food panda

Burt's Place When one speaks of food in the Windy City of Chicago, the first thing that comes to mind tends to be its famous deep dish pizza. When one talks about the deep dish, Giordano, Ginos East, Uno, or Lou Malnati tends to be the popular picks. However, after watching the clip from Anthony Bourdain's trip to Chicago, I knew I had to try the deep dish pizza from Burt's Place. More so in fact, after hearing Burt state: "I'm 71 for christ sake and still working like a dumbass." He seemed to be a character! After reading more about Burt's Place, I learned you MUST call in ahead (a day ahead would be best) and place an order (ie: size of pizza & toppings), otherwise they'll likely turn you away at the door, which I saw at least two times during my meal. With that knowledge in hand, I called and ordered a Large with spinach, sausage, mushroom, and onions. Since it's my first meal after landing at O'Hare, I eagerly awaited this meal! Large...

Outside Kesté After roaming (or sleepwalking) a bit more around SoHo, I was ready for dinner. Our proposed destination was April Bloomfield's Spotted Pig . Sadly, we underestimated the dinner crowd on a Thursday night in the Big Apple, as when we arrived at 7PM, we were told it'll be a 3 hour wait for our party of 5. Thankfully, I was with NYC locals, and we had some backup choices in mind. What's more New York than some pizza?? Count me in paesano!! We decided on getting pizza at Kesté Pizza & Vino in Westside Village. At Kesté, they're known for a Neapolitan-style pizza made by the famous pizzaiolo Roberto Caporuscio. A relatively new pizzeria, Kesté opened March of 2009, which is a baby compared to the famous Lombardi's and Grimaldi's. Nevertheless, I was excited, especially after hearing glowing reviews from my friends Dan and Wendy of a.k.a.dandy . Pizza Del Papa ($16) - butternut squash cream, imported smoked mozzarella, artichoke, red and yellow pepp...

Zachary's Chicago Pizza Zachary's, one of the most famous pizza restaurants in all of Northern California, is known for their Chicago style deep dish pizza. I've been here many times since I was young, as my grandparents resides in Berkeley. On a recently trip back to Northern California, I met with my friend Gigi and her friend Clarissa for a lovely lunch on the streets of Solano Avenue. Menu We decided on getting a medium Zachary's special, which consisted of sausage, green pepper, onion, and mushroom. Even though they offered beer at Zachary's, we decided on some diet coke to wash down the deep dish. Zachary's Special When the Zachary's Special arrived at our table, I was ready to eat! Even though the crust was thick, it was still crispy and had a bite. The tomato sauce was tart, and spicy, just perfect in my opinion. The mix of the chunky tomatoes, mushrooms, peppers, and onions harmonized with the italian sausages that were on the pizza. The pizza was ...