Wang's Taiwan Beef Noodle House

Suddenly and surprisingly, Shanghai Village packed it in about 4 months ago. Although they were slightly a step below the big boys in Richmond, it was a good alternative for those in Vancouver. Then almost just as fast, Wang's Taiwan Beef Noodle House sprouted up in the same location. Since we had to pay a visit to Viv's great-grandma nearby, it was a good time to grab some eats at Wang's afterwards. With some subtle renovations, the place is practically the same except missing the large round tables. They are now all lengthwise tables, which makes sharing food not as convenient. No matter, I guess by virtue of being a Taiwanese beef noodle house, most people would be eating their own meal. And that is what Viv's mom did exactly. She got an order of the Spicy Beef Brisket Noodles for herself. Now I'm not sure why all these TBN (Taiwanese Beef Noodle) joints keep using "brisket" in the menu description because the meat was clearly beef shank. The Chinese description does not mention what type of beef is in the noodles though. As for this bowl of noodles, the soup base wasn't particularly flavourful nor beefy. However, it was surely spicy. In fact, with the right spoonful of broth, it got downright tongue-numbing. However, once the chili oil got a bit low, the soup wasn't as spicy. The beef was really tender and moist; yet curiously bland. The noodles themselves were cooked properly
toothsome.

Now for the regular Beef Brisket Noodles, they were of course not brisket. Yet once again, they were moist and in fact, the gelatinous tendon in the shank was pretty good. It practically melted without the need to chew. The soup base, without the benefit of the chili oil, was flat. Actually, the soup was dominated by the pickled mustard greens which made it too sour. That was not a pleasant taste. I like my mustard greens in TBN, but I don't want it as the main flavour. Noodles were good though. Whenever I'm at a Taiwanese restaurant, a plate of offal is usually in the cards. So, I went for the 3 Marinated Meats Plate which included pork intestine, tripe and sliced beef shank. This was pretty average at best. First of all, the meats were served far too warm, so the intestine and tripe were basically mush. That also indicates that they were cooked too long as well. Normally, there is a sauce drizzled on top; yet in this version, the braising liquid acted as the sauce. The whole thing became watery. The sliced beef shank was okay though.

Another appie was the Green Onion Pancake Beef Roll. It was made with the same sliced beef shank, so that part was okay; but the pancake itself was a touch dense. Not a big deal though since it was thin and pan-fried nicely. It could've used a bit more hoisin though. Viv's mom ordered the Fried Tofu and at first thought it would be a boring dish. Although, it wasn't exactly exciting, it was executed properly. The tofu was fried perfectly crisp on the outside and was silky on the inside. The accompanying dip was a bit weak since it was mostly sweet. Would've been nicer if it had more of a salty kick since tofu is really a blank canvas.

By virtue of not being a Shanghainese restaurant, we were not expecting much out of the Xiao Long Bao. And it delivered more or less what we expected. The dumpling skin was on the thicker side and doughy while there was a complete absence of soup inside. The meat was not too bad though. It wasn't gritty and did have some resemblance of meat flavour. Yet, there was no mistaking that these were not Shanghainese XLBs. Strangely, these compared similarly to the ones I had at The Shanghai Kitchen... Which doesn't bode well for The Shanghai Kitchen I guess. Whereas the XLB was nothing to write home about, the Potstickers were pretty decent. Presented in the classic long Taiwanese-style, they were pan-fried nicely on the bottom. Moreover, the dumpling skin was not thick at all which made these easy to eat. The meat filling was quite nice. It was substantial while not being heavy either. It was not gritty and there was enough seasoning which made the dumpling good on its own without the need for any vinegar.

