Wednesday, May 21, 2008

Filippi's Pizza Grotto, Norco CA

This one is late. The Madness of the weeks up to my daughter's first birthday was too much for me. 10 relatives from Holland and 3 from Seattle.Anyway...
Filippi's is Norco's poorly kept little secret. Nestled in the "Blue" Shopping center at 1192 6th St., Norco, it's a locally raved about authentic Italian restaurant. It's actually a chain, and you can find their website at RealCheesePizza.com. Still, it has a real family owned feel, and according to the website, it is owned by a relative of the founder.
First off, on a Sunday afternoon, the place was sparsely populated and we got a seat straight away. This is ALWAY a big plus. The service was very attentive even though both our waitress and hostess seemed very young.
I had an excellent combination Spaghetti/Lasagna plate with home made sausage. It was a HUGE portion and I should have took half of it home, but... well you know. The sausage was spectacular, though slightly sweet, which is not usually my preference. This however, is a must try.
My wife had linguine with a white sauce teeming with clams. I'm not a fan of clam sauce, so I'll take her word it was excellent.
Prices are slightly higher at 8 to 12 dollars a plate. The places is obviously set up to watch a lot of football with big flat screens and the obligatory Budweiser banners. I suspect it may be a bit more crowded at game time. I'll definitely be going back.

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That's it, thanks. I'm stuffed.

Brian Norwood

Platypi Online: The Platypus Portal

Friday, May 2, 2008

Subway, Van Buren, Riverside


Who knew I'd give Subway a chance to disappoint me so soon after the Quizno's visit. So sad.
First off, it was crowded. Always a turn off for me, but I was on a mission. I ordered a stock Turkey with Provolone cheese, all the veggies, mustard, vinegar and pepper. The sanwich was fine. Fresh enough, and tasty. But I got to the cash register, and said "I want a combo with Chicken Soup and a Large Drink. Oh and throw these in," and I picked out some Baked Lays. So she rings me up and says, "have a nice day!"
Hmmm. "Where's my soup?"
"Oh, you wanted soup?"
"Yeah, that's what I ordered. The chips were the afterthought."
"I didn't charge you for soup. What kind did you want?"
"The Chicken Noodle."
"Oh. We're out of that."

So, it get's better. I have to take my wife a sandwich home.
"Hi. Uh, weren't you just here?"
So, i literally say "Yes, now I'm taking one home to my wife, so I can stay married. Simplest sub ever. Ham & Swiss on wheat. Just meat, cheese and mayo."
She's making my order with someone else's. Sure fire way to screw it up. And true to form, she grabs TWO BIG HANDFULS of lettuce and dumps them on my wife's sandwich.
What I said next was rude and I regret it. The gist was, I didn't see where lettuce fit in with "meat, cheese and mayo".
And then, completely in line with the level of service I have come to expect from this Subway, she brushes off the excess lettuce, and wraps up the sandwich. Un-FREAKING-believable.
Your visit couldn't POSSIBLY be as bad as mine. Subway is located at 5553 Van Buren Blvd, Riverside.



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That's it, thanks. I'm stuffed.

Brian Norwood

Platypi Online: The Platypus Portal