LOCAL REVIEW: Soon's Sushi Cafe of Kenosha

Alright, everyone, listen up! Kenosha is a tough place to live in. Not only do we have to endure 11 months of winter, but we also have a stunning lack of foreign restaurants. Sure, greasy burgers and 24/7 breakfasts are great and all, because- as the Japanese puts it -us Americans, "...basically like sweet, high fat, high calorie things."

This is true.

But, but, buuuuut... As a Kenoshan- or as a Wisconsinite, even - you have to wonder what the alternative to sweet, high fat, high calorie things is. I suppose the Japanese would know, huh? I guess the only sensible thing would be to go out and try their food. Like sushi! But for many Wisconsinites, this may prove to be a challenge, as- like I said -foreign restaurants are far and few between in our lowly Midwestern state. Most towns in Wisconsin would never have a sushi restaurant, let alone know what sushi is. But thankfully, Kenosha is, like, the fifth biggest city in Wisconsin, so we have one golden sushi joint. One. Technically, there is another sushi restaurant in Pleasant Prairie, a village located in Kenosha County, but I'm focusing on the city of Kenosha alone. 

So, yeah! We have ONE Japanese restaurant. And it's not even really Japanese. It's Korean. But, whatev! That just makes the place all the more unique! What's the name of this place, you may ask? Well, it's Soon's Sushi Cafe- a teeny tiny building tucked away in a really shady party of town. But, hey, I got my pepper spray and have my phone ready to type 911 into any second, so let's go!

LOCAL REVIEW: Villa D' Carlo's Pizza of Kenosha

If there was any pizzeria in Kenosha that would be considered a "generational" restaurant (well, to my family, at least) -it'd be Villa D' Carlo's. My mom's mom used to work at Villa D's dontown and make the pizzas. My mom and her brothers knew when their pizza was from my grandmother as the best center piece was always missing, and the pizza box would always having something funny written on it, like, "Ron- Sober up! Kids- Go to Bed! Love You, Mom." 

It's no big surprise that, to this day, my mom still orders from Villa D' Carlo's more frequently than any other pizza joint. No, I'm not saying she orders pizza "frequently" as in ALL THE TIME- Hey! How dare you call my mom a lardo! Let me finish! -it's just that, when she DOES order pizza, you can pretty much guarantee it's going to be from Villa D's. And if by some odd chance our family were NOT to order pizza from Villa D' Carlo's, you would hear Mom's near-catchphrase, "It's good... But not as good as Carl's!" as if it were some kind of slogan.

In today's review, instead of focusing on all aspects of this restaurant, I am solely going to focus on one type of food served there, and one alone- the pizza. One reason being that our family usually orders from Carl's instead of going out to eat, so judging the restaurant as a whole would not be fair in this point in time. Another reason being that Carl's pizza is just so famous, it deserves a whole review dedicated to itself. Of course, I can talk about SOME aspects of the customer service at Villa D's too... how employees answer the phone, delivery time, yadda yadda. By the way, I will be reviewing the Villa D' Carlo's that is DOWNTOWN (otherwise known as Carl's East).

So, with that, andiamo! ("Let's go" in Italian).

LOCAL REVIEW: Gateway Cafe of Kenosha

It's Valentine's Day, and love is in the air! Ahhhh... Each reader gets a complimentary kiss on the forehead. Kiss for you... Mwaah! Kiss for you... Mwaah! Kiss for you... Mwaah! Kis for you...

But just kidding. Most of you probably have someone special to kiss your forehead for you. If not, join the club.

Anyway guys, you better be taking your gal somewhere pretty special for Valentine's dinner. Iffin' you ARE taking her to Valentine's dinner. If I had a date (my lack of which I'm oddly ever-to-eager to proclaim), I would have him take me to somewhere that serves breakfast 24/7. It doesn't have to be some fancy place, no sir. I'm fine with the breakfast, thanks. And if my date suggests we go out for breakfast without even having to take my heed, he is probably Mr. Right. 

And where would I like to go for breakfast specifically? Well... the Gateway Cafe is certainly a viable option here in town. I wouldn't mind going there at all, just to give you guys a little review spoiler. But, today I'll be going over there menu items, prices, service, etc, to make sure that you guys are taking your gals to a restaurant that will fit both your Valentin-y tastes. Or whatever tastes. 

LOCAL REVIEW: Valeo's Pizza of Kenosha

Are you in the Kenosha area during New Year's and throwing a party? Have a bunch of hungry mouths to feed? Going one more day without the "lose weight" resolution weighing down upon your shoulders? Sounds like a recipe for pizza! But where to order it from? Kenoshans are rather picky about their pizza, I'll tell you what. They will NOT take some tacky, greasy, chemically deep-dish abomination from Pizza Hut or Domino's or Papa John's or Rocky Rococo's...Ugh. They need something REAL. Thankfully, there are a lot of "real" pizza options to choose from in Kenosha, and Valeo's Pizza is one of them.

