happy Anniversary and I love you better than your favorite topping on a his and hers pizza! Love ya Mathias!

The 411:
Hungry Howie's Pizza
128 West 12th St.
Erie, PA 16501
Phone: 814.464.0202
http://www.hungryhowies.com/

You can now find our blog posed at at http://erie.allinoneplace.com/dining along with other dining blogs you might find interesting!

From Par to Pizza ... a Perfect Week Was Had by All!

CONSTANCE: Sometimes we don't decide on our weekly Erie Pizza and Wing Blog Spot until Friday after work. Did any coupons come in the Val-Pak this week? Did any friends suggest a spot? Phone book or online discounts? But to my pleasant surprise this week, our decision was made Wednesday night during weekly golf league.

I'm a substitute and new to the Orchard Ponds golf league, so each week, it's been fun to meet new friends while golfing and striving to get better each week. This week, my friend Jenny joined me along with Annie and Mary Ann. It was Annie's birthday and we joked that she got to deduct a stroke per hole! She shared with us the details of her great day, which included a trip to the casino. That reminded me of last week's blog spot - Country Tavern, and how good the pizza and wings were. I was excited to share with our foursome the great experience Mathias and I had had. Come to find out, Mary Ann owns a bar and challenged us to come taste Erie's best pizza and wings there.

I asked about signature pizzas they had, and special wing flavors too. I was so intrigued by the red hot raspberry wings. They also have unique pizza offers, including meatball, chicken and white. But, Mary Ann said that the pepperoni was to die for. I couldn't wait to get home to tell Mathias how excited I was about trying Uptown's ... and having the decision made for us so early in the week was kinda cool too. So excited!

Almost as excited as I was about how great my golf game turned out that night. I had a bogey (but bogey and pizza didn't flow for a catchy blog title!) on hole one. But, holes 2 through seven were painful; I had a 15 on hole five - shameful. But, thanks to the coaching of Jenny, Annie and Mary Ann, I had killer holes on eight and nine. I missed the water obstacles and I had the best drive of my life on nine - yes, I overshot the hole! Oh, it was pretty and it all came together. I hope I can remember what I did for this week! Love finishing on a high note like that.

The other excitement this week was cool too. We got a new deck built and it's done already! Mathias took credit for building it on FaceBook. Well, not entirely true, but we had some fun with it joking about how he's my Amish boyfriend and all. Having a deck has been our dream for three years now. Year one we bought a book on how to build decks. Year two we talked, planned and designed our ideas. And year three - we hired someone to make this dream a reality. And it's only June so we can enjoy this all season long. Maybe next week we'll even eat our za and wings on the deck and post a photo.

And, the best news in our perfect week? Mathias got his dream job! I'll let him tell you more about that. So come Friday, we had reason to celebrate this week.

I had driven past Uptown's a zillion times, totally unaware of the surprise that would wait for us there someday. Our selections were predetermined (the pepperoni and the red hot raspberry wings), so we phoned in and headed over. We got to drive by the gargoyle on 29th Street by Alfee's too. I'm amazed at how wicked cool that is and it never gets old!

Mary Ann was talking with another customer right by the door when we got to Uptown's. And we also saw Annie and also another woman from golf was the bartender. What a small world! Introductions were made and we were so excited to try our newest discovery. Mary Ann said to be brutally honest with our review. And we promised we would.

I'll tell you what! I'm so proud of Erie for so many reasons, and the high quality of our local pizza and wing talent is at the top of my list. When we started this weekly blog, we knew we'd discover some new favorites and non-chain places. That's been really fun - each week, anticipating each new discovery and supporting our local community - keeping jobs here and talking up all that is great - right here in our own backyard. Plus, the serendipity of how we were lead to Uptown's made this week really fun and special too.

And now for our honest review?

One of my Erie favorites is Luchetti's and Uptown's built on what I like best about Luchetti's. The hand tossed dough crust ... but a little thicker and chewier than Luchetti's. The sauce that I love from Luchetti's but a little tangier - loved this! The cheese had everything Luchetti's has but more layers of flavor- hard to describe but I'll give it my best shot - kinda like an extra type of cheese was thrown in there with the mozzarella, maybe Parmesan? And the pepperoni is the little saucers that curl up with flavor. I wanted to eat four pieces, but I was full at three. So there would be leftovers for breakfast Saturday a.m.

The raspberry wings were delicious and so different from any other wings we've tried in Erie ... or anywhere else for that matter! I love Wasabi hot, and while these were called red hot raspberry, don't let that deter you if you shy away hot. They were tangy but not overbearing, bus sinus clearing, yes ... The raspberry was just so unique and added a nice flavor burst to the wings. The drummies, my favorite, were very plump and full of meat. And Mathias loved the other wing pieces - we're perfect like that together!

Uptown's has nearly 20 wing flavors on the menu, but Mary Ann says they'll make up any flavor upon request.

We had a reader comment recently ask us what was our favorite Erie Pizza and Wing spot so far. I'd now have to say Uptown's ... it was a crazy coincidence about how we discovered it. The wing flavors were so unique (and I forgot to mention on the crispy side - just the way I like them!) and the hand tossed dough and saucer pepperoni was outta this world - better than my other Erie favorite, Luchetti's.

Eight out of eight slices, and then some is my rating! Forgot to mention that our large one-item pizza and 30 wings was $18.50. They also have daily specials that include Greek night, quesadilla and burger nights too. I don't think you'd ever get tired of Uptown's.

When you go, tell Mary Ann that Constance and Mathias sent you ... hope you enjoy as much as we did!!

The 411:
Uptown's Corner Pub and Kitchen
264 East 30th
Corner of East 30th and German
Phone: 455-8696