Restaurant Review- Varasano's

Why did you break my heart?

This weekend I made my second trip to Varasano's. I have been looking forward to this visit as soon as I had my last bite of pizza on my first visit and fell in love. Unfortunately, Varasano's broke my heart the second time around.

I order the Nana's over my typical Margherita, based on the server's insistence that the Nana's is much better than the Margherita. On both trips to Varasano's each server has highly recommended the Margherita over the Nana's. From the menu, the only difference between the two is that the Nana's has a "secret blend of Italian herbs" whereas the Margherita has basil. I wonder why Varasano's even offers the Margherita if the servers continue to push the Nana's over the Margherita. I also question how this secret blend can add $2.00 to a pizza. After enjoying the Nana's on my first visit, I decided I could not go wrong by ordering it again-

Excuse the poor quality of my photos, I only had my blackberry on hand.

Unlike Fritti, who prides upon serving a pizza uncut- forcing you to use a fork and a knife, Varasano's takes the approach that pizza should be eaten folded in half, with your hands. This certainly makes sense if the pizza actually had the consistency of a NY slice, but Varasano's pizza is just too gooey to eat with your hands, especially if you have toppings on your pizza.

Like Fritti, Varasano's prides itself on the perfect charred crust. Many have read about the Jeff Varasano intense adventure to perfect the "NY pizza" in Atlanta, which includes a "slightly"charred crust. Unfortunately, half of my Varasano's pizza had so much char that I could not enjoy the flavors hidden by the taste of burnt.


What about the other half of the pizza? The crust at the center of the pie was soggy and toward the outer ridge became denser and chewier- too tough to truly enjoy. The sauce was tasteless- I wish I had asked for some salt. The entire trip would have been a complete waste had it not been for the wonderful mozzarella cheese, portioned perfectly on the pizza.

I have no idea how this trip could have been so drastically different from my first adventure to Varasano's where I had the perfect crust, well seasoned salt, and an empty plate, instead of bringing leftovers back home. There is just too much inconsistency with their pizza. Even several months after opening, Jeff Varasano is still hovering near the kitchen sampling the sauce, and checking on the char. By now, the kitchen should be using a proven recipe, without altering the seasoning and cooking temperatures.

I can't continue to subject myself to the heart breaking I felt after my second visit. So from here on out, Fritti you are my new #1.

Atmosphere: Casual/Business, some outdoor seating
Price: around $11-$15
Parking: Complimentary valet or self-parking in garage.
Overall Rating: 4/5 (trip 1); 2/5 (trip 2)

Mexican Pizza

Preparation time- 15-20 min if you use a pre-made crust.

I always find that Mexican food is an easy and tasty option for busy days when I get home late from work. Usually, I will make a quick burrito or quesadilla. When I have more time on my hand I'll make some enchiladas. No matter which item I choose, the ingredients are similar so it comes down to my mood. Last night, I decided on a Mexican pizza. I make two styles of Mexican pizza. One is on a regular pizza crust, and the other one is similar to the tortilla version they serve at Taco Bell (my favorite fast food restaurant thanks to the great variety of vegetarian options!). This is a recipe for the pizza crust version.

As for the pizza crusts, on her visits to Atlanta, my mom is nice enough to bring me homemade pizza sauce and individual sized pizza crusts to store in my freezer. Not only dos this make my life easier, but I am a little more guilt free from limiting the canned and processed foods in my recipes. Not everyone is so lucky, but there are excellent options available on the market for quick pizza crusts solutions- anything from Boboli's pre-made crusts to Trader Joe's fresh pizza dough balls. Below is my version of the Mexican pizza sans measurements because I usually just wing it.

Ingredients:

For the refried black beans*:
1 prepared pizza crust
1 can of black beans (minus the liquid)
Chopped red onions (white are fine also)
Chopped garlic
Olive Oil (or any type of cooking oil)
Taco Seasoning (or cumin, chili powder, and salt)

For the toppings:
Mexican-mix shredded cheese (or a mix of monterey jack and cheddar)
Chopped tomatoes
Green onions or Red onions
Black olives (optional)
Corn (optional)
Jalapeños (optional)

Garnish with sour cream drizzled on the top.
Special add on- chopped avocado after the pizza has baked.

Make the refried black beans by putting all the ingredients in a food processor. Don't completely puree them- you want some texture. Spread the mixture onto the pizza crust. Add the toppings. Bake at 350. Remove and serve with drizzled sour cream on top and hot sauce on the side. Yum!
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*Above is my quick version of refried black beans. If you have more time on your hand saute the chopped onions, garlic, and seasoning in the oil until tender in medium high heat. Reduce the heat to medium and add the black beans. Let simmer, while mashing and stirring the beans. After several minutes, if the texture is too coarse place this entire mixture in the food processor. Simmering the beans this way adds more of the flavors of the garlic and onions.

Restaurant Review- Fritti

Fritti serves up one of my favorite cuisines- pizza- in one of my favorite Atlanta neighborhoods- Inman Park. I would self describe myself as a pizza snob. I don't just love any pizza. It has to have the perfect crust- the authentic Neopolitan style or the NY fold the slice pizza style. Fritti specializes in the Neopolitan style, a thin crust with a bit of char on the edges. The menu offers a wide variety of vegetarian options, including a pizza with spinach, peppers, sundried tomatoes, mushrooms, and squash but I chose to play it safe with the margherita- a true judge of pizza quality. Fritti's Regina Margherita has buffalo mozzarella, San Marzano tomatoes, and basil, and was small enough for one person. Fritti mastered the Neopolitan crust. It was chewy but had a slight smokey flavor from the char. The sauce was the best part, slightly sweet with the San Marzano tomatoes adding some tang. The only downside of my Fritti experience, was that they do not slice the pizzas, claiming to try to retain the authentic Neopolitan style. I had to cut it myself with a table fork and knive. Despite the manual labor, I look forward to my next trip to Fritti!

Atmosphere: Casual/Business, great outdoor patio
Price: reasonable for gourmet pizza, around $12-$15 per pizza.
Parking: plenty of street parking on N. Highland
Overall Rating: 4/5

Portobello Mushroom Wraps

I usually have onions, tomatoes, spinach, and tortillas on hand making this a low hassle recipe. I just stop by the store on the way home from work and grab some portabello mushrooms. I rarely cook by measuring so you won't see many "tsp." or "cups" on my site. No worries though, this recipe works best by adding as much or as little of the ingredients you like. In my case, that means extra goat cheese!

Preparation Time: <20 minutes

Ingredients:
Portobello caps (1 per serving)
Coarsely chopped sweet vidalia onions (how ever much you prefer on a sandwich or wrap)
Italian dressing or a vinaigrette
Burrito sized tortilla (1 per serving)
Uncooked (baby) spinach leaves
Cherry/grape tomatoes sliced in 1/2
Goat cheese

1. Grill on George Foreman- Portobello caps (stems removed) and the chopped onions drizzled with Italian dressing. Grill until the onions start to get a black char on them.
2. Once grilled place above ingredients on tortilla with cheese, baby spinach leaves, and sliced tomatoes
3. Wrap tortilla and grill entire wrap on flat pan until golden brown
4. Serve with baked sweet potato fries or a side salad.

Quick Variations:
Try feta cheese instead of goat cheese.
Use sourdough sandwich bread instead of the tortilla wrap.