LOCAL REVIEW: The Charcoal Grill & Rotisserie of Kenosha

While going for a shopping spree with my mother and grandmother during the weekend, Mom suggested we three should hit up the Charcoal Grill in town for lunch. I'd never been there before- or to any Charcoal Grill for that matter -so I figured, "First time- makes for a good blog post!"
Charcoal Grill has more than one location, but it's not a national chain either. You'll pretty much only find these restaurants in Wisconsin. I didn't know much about this place going in, but I could tell it was gonna have a few traits of the typical "grill" restaurant that's moderately successful but not incredibly successful- Basically, these types of joints have big portions for fair prices, a diverse menu, a sports theme, family-friendly dining, a cozy atmosphere, plenty of T.V's and specials for game day, and would rather focus on crowd-pleasing food than healthy food. I guess we'll see how many of these traits Charcoal Grill exhibits.

LOCAL REVIEW: tg's of Kenosha

Hot beef sandwiches (or also sometimes called Italian beef sandwiches) are probably one of the most perfect sandwiches out there. And thankfully, my little town of Kenosha is crawling with restaurants who offer this delectable combination of succulent pot roast-esque beef, thick absorbent bread, and flavorful au jus. You can find a hot beef pretty much anywhere you go! Well- maybe not if you went out for Chinese or Mexican, but you get the picture. But in all my years of living here in town, I've never been to tg's Restaurant & Pub, self-proclaimed "Home of Kenosha's Famous Hot Beef." Not really an outrageous claim- Many Kenoshans have been to tg's to try their hot beef and even go as far as to say they make THE BEST hot beef. And today, I finally got to go and experience what everyone's been talking about.

REVIEW: Wisconian Deletables' Apple of My Eye Chips

Today I bring to you a review for a local product, made here fresh in Wisconsin- Wisconian Delectables' Apple of My Eye Chips. Wisconian Delectables makes at least a dozen different chips flavors (and salsas too), but since I've always had an affinity for sweet over salty flavors (of which WD has varieties of both), I pleaded with my parents to pick this certain type of chip up when we stopped at Wisconian Delectables' stand at the Kenosha HarborMarket. One 9 oz. bag of chips costs $6.00. You can purchase Wisconian Delectable's products at the several locations listed here.

REVIEW: Slice of NY Pizzeria

There are quite a few pizza joints in Kenosha that have been around for a long, long time. Take Tenuta's, for example: It first opened its doors in 1950... That's older than the Beatles! I mean, people were just starting to wear poodle skirts and leather jackets and all that. The general public would still have to wait one more year before I Love Lucy even aired. So yeah, places like Tenuta's have been around for a long time. There's Valeo's Pizza too.. been in operation for more than 40 years. Gee, 1950s... 1970s... We're talking places where my parents could remember getting food from when they were kids! Yikes! Slice of NY, however, is like an infant in Kenosha terms. It's only been open since March of last year. That doesn't mean that Slice of NY has been treated like some pathetic rookie thus far though. Imagine if allllll the pizzerias in Kenosha went to high school together: You might think Slice of NY is the sad little freshmen who gets stuffed into lockers by the big tough seniors, like Tenuta's and Valeo's, but this isn't the case. Slice of NY is actually like that freshmen who's gaining popularity extremely fast- even bolstering a rep comparable to the seniors already! Why? Well, Slice of NY- if the name doesn't give it away already- serves up authentic, by-the-slice, New York-style pizza. This freshmen has a personality totally original to Kenosha High, one the likes of which the school has never housed before. And it's about time this reviewer gets her chance to meet this up-and-coming freshie.

REVIEW: Trolley Dogs

Trolley Dogs is a small corner restaurant located in downtown Kenosha, which has been selling delicious hot dogs since 2003. All of their hot dogs are made with Fresh Vienna JUMBO Dogs, and are served up in many different styles: There's the classic Chicago Dog, the savory Chili Dog, the Kenosha Dog (a hot dog with cheese), the meaty Bacon Dog, an Octo-Dog for the kids, and even the eponymous Trolley Dog, which is a tamale and a hot dog all together in the same bun! Today, my Dad took my brother and me to Trolley Dogs for dinner. Even with all the unique hot doggy options on the menu, I wasn't feeling in the weenie mood, so I purchased an Italian Beef for $5.00.

Birthday Bash at the Tuscany Bistro Bar & Grill!

Hey, everyone! I'm so, so sorry I haven't written in so long... It's just that... Thursday was my birthday, and that's always a busy time, and I was sick that very day, along with the day after, so I was just too tired to work the cogs in my brain and type something up... And on Saturday, although I was feeling a lot better by then, a bunch of my friends and I went to Six Flags in Illinois to celebrate my birthday, and we didn't get back till' late... and Sunday...Well, I don't really have an excuse for Sunday. But it was Sunday, so uh... remember the Sabbath Day by keeping it holy or whatever?

