Ruben "starvin' in Indy" L.'s Profile

One of the few non-chain places I frequented in Greenfield.  Mozzi's, I will miss you.  Please note this is a review for their lunch buffet.

AMBIENCE- this place is decked out in sports paraphanelia.  They have plenty of jerseys, shoes, and even sports illustrated covers all around the place.  They also have a couple of tvs towards the center of this place, which are permanently locked on sports channels.

SERVICE- at a buffet, there is no real service to speak of, though they were a bit slow in clearing our plates.  And believe me, when you come with 4 hungry men, you need as much real estate as you can get.

MENU- on the buffet they have a number of different pizzas, a couple of your standard pizzas (meat, pepperoni, cheese) along with a couple of specialty pizzas they have (taco pizza, hawaiin, etc...).  In addition to pizza, they have bread sticks, pasta, some desserts and a salad  bar.

FOOD- whether you get the buffet, or order out, the pizza here is pretty good.  It's a traditional pan pizza, and pretty much every pizza I've tried is good.  I can't say I like any one pizza more than the other, so I guess you'd have to try the buffet to make the call yourself.

OVERALL- $8 for a pizza buffet and drink.  Uhm, yes please.  I don't actually know how much it is to order out, but it's worth checking out.

Celebrity Rating- Andy Garcia

I definitely thought this place was a hibachi joint, imagine my wife and I's surprise when we found out it wasn't.  Oh well, we didn't have a back up plan, so we figured we'd give this place a try.

AMBIENCE- I must say this place looks pretty nice.  It's definitely got a trendy, hip feel to it.  That being said, I figured this was more of a place to be seen, rather than a place to eat, but more on that later.  A lot of young professionals and hipsters seem to come here, and in the middle of all that, my pregnant wife and I.

SERVICE- there seemed to be a lot of servers working, though the place wasn't all that packed.  Our server was friendly, though she would go missing for spots at a time.  We didn't ask her too many questions about the menu, but she was able to answer the questions we did ask.  Not bad, but certainly not great.

MENU- the menu is not all that big.  sushi rolls, appetizers, and a couple of entrees (and when i say a couple, I mean like 6-8 or something).  There seemed to be a decent variety in the sushi rolls, but since my wife was pregnant, we just looked at the entrees.

FOOD- I ended up ordering a scallop dish, and my wife got steak.  What we ended up getting was not at all expected.  The food came out in a very modern, aesthetically pleasing manner.  I quite enjoyed my dish, but my wife had to send her steak back, as it was medium rare, and not medium well as she ordered.  I understand it costs a lot to just give her a whole other steak, but by throwing the same steak back on the grill, it really lost it's juiciness, and wasn't all that great.  

OVERALL- this place was voted best new restaurant by Indy Magazine?  I don't think so.  I'll pass on coming back to this place.

Celebrity Rating- Jeff Foster of the Indianapolis Pacers

If anyone from San Diego knew I ate here, they'd laugh at me, oh wait...  My dad was craving Mexican for some reason, and he mentioned he saw this place on his way in from the highway, so he suggested we pick it up.  Ever since I left San Diego, I've been looking for good Mexican, and this place didn't change that status.

AMBIENCE- I'm not quite sure what to make of this place.  They got tvs all over the place, almost like its a bar, but I saw a bunch of kids there.  I think they serve alchol, though I don't remember.  As for the rest of the place, it was like a neon nightmare, though I will say it was pretty clean.  Even the salsa bar looked pretty well kept.

SERVICE- you can either to pick up, or sit me down style dining.  We just did pick up.  The people behind the counter were friendly, and were trying to be helpful, but I knew they probably wouldn't have what I really wanted.  Points for trying anyways.

MENU- typical Americanized Mexican fare.  Burritos, tacos, enchiladas, all of which can be made into whatever type of combo you like.  I will say they did have churros, which was a nice surprise, but that's about it.

FOOD- my dad got a steak burrito, while I got a pork burrito, and a chicken enchilada for my wife.  The burritos were big, though not very flavorful, and my wife's enchilada was bland, and the chicken was dry.  I ended up ordering the churros, which weren't bad, though nothing great.

OVERALL- The prices are high for what you get, and it's just not that good people.  I can't believe I'm going to say this, but you could probably go to Chipotle or Qdoba and get better food.  

