Restaurants

I wish I had the time (and money!) to do restaurant reviews. What a great job, although if a newspaper or magazine is paying you to review places, you have to make multiples trips to restaurants you don't like. I think I could live with that, though. Since I don't write restaurant reviews, I'll just write a note about a couple of places I went in the past week.

Over Labor Day weekend I was at Blue Grotto, a new pizza place in Brookside. It was the best pizza I've had since moving back to KC, although that's not saying much. These are artisan, wood fired pizzas with a light, slightly crackly crust. My favorite was a prosciutto with red onions and asiago cheese. The salsiccia was great, too. The only problem was slow service, but I was with a group that gave off we're-going-to-hang-out-here-all-night vibes.

On Tuesday, I met a friend at a little Italian restaurant also in Brookside, La Cucina Di Mamma. This place is a part of Bella Napoli, the Italian market and deli. I had a special, pasta alla puttanesca. It was not as spicy as puttansecas that I've made or had elsewhere. The anchovy was the dominate flavor, but it was not too much. I'd order it again. I don't know very much about Italian wines, so I can't really judge the wine list. We got one of the least expensive bottles, and it was a good weeknight-type red that worked just fine with our meals. The price was great, too. Our two entrees, the wine, and the tip came to about $50.

Both places are worth checking out. I'm sure I'll be back at both of them in the future.