Restaurant Review: Pies-On

The Atmosphere
Walking into Pies-On is like venturing back into the 80s—I loved it. The off-white and black checkered linoleum floors, wooden S-shaped booths, tables with red vinyl chairs and mural of the Brooklyn bridge on the wall conjured up my idea of what a New York-style pizzeria would have looked like twenty years ago. Anyone and everyone would be comfortable, and welcomed, here. How could you not feel at home when you hear the best of the 80s is coming through the stereo?

The Service
Pies-On is the type of place you order, sit down and the kitchen staff brings your piping hot pizza pies and steaming calzones to your table.

That being said, everyone was sincerely nice, even when we were the last two people to leave right at 10:00 p.m.

The Food
The menu isn’t limited, but it doesn’t have everything under the sun. I like that about Pies-On. Items are mostly Italian although there are a few American standards like chicken fingers and fries.

Pies-On’s menu is severely reasonably priced. The most expensive item is a large “The Works” pizza for $22. A 10-inch cheese pizza is only $5, and the crust here is much, much better than Domino’s, Pizza Hut or any other chain. You’re getting far more for your money here.

I ordered a 10-inch pizza with ham, bacon and pineapple (my version of a Hawaiian) and a stromboli. My counterpart ordered a 10-inch pepperoni pizza and a pepperoni and cheese calzone.

The calzone and stromboli arrived first. First glance at the stromboli’s crust and I had a good feeling. It had been sprinkled with cheese, herbs and garlic before steaming its way to our table. The calzone was given the same royal treatment.

Sausage, pepperoni, mozzarella cheese, peppers, onions and mushrooms were wrapped in hot, very hot, pizza dough. I knew the moment took a bite of the stromboli I was in love. The interior was juicy without making the exterior dough soggy. It was so good the next day at work my thoughts were consumed by this Italian turnover.

The calzone was filled to the brim with ricotta cheese, mozzarella cheese and pepperoni. I snagged this baby and ate it, along with the left over stromboli, for lunch the next day. It was so, so good. Neither the stromboli nor the calzone needed the accompanying marinara sauce.

The “Hawaiian” and pepperoni pizzas arrived so hot we had to wait a few minutes before chowing down. My cheesy pizza was topped with pineapple, ham and bacon. The best part? Definitely the bacon. It clearly had been chopped and the fat rendered prior to being put on the pizza. No Bacon Bits here.

The Verdict

Though I don’t live in Goose Creek, if you’re looking for pizza in that part of town this is definitely the place you need to go. Unpretentious and inexpensive, Pies-On packs a lot of flavor into everything it makes. This hole in the wall pizza joint goes to show you don’t need to charge an arm and a leg to make people happy and, most importantly, make good food.

Restaurant Review: Bricco Bracco

You can also read this review of Bricco Bracco on my weekly column on Mount Pleasant Patch.com

 You’ll be greeted by the warmth of the kitchen and the smell of garlic as soon as you walk through the doors of Bricco Bracco, the Italian restaurant located at 1161 Basketweave Drive in Mount Pleasant.

The Atmosphere

Bricco Bracco offers a comfortable and unpretentious atmosphere. The open kitchen in the back of the restaurant sends periodic wafts of Italian fare over the heads of its patrons. Though the restaurant has a family feel to it, it’s equally appropriate for date night.

The Service

The staff here is to be applauded. During my visit my entrée took almost 30 minutes to appear after my Caesar Salad. The waitress handled the situation quite well.  Our water glasses were never empty and despite being busy for a Wednesday night we were not forgotten. On several occasions the manager stepped in to freshly grind black pepper and ask if he could get us anything. Our waitress also had a great sense of humor and even appreciated my deadpan sarcasm, responding by leaving a playful note on my delicious leftovers.

The Food

Make no mistake; this isn’t an old-world style Italian restaurant. There are a few nods to traditional Italian cuisine with dishes like Veal Saltimbocca, Chicken Marsala and Eggplant Parmesan on the menu, but Bricco Bracco balances its offerings with more modern plates, too, like Spaghetti with Veal Meatballs and some in-house creations.

I began the meal with a Caesar Salad. The dressing was good, albeit disappointing. The menu promised anchovies and I didn’t detect the fish’s brininess whatsoever. The dressing was also more pesto-like than Caesar-like and the croutons were stale.

Waiting 30 minutes between courses in a small restaurant on a Wednesday night isn’t exactly a deal breaker, but it’s unwelcome. However, all of my sourness disappeared after one bite of my Salmon Bricco Bracco: pan seared salmon atop a very healthy serving of tomato basil risotto with essence of basil and French fried leeks.

There are a few dishes that indicate the quality of your kitchen staff. If you’re in a French restaurant it’s soufflé. In an Italian restaurant it’s risotto. It’s a dish that requires patience and timing. It’s not a dish that every one makes well. Bricco Bracco makes fantastic risotto. Risotto so fantastic that it may just be worth a 30-minute wait. The classic combination of tomato and basil skyrockets to a whole new level when it’s no longer limited to a caprese salad. It tastes like all the best parts of a tomato; there’s the tiniest bit of vine-ripened sweetness and a touch of tomato’s ubiquitous acidity at play in this dish. Both are brought out by subtle hints of basil. The pan seared salmon was well cooked. I appreciated that Bricco Bracco kept the salmon’s seasonings simple and let the fish’s natural fattiness and flavors shine instead of competing with the tomato basil risotto. The French fried leeks were a nice touch (although not really needed) but I won’t say no to something fried.

My friend, who tagged along for the evening, ordered the Bruschetta Pizza. As a vegetarian, she seemed pleased with the meat-free options on the menu. The Bruschetta Pizza was good: crispy pizza crust topped with plum tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, arugula, Bermuda onions and a drizzle of balsamic vinegar. Everything was fresh and had a lot of flavor. 

The Verdict

Bricco Bracco is a good casual Italian restaurant that caters to families with children and to couples who are out for a “just us two” meal. The menu isn’t adventurous but the traditional flavors of Italy are absolutely present in their dishes. If everything is as good as the Salmon Bricco Bracco, this may be my new favorite Italian restaurant.

 

The Perfect St. Patrick's Day Dinner

The average American consumer 23 pounds of pizza per year. You know why-- because it is beer's best friend. Obviously that means it is the perfect St. Patty's Day dinner. If you're not drinking beer (cough Guinness) today there are only a handful of acceptable excuses: you're pregnant, you're under 21, or you're drinking Irish whiskey instead.

Women are twice as likely to choose vegetables for their pizza's toppings, so it should come as no surprise that my St. Patty's Day pie was 100 percent vegetarian. Crispy thin pizza crust topped with yellow tomatoes, French green beans, mushrooms, caramelized balsamic red onions, fresh mozzarella cheese and freshly shaved Parmesano Reggiano right as it came out of the oven. Who wouldn't want this with a celebratory green beer?

Irish you a Happy St. Patty's Day!