Celebrity Rating- Carlos Mencia

Went to this place a few weeks ago because I was craving some pizza.  I didn't feel like driving to far from home, and we had a coupon, so why not (for people reading my reviews, you will notice the whole coupon theme, at least for these last couple of reviews.

The wife and I ordered a garlic chicken ranch pizza from this place because it sounded pretty good online.  I mean, whats not to like about chicken, bacon and ranch with garlic?  

There was one thing they forgot ot mention- GREASE.  Don't get me wrong, I love me some grease, but too much grease can be a bad thing, and that's what this pizza was.  After a couple pats with the napkin, it wasn't too bad, but still not all that great.  I imagine there are plenty of better, local pizza joints in the area, we just haven't found any yet.

This place evidently made it on some top 25 list of a local radio show (two fat guys with nothing to http://do.com or something like that).  I'm not quite sure why.

OVERALL- Not really digging the pizza, maybe there other food is better?  I'm not sure, but I'm not planning on finding out.

Celebrity Rating- Joey Fatone

The wife was craving a deli sandwich since she was now allowed to eat cold cuts, and we had a coupon for this joint, so I figured, why not.  I'll tell you why not.

AMBIENCE- place is located in a strip mall.  The place is well lit, and spacious.  It looked especially spacious with no one in the joint.  The place looked like any franchised sandwich shop you might think of.  to the left of the store, they have a smoothie bar/muffin joint.  I guess that makes sense.

SERVICE- considering no one was there, they had a lot of people working that day.  As I searched the menu, I asked if they had pastrami (the one thing my wife wanted).  Imagine my disappointment to find out even though it was on the menu, they no longer carried it.  BOOOOOOO.  Not the counter person's fault, but why have it on your website AND on your store menu.

MENU- again, your typical fare, sans pastrami.  Any sandwich you get can be put on any bagel you like, or a flat bread of some sort.  You can also jumbo size your sandwiches if you so like.

FOOD- I ended up getting the big apple club, and I got my wife a chicken blt.  Neither one was bad, nor great, just blah.

I apologize for this review people, but I just wasn't feeling this joint, coupon or not.  I guess if you want a real deli sandwich, you should probably go to a real sandwich joint.

Celebrity Rating- David Schwimmer

maybe a 3.5.  In yet another quest to use up my entertainment book coupons, the wife and I decided to order some pizza from hot box.  We had some relatives coming in, and figured why the heck not.

I ended up picking up our order, but let me give you a breakdown of what I saw.

AMBIENCE- this place is connected to a gas station.  I don't know what image that conjures up in your mind, but the place is actually pretty clean.  They have a lunch menu with slices and such, though I didn't see any pies sitting out when I went.  perhaps they make them to order?

SERVICE- the guy that was helping me was friendly, and greeted me as soon as I walked in.  Shortly after I got there, they completed my order, and I was on my way.  Both he, and the other guy working there had these quasi-cool t-shirts on that had something clever written on them.  meh.

MENU- besides your standard pizza toppings, this place has a number of different specialty pizzas and sauces (I think you can order pesto, alfredo, ranch as well as tomato sauce on your pie).  You can also choose what style of crust (regular, thin, and a wheat crust)  I signed up for their newsletter, and they rave about their breadstix, though we didn't end up getting any.

FOOD- for our order, we got a large supreme, and a large chicken ranch which had ranch sauce, chicken and bacon on (and maybe some spinach?  I can't remember).  The supreme was about what I expected, and the chicken ranch was ok.  It actually seemed a little dry, but still tasty.  

OVERALL- considering the price (about $18 per pizza), I was expecting these pizzas to be overflowing with toppings or something, but these were just alright.  Sure they got some creative toppings and combos, but I didn't really think it was anything to write home about.  

Celebrity Rating- Ray Liotta

So I've been on a bit of a hiatus, that may be explained by my new son, but that's a whole other story to itself.  I was trying to use coupons up from my entertainment book before they expired (which actually explains a lot of the other places I visited) and I happend to come across the Great American Cookie Company.

Nothing too memorable to shout out here, this is a cookie joint in the mall.  They have about 6 or 7 different cookies to choose from, and have deals such as buy 3 get 1 free, etc...