As for the kiddies, we got them an order of the Soup Noodles with Fried Chicken Leg. Arriving first was the bowl of thin noodles in a light broth. The broth itself wasn't too bad considering that there was no meat in the bowl to help it out. Although it could be a bit bland for some, it worked out okay for the kids. The thin noodles were a bit softer than the thick ones; yet wasn't a big deal for the kids. I probably would've liked them more chewy. The fried chicken served on a separate plate was "interesting". They essentially deboned a chicken leg and fried all the pieces up with a lot of flour and/or starch. Then they also fried up the bones, which yielded very little meat. Now about that meat, it was obvious they had cooked the chicken prior to frying it. The result was very dry chicken with no juices to speak of. We actually liked the crisp exterior and the seasoning; however, the dry chicken ruined it all. The precooking of the chicken is a shortcut that shouldn't be used. If they had fried the chicken from raw, this would've actually been very good due to the crispy exterior. This pretty much summed up the food here at Wang's. In a city full of Taiwanese joints, Wang's was a bit hit and miss for us. There was too much "averageness" to elicit any excitement from anybody. With that being said, the food wasn't terrible. So it is an option for people in the area looking for a quick meal. However, if one was mobile and willing to travel, there are better choices in Richmond and Burnaby.

The Good:
- Prices are okay
- Service was okay for us
- Seating is spacious

The Bad:
- Food is so-so

Pizzeria Farina

Fads. We saw it in the 90's with bubble tea and those silly po' boy hats in the early 2000's (I still have one!) More recently, we have a noodle fest with ramen. At least for BBT, fad would not
necessarily be the correct term since it is still very much with us and so is ramen. Yet, the whole phenomenon of multiple restaurants opening up serving the same thing trying to one-up each other can be "fad-like". The latest one would definitely be the Neapolitan-style pizza. With choices such as Nicli Antica, The BiBo and Verace, there has never been so many wood-burning oven thin-crust pizzas available in Vancouver. The latest to join the fray is Pizzeria Farina located in the Cobalt Hotel. Yes, that is not a typo. It really is located in the Cobalt! That information really troubled both Rich Guy and Snake. It was particularly a concern for Rich Guy since he and dives go together like a calm shopping experience and Stupidstore. Nonetheless, I dragged them both including willing diners, Costanza and Vandelay, down to Pizzeria Farina.

Make no mistake about the place. It is truly basic with a simple menu, communal seating and order at the counter protocol. This results in a much more reasonable price compared to the other joints. Another thing you won't find here is fancy ingredients such as San Marzano tomatoes or buffalo mozzarella. Nor do they have a wood-burning oven. No frills, no gimmicks. They make due with what they have, which makes it incredibly impressive that their Pizza Margherita is the best I've had to date in Vancouver. The crust was very crisp and thin hot out of the oven. It was consistent in texture from the middle out to the edge. There was a decent amount of charring (or leoparding) on the bottom and edges of the crust. The crust was actually flavourful on its own since it was properly salted. As for the tomato sauce, it exhibited a good balance of flavours with just enough tartness. The fresh basil and drizzle of olive oil completed the package. No offense to the other pizzerias (they are good in their own right), but I just personally like the one here more.

Snake and Costanza both had the Finocchiona consisting of fennel sausage, provolone, Parmesan and spicy peppers. This one was much more complex in flavours compared to the Margherita. The liquorice-ness given off by the fennel combined with the saltiness of the Parmesan really worked with the spicy peppers. Lots of "pop" from this pizza. Since Rich Guy had the Margherita as well, I was praying that Vandelay would order something different. He came through with the Calabrese which was topped with Soppressata and Nicoise olives. This was another flavourful pizza due to the saltiness of both the soppressata and olives. Combined with the same great tomato sauce and crust, I enjoyed the slice that Vandelday graciously offered to me. Similarly to Nicli Antica, Chili Infused as well as Oregano Infused Olive Oil were available table side. We all agreed that they were impactful and added much to the pizzas. In the end, even Rich Guy conceded that this was some fine pizza even though he would've never visited the place on his own. I'm not sure what the future holds for Pizzeria Farina because The Cobalt has seen better days (or has it?). Are they going to stay at this location or will they relocate? One thing is for sure - if they keep doing what they are doing and maintain their current pricing, this is not only the best Neapolitan pizza in town, it is also the least expensive too.

