We Met "The Ugly Cousin" at Odis 12 ...

CONSTANCE:
You know you're getting older when you go into a bar and see your son's friends there - legally and all! What the heck, I texted my son and invited him to come over too; afterall Odis's is the place where everyone knows your name and he lives right across the street. He was sleeping though, getting ready for third shift.

Having heard that Odis 12 was a major winner of 2009 Erie's Best Wing Cook Off, we were excited to try the best non-traditional wing in Erie - The Ugly Cousin. What a crazy name and what a crazy combination of flavors too! I wasn't aware that they had pizza either, so was surprised and glad that we could get our weekly blog za and wings from the same place. Mathias found online coupons on the Odis 12 Web site (the URL is under the 411 below), so a large one item pizza (Mathias picked ham as our topping) and The Ugly Cousin was a no-brainer for wings. $19 with a $2 tip - nice price! Extremely competitive.

We had to wait longer than our 35 minutes promised wait time. Probably about 50 minutes; however, the bartender/server was very gracious and apologetic as she explained interim power outages delayed our food. We were starving by the time we got home.

The wings were incredible and yep, I had 10 in one sitting!! Crispy. Sweet, sour, tangy with a chaser of hot twang - wow ... I'd say probably my favorite so far. I know I've been saying this every week, but this week I really mean it!

The za wasn't hand-tossed crust so I was being all high maintenance skeptical about it, but that changed after the first bite. The cheese was delicious. The ham was real and not lunch-meat type. The sauce was familiar too. Not necessarily original tasting, but very memorable. I loved the Odis 12 pizza.

What a great discovery, and they're basically down the street from me too! You have to move Odis 12's to the top of your list and try them soon ... and ask for The Ugly Cousin! 8 outta 8 slice review in this wing beauty contest - enjoy!

The 411:

Odis 12 Bar & Grille
Mike Miodus
664 West 26th Street
Erie Pa, 16508
814.452.6347

http://odis12.com/

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!