I had a coupon for buy 3 get 3 free, so I elected to try the chocolate chip, snickerdoodle, maple pecan, m&m, peanut butter and some other cookie.  Nothing really stood out, except the maple pecan.  It was pretty damn tasty.

Overall- $5 for 6 cookies?  You'd probably be better off making them at home.  In fact, I'm going to see if I can find a maple pecan recipe right now.

Celebrity rating- Jon Lovitz

I'm not going to do my typical review, mostly because this is a chain joint, but even more so because I'm feeling lazy.  

I've had fond memories of this place, believe it or not.  For a while, they were doing karaoke out here, and a friend and I won $50 each (not bar bucks, straight cash) for performing.  Most recently I was here with my fam partaking in their 1/2 price burgers (every monday).

I would say this place is a step above a sports bar (like a BW3) in terms of food and cleanliness.  I wouldnt' say this was a gastropub by any means, but some where in between.  The menu reads like it were a bennigans or chillis- apps, entrees, salads, sandwiches and desserts.  Nothing that really jumps out at you, but the food is pretty good for what it is.

This place is decked out with tvs , playing all major sports channels, and premium sports channels, so if you're looking for a place to catch a game and a meal, while not being burdened by too much smoke, this might be your joint.

Celebrity Rating- John Reilly

A new sushi joint getting rave reviews in EL/Okemos??  Yeah, I had to check this place out.  Came here with the fam a few weeks ago.  I had gotten take out sushi prior to this visit, but wanted to wait until I had actually dined there to write my review.

AMBIENCE- let me first start out by saying this place is little.  I'm talking max capacity of 40 people (maybe).  They do take reservations, so if you're thinking of going on a weekend, be prepared.  That aside, the place had a very modern feel to it.  Definitely a hip looking joint, it had a very simple and clean look to it.

SERVICE- our server was attentive and friendly.  And other than a slight snafu with my sister's order, she was accurate and very knolwedgable of the menu.  I wouldn't say the service blew us away, but it definitely wasn't bad.  I did think she was doing a pretty good job, considering they appeared to be short handed.

MENU- typical Japanese/Asian fare- sushi, udon, katsu, etc....  They did have an organic tofu which my sister ordered (sa'right), but outside of the sushi rolls nothing fancy.  I must say, one of my favorite things to look at in Japanese menu are their sushi rolls.  Maru seemed to have a lot of the standard ones (dragon, rainbow, etc..), but they also had a number of different combinations.  That's where my attention was drawn, so that's what I ended up ordering.

FOOD- I love going out in large(r) groups, mostly because you can see (if not taste) more things on the menu.  In our party, we were able to order the chicken katsu, Udon, and 3 sushi rolls.  The katsu portions were surprisingly large, and came with a side of curry sauce.  My sister and her friend really seemed to enjoy their katsu.  My wife seemed to enjoy her Udon alright, but it wasn't mind blowing by any means.

And now for the sushi.  One of the sushi rolls was a California roll (lame), but the other two were speciailty rolls.  One was called a beach party which had a crab salad and other stuff.  Not the best roll I've ever had, but not that bad.  The other roll, I forget the name, but it was deep fried, and had sweet potato on it.  It was pretty tasty, and surprisingly filling.  

OVERALL- definitely worth checking out.  This place has daily sushi specials (from 4-6pm during the week, and 4-9 on Sunday or something) and specific rolls are half price.  1 roll should be enough for you, but if you come in a group, it'd be cool to check out more of their menu.  

Celebrity Rating- Fukudome

having seen the hot dog eating championships year after year on ESPN, I have always wanted to eat a Nathan's hot dog.  I know going to the actual location in NY would be different, but I saw an opportunity to try the food and I went for it.  So sad.

This kiosk in the airport was WACK.  The service was mad slow, and there was no kind of organization to the lines.  To top it off, you're dropping $8-9 on a hot dog, fries and drink (yeah, I know it's an airport) that quite frankly isn't that great.  I got a chilli cheese dog and cheese fries.  Yeah, nothing special.

I wouldn't use this as an accurate gauge of the actual Nathan's Hot Dogs in Coney Island, but I'm not going out of my way to get their food outside of NY.  

Celebrity Rating- Spencer Pratt