The Good:
- Outstanding crust
- Inexpensive
- Does one thing and does it well

The Bad:
- Interesting location which is a very small
- Parking in the area sucks

McDonald's Fruit and Maple Oatmeal

Oatmeal and McD's, that really doesn't roll off the tongue does it? Since I can remember, healthy and McDonald's went together like a shoulder check and Richmond. But more recently, we have seen things like salads, grilled chicken and other healthier alternatives at McD's. Are all of them good? Well, let's just say I personally prefer the fried and really artery-clogging versions more. C'mon! It's McD's... A supersized Filet-O-Fish meal please! However, the ad agency representing McDonald's Canada keeps sending me coupons to try their new items. This time, it was their new Fruit and Maple Oatmeal featuring Quaker Oats. Long ago, I was into the instant Quaker Oats for Breaky because it was fast and somewhat healthy... until I took a look at the sugar content... Sure, there was "regular" without sugar, but that tasted like wallpaper paste (and I've tried that since some fell in my mouth whilst wallpapering... ewww...).

So I went in with no real high expectations since McD's uses the same instant oatmeal albeit with the addition of dried cranberries, golden raisins and apples. Viv and I agreed that the fruit was a real plus since it added real flavour to the plain oatmeal. We also liked that the brown sugar was served on the side so we could adjust the level of sweetness. Hey, this oatmeal wasn't bad. I'd pay the $1.99 for it if I was at a McD's. However, you can't honestly believe that I was merely satisfied by a cup of oatmeal while there right??? I picked up an Egg McMuffin and one with sausage as the main course too. LOL... For some reason, no matter how hard I try to make it at home, it doesn't quite taste like the original.

For the kiddies, I got them their favourite which is the McGriddle. For me, I'm indifferent because of the sweet pancake type bun. There are times I don't mind it and then sometimes I could do without the syrup bursts. My kids like sugar, so it works for them. Let me just throw this out there... The sausage patty at McD's is darn tasty despite the obvious fat content. I've never come across one at any supermarket that really compares. Better leave it that way I suppose. I do want to live. Okay, maybe I'll just stick to the oatmeal next time. Damn conscience!

Rockford Revisited

Rockford again? Did our car break down in front? Or was I in search of the Canadian version of PF Chang's? Neither. After my original post, I was contacted by Rockford's corporate executive chef Harley Darnel. He was pretty concerned that our large party did not enjoy our food that night. I must give it to him that he stood behind his food and offered his apologies regarding the rice. He assured me that they do indeed know how to make rice and what I had that night was a one-off. He then invited me to come back on their coin. He would be there and the manager on duty would be aware as well. Furthermore, he added there was no pressure to blog about it whether it was good or not. As much as the offer was generous, I thought the visit might be a bit too contrived. Hence, I suggested he just send me a gift card (so I could visit randomly) and not only would Viv and I return to give it another shot, we'd bring Costanza and Elaine as well (since they were there for the original visit). A few more opinions and different tastes would make it fair.

