Pizzazz On the Circle

The end of Passover always means one thing, we can eat bread and pasta again after a week of avoiding them, so a group of us headed over to Pizzazz on the Circle to celebrate.  Pizzazz has been around for quite a while, located in Shaker Heights, nestled into Fairmount Circle, right across from the entrance to john Carrol University, Pizzazz is a good solid Italian restaurant.  (The location is mapped here).

The decor of the dining room is a nice simple combination of comfort and modern; simple wood is set off against warm colors with clean fixtures and modern art prints.  Once seated, service is friendly and efficient even with a larger group.

The menu (which you can see here) is fairly standard modern Italian cooking, with an emphasis on Pizzas, Calzones, Pastas and other Italian favorites.  I ended up ordering the Eggplant Parmigiana dinner, which is a nice portion of fried eggplant topped with some Marinara Sauce and melted cheese and sided with Penne Pasta in more of the same sauce.  The dinner was good, but not great.  The eggplant was sliced pretty thin, which meant that much of the meatiness was lost and the flavor was a bit subdued.  The sauce and cheese were added at the end, so that while they contributed, this never came together into a harmonious whole that is usually better then the sum of its parts.  The penne was fine, and the sauce was ok, a bit light on spices for my taste, but bright and slightly sweet.

The big seller at my table were the Calzones, which were well received and nicely sized, both the small sized.  Probably a good idea to go for the pizza or calzones as they seem to the specialty at Pizzazz.

Overall, Pizzazz is a very nice Italian pizzeria, with pretty good food at decent prices, a very nice location and decor and good service.  What I think it lacks is the actual pizzazz that its name implies, I don't think you will be blown away by Pizzazz, but you will get a nice meal.

Mama Roberto's - Mentor Italian Good Food - Updated

Update - I was out to Mama Robertos last night and had the Linguini with white clam sauce; very nice with al dente linguini smoothered with a ton of chopped clams in a light white wine sauce with garlic and some roasted red peppers. The amazing thing was the size. I couldn't even get through half of the portion served. Truly amazing. Also had the house salad and it is good and crisp and used as a shredded cheese delivery device. The house Italian was nice and a bit sweet. Another good meal and I have the second half of it waiting in the fridge at home. ________________________________________________ A little confession, part of the inspiration for this blog is Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives on the Food Network. I have to say that while it doesn't fit any of those categories, Mama Roberto's in Mentor fits the general theme of the show; big portions of freshly prepared food. Based on recommendations from friends I have been meaning to get to Mentor to try Mama Roberto's. Located at one end of a small commercial strip at 8658 Mentor Avenue this is a nice newer restaurant. Inside the decor feels light with an Italian feel from the green, red and white predominate colors. The kitchen is in one of the back corners and the overall feel is nice, clean and casual. You start out with an outstanding bread basket that Guy would refer to as 'Money'. A couple of large slices of thick cut Italian bread were joined by fresh made garlic rolls. The bread was all perfect; cruchy crust with a soft inside. A great way to start the meal. I ordered the Eggplant Parimgana sandwich with the side of pasta. For around $6 I got two huge slices of garlic bread around thick cut slices of wonderfully baked eggplant topped with a chunky sweet marianara and melted cheese. The eggplant was especially good, since it was not breaded or fried. Fork tender and not at all bitter, this is how eggplant should be cooked. The portion was very large and with a nice bowl of spaghetti topped with the same marinara sauce, more then filling. Lets talk about the sauce for a minute, rather then the usual marinara, Moma Roberto's makes a sauce that is chunks of sweet tomatos with littel extra seasoning or cooking. The flavor is bright and bold, but you are not going to get the usual herbal flavors, so don't expect a lot of seasoning here. Watching the other tables in the restaurant I was amazed at the size of the portions being served. The servings were more then enough to make two meals, and that seems to be the approach of most of the customers as almost every table left with a sizable to go bag. About the only negative comment I could come up with here was the music playing in the background which seemed to be early 50s popular songs, but even that changed to 60s rock during my visit. Mama Roberto's is certainly popular and with good reason. This is a nice casual Italian restaurant serving huge portions of very good freshly made food. The food is not complex, but it is wholesome and flavorful. Give this a try, if for no other reason then to enjoy the bread.