But I'm back now! So don't fret! I really do apologize for the long hiatus, but I figure it's better late than never to get back into the swing of things and start working on a brand-new post! And since it was my big day just last Thursday, I thought I'd tell all of you dear readers how it turned out! I promised myself up and down the night before my birthday that when tomorrow came, I wouldn't worry about what I ate in the slightest. I figured if there was any day to go hog-wild on junk food (or any kind of food you want, really), it might as well be your birthday! You should do what makes you happy on your birthday, right? You don't want to go to bed that night thinking, "I could've done things different...", do you? I sure didn't! I hate lame birthdays with a passion! If your special day is lame, you've defeated the whole purpose of remembering your birthday in the first place! So, I vowed to make that Thursday as anti-lame as humanly possible!!!
Within reason, anyway...

I started my morning with a biiiiiiig bowl of cereal. It was a more indulgent take on my famous Yogurt Bowl than I'm used to creating. I didn't measure anything out at all- something I wouldn't even think of doing any other day. And instead of using just Fiber One for my cereal, I also threw in a couple good handfuls of Life, one of those rare cereals that actually tastes better in milk. I added in a plain Chobani yogurt, a whole bunch of cool, creamy milk, some Splenda, some vanilla flavoring, and a pinch of cinnamon. I even mixed in some Cool Whip Free for a tasty treat! And then I threw in some ice cubes, since I love it when my Yogurt Bowl is freezing cold. I ate this along with a Vanilla coffee, flavored with more milk, Cool Whip, and Splenda! What a great way to mix breakfast up a bit! It was very sweet, and a lot more decadent a Yogurt Bowl than I'm traditionally used to eating.

Happy Memorial Day!

Hey everyone: Happy Memorial Day to you all! What are you guys' plans for the day? Grilling out? Sadly, today is a rather dreary and rainy day here in K-Town. My phone says its only gonna be around 55 degrees Fahrenheit all day, and calls for at least a 30% chance of rain throughout this Memorial Day Monday. That's not gonna stop us from grilling out though, no sir! My Dad wanted to do a pork tenderloin for today, but I was like, "No, we should do burgers! Doesn't that sound more Memorial Day-ish?"
Apparently, Dad liked that idea well enough, since that's what were cooking out tonight!

Taste-Testing at the Kenosha HarborMarket Pt. 2

Hey, everyone! I'm continuing where I left off in my previous post, detailing my wild taste-testing adventures at the Kenosha HarborMarket. Click here if you missed Part 1! Now, the wonderful world of fresh Wisconsin cuisine awaits!

Taste-Testing at the Kenosha HarborMarket Pt. 1

This weekend, I headed back to the Kenosha HarborMarket with Mama, since she told me she has never been there before. Well, we've got to fix that, ASAP! And what better time to head out than during the HarborMarket's 10th Anniversary Celebration? Although we still couldn't spend an infinite amount of time there like I would've wanted to (we had to get new grass seed put down before the rain came), I think I still got the gist of it all.
So, what's the difference between the outdoors and indoors markets? Well, the outdoors version is HUGE!!! Just look at those tents stretch on and on...

A Trip to the Kenosha HarborMarket

Today, Dad took my little brother and I downtown to stop at the Kenosha HarborMarket. We were only dropping by to pick up some farm-fresh eggs for the week, but I decided that the least I could do was take a few pictures to show you guys what the market has to offer!

REVIEW: The Soup Depot

Hey, everyone! Today's post is another local Ri-view (Haha, get it? Ri. View. Cuz' my name is Ri. And I'm reviewing... Yeahhhh, you get it). This time, Sweet and SavoRi's spotlight is on Kenosha's very own Soup Depot, a cute little cafe that sells dozens of different sandwiches (I counted 38 cold ones, 5 hot) and a bunch of other menu items. They also have a big breakfast menu with omelettes, egg sandwiches, and sides. Best part? Breakfast can be ordered all day! (Yes!!! Does anyone else think it's awesome when restaurants do that?!) The Soup Depot also specializes in- you guessed it- soup. They make a few different batches of homemade soup fresh every day. This means that, some days, you might be able to get something like Clam Chowder, while other times, you may not. But don't get mad if you walk in and find the soup you want is unavailable- Soup Depot has a list of which soups are served which days here.

Tenuta's Take-N-Bake Pizza

It's Friday night, and you're dying for a good slice of pizza. Where do you go? Enter Kenosha, Wisconsin- a cornucopia of pizzerias galore. Although, to be frank, the town is as cold as hell more than half of the year, and plenty enough of my friends complain there's nothing to do, Kenosha has its good points: one is that there are more than a dozen of authentic, traditional pizzerias. Yes, you could order from Papa John's or Domino's or Pizza Hut here, but why would you? That would be like going to, say, Italy and stopping at Olive Garden for lunch. Get what I mean? Anyway, today was Friday, and it's become a family tradition to get pizza every Friday night. This time, my family and I decided to drive over to Tenuta's Delicattessan to grab some take-n-bake pizza. Sure, at first, take-n-bake might seem a bit tedious... Having pizza delivered seems so much faster and convenient. BUT... Tenuta's has some of the best pizza I have ever tasted (yes, I've had it numerous times), so I'm willing to bear with the whole cooking-in-my-own-oven thing.