So just like last time, we brought the kiddies with us. Despite the snazzy decor and hip atmosphere, the place is kid-friendly believe it or not. They don't outwardly advertise it, but they have a children's menu. Now for full disclosure, we were given a $100.00 gift card to use on this meal. Since we wanted to try more than just an entree each, we ended up exceeding the gift card by over $60.00 including tip and tax (which we paid for ourselves). Now as for the food itself, we had 3 appies starting with the Crisp Lettuce Cups. This consisted of minced pork with vegetables, hoisin sauce, crushed peanuts and crispy noodles served with butter lettuce. Personally, I love butter lettuce, yet for this application, iceberg would've probably worked better. The reason for this was twofold. First, iceberg would've been actually crisp unlike the smooth butter lettuce. Second, the filling had far too much moisture. The sauce was thickened, so it wasn't exactly watery, but it easily leaked out of the lettuce wraps we made. It was too bad really because the filling actually tasted quite good. Moreover, the minced pork was moist while the corn added a nice texture and sweetness. Our second appie was the Palmito Dip consisting of hearts of palm, spinach, soy beans and three cheeses mixed with charred tomato salsa and served with crisp tortilla chips. For me, this reminded me of Milestone's spinach & artichoke dip to a degree. The dip itself was cheesy and quite pleasant in texture and taste. The freshly fried large tortilla chips were indeed crispy albeit slightly greasy. The Rock Salt Five Spice Wings served with chipotle mayo was probably the best of our appies. Although they were a touch on the dry side, the flavours were spot-on. There was just enough five spice to create that distinctive flavour without going overboard.

On my previous post on Rockford, I had forgotten a dish which was had by all the kiddies and by another adult at the table. This time around, the kiddies had it again. The dish in question was the Fettuccine Alfredo. The picture shown is of the regular-sized portion which curiously was not much larger than the kid's version except for the addition of a grilled chicken breast. We found this to be a very creamy, yet mild dish. The kiddies seemed to like it, so who are we to judge? Onto our mains, Costanza went for the Kung Pao Chicken, which allowed us to try the steamed rice again. Well, I'll admit it, the rice was better this time. It was slightly chewy, not dry and did not clump together. As for the chicken, it was moist while the veggies were crisp. The sauce had a bit of a kick and overall, this was a decent North Americanized version of kung pao chicken (if not a tad too saucy). Viv ended up with the Mongolian Beef Noodles consisting of seared beef, bell peppers, carrots, bean sprouts, bok choy, fresh ginger, green onions and chow mein noodles in a black bean-hoisin sauce. While the individual parts of the dish were prepared correctly, such as the crisp veggies, tender beef and slightly chewy noodles, the sauce was quite salty. A little less seasoning and this would've been alright. Now Elaine's order of Mushroom Chicken which was a pan seared double breast topped with a portobello, shiitake and crimini mushroom cream with fresh basil and spinach, wild rice, broccolini and grape tomatoes, was a touch too mild for her liking. On the bright side, the chicken was seared nicely while being tender and the veggies were vibrant. However, there was just a bit too much sauce, it completely drowned the mash potatoes. If I had to draw a parallel here, the Portobello Mushroom Chicken at Milestone's has a much more balanced flavour profile.

For myself, I had to give their Bacon & Blue Cheese Burger a try. Costanza wasn't too impressed last time due to the dry egg bun and dry burger patty. For me, the burger patty was not too bad. It wasn't exactly juicy, yet it wasn't dry either. The bacon was crisp and the blue cheese provided all the sharp flavour. However, the bun was indeed a bit dry. On the other hand, Costanza did concede that if the bun was too soft, it would fall apart. The accompanying Yam Fries were good though. They were crispy outside and soft inside. Lastly, despite the large number of dishes which had practically made us burst at the seems, I had to get an order of their Fried Rice. You see, on our last visit, it was one of the worst renditions of restaurant wok-fried rice we've ever had. This time around, it was much better. Now, it will never be confused with fried rice ordered at a Chinese restaurant, but that is not the intention here at Rockford. With that in mind, the rice was chewy, veggies were crisp and it wasn't oily. It was, however, still quite mild. I decided to used some soy sauce and that seemed to help alleviate the problem.

So was our 2nd visit to Rockford better? Well yes. It couldn't have been any worse than the first time. The most important thing is that the rice was much improved. To be honest, all of us at the meal were probably not Rockford's intended clientele. We're Asian after all and we do know our Asian food. So were we too critical? Probably. Yet, in a city that boasts some of the best Asian food around, any establishment with even the slightest hint of Asian influences needs to step it up in order to compete. So there is really no choice but to compare even if we didn't want to. In all honestly, even though this visit was better, there wasn't enough here to make me want to return.

The Good:
- Service is good, just like last time
- Hip decor and ambiance
- Validated parking

The Bad:
- Other than the standard dishes (ie. wings, burger etc...), I still believe food needs some tweaking
- It's not cheap (but not dissimilar to any other chain restaurant)

The Flying Pig

"The Flying Pig" answered Vandelay when queried about eats. Oh, the one in Gastown right? "No, the one in Yaletown". Okay, we're not talking about The Greedy Pig... So they serve pork and ribs and such yah? Nope. Nothing could be further from the truth. In fact, there was only one pork dish on the menu if I recall. Then why the name? Well, the proprietors, John Crook and Erik Heck believe that much like a flying pig, they want the impossible to be possible. In this case, employing seasonal ingredients in a simple, yet focused menu all prepared in a open kitchen. That sounded good to Rich Guy and myself, so we met up with Vandelay for lunch.

We started with a few appies including the Devilled Jumbo Chicken Drumettes. These were actually chicken drumsticks that had been baked until the meat fell off the bone. The meat was a bit too cooked for our tastes, which ended up to be slightly dry. The srirracha BBQ glaze was sweet with a hint of spice and smokiness. The srirracha content was modest which suited us fine really because too much and it overwhelms everything. We found the side of Parmesan basil sour cream dip to be fantastic. It was flavourful and had a cooling effect on the meat and went really well with the crisp celery sticks. Our other appie was one of the featured items (which sold out shortly after we ordered it) being the Quadra Island Honey Mussels in a lamb sausage and spinach broth. We really liked the large plump mussels. They were fresh and naturally sweet. However, the broth was pretty one-dimensional exhibiting a predominant white wine flavour. The broth could've benefited from more influence from the slightly spicy lamb sausage. The accompanying matchstick frites were reminiscent of Hickory Stix, which were fun to eat, if not a bit clumsy.

For my main, I went for the Shortrib Rigatoni with Cabernet mushroom cream. This was very well-executed dish. The pasta exhibited an al dente bite that was perfectly firm. It was bathed in a rich meaty sauce that had loads of depth. There was only subtle red wine presence which allowed the natural meat flavour and Earthiness of the mushrooms to be at the forefront. The super tender shortrib required very little effort to eat and was not in the least stringy. Add in the vibrant and crisp broccolini, this was indeed as perfect as a pasta dish could be. Rich Guy went for the Pan Seared Queen Charlotte Halibut with crispy gnocchi and Chilliwack corn nage. The halibut had a nice crispy sear on the outside and was actually quite flavourful. The flesh was on the drier side, but that is almost unavoidable with halibut. As for the gnocchi, it was slightly dense, yet that didn't bother me since I prefer it over the really fluffy kind. For me, it had a nice bite and a great crispy exterior. However, what brought this dish all together was the sweet creamy corn nage. It was delicately sweet which really complimented the gnocchi and the fish.

Vandelay also had fish with the featured Arctic Char. It was accompanied by mash potatoes and broccolini. For me, I found the fish to be slightly past perfectly cooked. However, Vandelay didn't mind it and in the end, it was still moist (personally, I just like my fish a little rare). It was decently seasoned with a beautiful sear. I really liked the mash potatoes because it actually tasted like potatoes with random soft chunks. It wasn't too creamy nor buttery which was good. The broccolini was perfectly cooked and vibrant in appearance. And then at the end of the meal, I pulled a Mijune and couldn't resist dessert. I decided to go for their TFP Drumstick, which serves to emulate the popular ice cream cone found in supermarkets. Predictably, theirs was far superior with a freshly made crisp waffle cone, chocolate and vanilla ice cream, chocolate sauce, caramel and pistachios. I really liked the combination of crunchy pistachios, smooth ice cream and light waffle cone. In fact, all of us enjoyed our meal at The Flying Pig. Reasonably-priced given its location and good food to boot too.

The Good:
- Reasonably-priced given its location
- Service was friendly, despite our missing bread until we asked for it
- Simple, focused menu

The Bad:
- Seating arrangements are very tight
- The proteins could've been a shade less cooked

Bluefin

I'm not sure what possessed me to book a 6:30am flight leaving San Diego. I suppose on one hand it was the great package deal and on the other, I am a masochist of some sort. Think of it. Not only did I have to wake up at an unholy hour of 3:30am; but we had to wake up the kids too. 2 cranky kids in the early morning, dragging our sorry asses to the airport. To think of it, I'd much rather have a case of jock itch with my hands tied behind my back. At the very least, I wouldn't need to carry 4 pieces of luggage all by myself. So we did it. We made it to Sea-Tac in relatively once piece (with my daughter the only one being grouchy). Grabbed the car from Park 'n Fly and headed off in search of eats. Hey, what did you think we were going to do? Drive home right away??? At this point, we were in no mood for anything related to breakfast, brunch or American food. Been there, done that many times over in San Diego. What we needed was Asian cuisine pronto. Wait. We were in Seattle. Um... That is not as easy as in Vancouver. Sure, there is good stuff to be found, there just isn't a lot of it. So we settled on mediocre Asian food and a buffet at that. See what I said about being a masochist?

Back in early July, we had been in Seattle for an impromptu shopping trip and while at Northgate, I spotted this sushi buffet joint. It looked very busy and it piqued my interest. Now for the disclaimer: I realize that a buffet is never a great way to experience sushi or many other types of food for all-that-matters. However, we were hungry and this was convenient. While we were waiting in line to be seated, I graciously informed the host that there was a party in front of us and they should be seated first. I know the group behind us saw this; but decided to not say anything when they were seated before us! And we weren't in Richmond either! Some people... I'll just let karma do its work. Anyways, once we were seated, I took a look at what was available and there was an impressive array of Nigiri and Maki Sushi. For the nigiri, there was a selection which included Ika, Wakame, Mackerel, Salmon, Tuna, Tai, Ebi, Tamago, Tako, Inari and Avocado with Tobiko. Now, I wouldn't classify the nigiri as good sushi, rather it was your typical serve-yourself-buffet nigiri. I found the rice to be rather dry while the fish was acceptable for what it was. 

As for the maki sushi, there were the usual variety with some more deluxe rolls as well. The standard stuff included California Roll, Bacon & Asparagus Roll, Cucumber Roll, Futomaki and Spicy Tuna. The really interesting stuff was their specialty rolls which consisted of Caterpillar (California roll with avocado and sauce), Vegetable (pink soy wrap, carrot oshinko, pickle & spinach) Seared Ebi (California Roll with ebi on top), Philly (cream cheese, tuna with avocado on top), Tempura Shrimp (California roll with shrimp, unagi sauce & tobiko), Seared Salmon (California roll with seared salmon and sauce), Unagi Creamy Roll (Unagi, tamago with unagi and sauce on top) and Mixed Tempura (basically various rolls coated with tempura batter and fried). I wouldn't say any of the rolls were that great while they weren't awful either. Best description would be a wide range of interesting mediocre sushi.

One item that I went back for seconds was the Marinated Jellyfish which sat right next to the Spicy Noodle Salad and Cold Soba. The 2 noodles were not too bad while the jellyfish had the right texture and was a bit spicy. Moving along to the Chinese food station, there was Seafood Fried Rice which was bland, Soy Fried Chow Mein which was dry, Shanghai Bak Choy, Peking Pork Chops which were tender with a good balance of sweet and tart, Steamed Fish which was moist and seasoned properly, Kung Pao Chicken which was mild yet moist, Fried Squid which was chewy, Orange Chicken which was also tender but needed more tartness, Braised Brisket and Tendon which were tender yet underseasoned, Fried Cod which was dry, Honey Garlic Ribs, Ma Po Tofu which was bland, Fried Shrimp and Fried Chicken Wings.

At the Korean food station, we found some Japanese items mixed in as well including Tempura where the batter was too thick and the sauce was too sweet, Chicken Katsu which was juicy and crispy on the outside, too bad the sauce tasted like Kraft BBQ, Teriyaki Chicken which was okay but a tad dry, Korean Pancake which was also alright but a bit eggy, Sukiyaki which had good flavour, Gyoza which were decent, Spicy Beef Soup which was indeed spicy and quite flavourful and various Banchan (seaweed, sprouts, radish and kimchi). For some reason, I neglected to take a picture of the various salads (maybe it was on purpose...). These included Tomato, Jicama, Cucumber & Seaweed, Honey Walnut & Arugula, Cold Tofu and the best one - Gomae Green Beans. It was a simple salad consisting of crunchy green beans tossed in a black sesame dressing. Another station that I did not take a picture of was the "Build-Your-Own-Udon" bar. There was various ingredients one could add to a made-to-order udon. I skipped this because eating a whole bowl of udon would defeat the purpose of a buffet.

Lastly, there was whole island dedicated to Desserts and a counter behind it with fresh fruit and soft-serve ice cream. The desserts consisted of Chocolate Cake, Cheesecake, Mango Mousse Cake, Coffee Cake, Cream Puffs, Matcha Mousse Cake, Blueberry Cake and Chocolate Brownie. None were really all that memorable and merely existed to fill the sweets void. In fact, the meal was pretty average at best. However, if we consider the huge spread of diverse food, Bluefin does have its clientele. I wouldn't put it high on my list, yet it did the job for me in this particular case.

The Good:
- Variety
- Reasonably-priced (very fair on the kid pricing based on height)
- Buffet stations are well-designed and roomy

The Bad:
- As expected, most of the food is mediocre

Lefty's Chicago Pizzeria

Once again, we needed some quick food that the kids were willing to eat. You see, we were scheduled to leave on a 6:30am flight the next morning. That meant a super early bedtime for everyone. In theory at least... Try to get 2 wired kids to go to bed at 7:00pm... Anyways, the decision was to pick up some pizza from Lefty's Chicago Pizzeria just down the street from Urban Solace. This was the second time we had swung by for some pizza for the kiddies on our trip to San Diego. The first time was at Bronx Pizza which, as the name implies, NYC-style pizza. Similarly, Lefty's Chicago Pizzeria pretty much sums up what they serve - deep-dish pizza.

However, for the kiddies, it was plain ol' Cheese Pizza (on regular crust). Well, what can I say, it was a pretty solid slice. The crust was of medium thickness and crispy on the bottom. Lots of cheese on top. The kids seemed to like it. For Viv and I, it was all about the deep-dish. Although I'm not a huge deep-dish fanatic, there are times I want the crust to be thick and the toppings aplenty. They have 2 different types of deep-dish here and since we could not finish a whole pie ourselves, I resorted to ordering what was there, which was the Sausage and the Spinach & Mushroom. These were the regular deep-dish, not the stuffed which would have another layer of crust in between the toppings. The first thing I noticed was the really tasty chunky tomato sauce. It was there for all to see and also there for my tastebuds. Lots of tang and tomatoey texture. The crust was not really that thick which suited me fine. It was crispy and the pizza slice was fulfilling. Naturally, I preferred the meat pizza over the vegetarian. Now, by virtue of being a reheated slice of pizza, it was difficult to do an accurate assessment of the pizza at Lefty's. I'm sure the fresh whole pies would be even better since it would probably be less dry. For someone who is not a deep-dish fan, I kinda liked the pizza at Lefty's.

The Good:
- Really good chunky tomato sauce
- Lotsa toppings
- Choice of regular pizza and the classic deep-dish

The Bad:
- The deep dish and stuffed are pretty pricey (but worth it)