Cannoli fom Tony's Cafe - $??

366 Possum Park Road, Newark, DE - (302) 737-2411

I'm not sure about the price on this one because it was given to us for free. We had a vendor visit us at work and they bought us lunch. Since the order was so large, Tony's decided to spoil us with a few freebies to "lock in our business relations." It worked - we went back there the very next day for some strombolis.

Anyway, regarding the cannoli itself, it's basically a lot of frosting inside of a flakey shell and dusted with powdered sugar. You'd think that this would be too rich or sweet with all that frosting. In fact, most of the coworkers didn't bother with it for that very reason, but for whatever reason, I was able to stomach it just fine. I don't think I'd pay much for one, but it's a pleasant treat on a rare occasion.

Italian Beef from Johnnie's Beef - $???

7500 West North Avenue, Elmwood Park, IL - (708) 452-6000

Many people consider this to be the best Italian beef in the world. Indeed, I agree it was a fantastic beef. My friend and I were so pleased that we wanted to get another one on the way home but they had already closed for the night. However, I don't believe the gap in quality from Portillo's beef to make it worth the extra 40 minute drive.

This was also the first time that I had my Italian beef dipped and I had it double dipped. The bread came out very soggy to the point where it was falling apart and still, the Italian beef was outstanding.

I hear they have a superb lemon ice with beefy chunks of lemon, but I didn't try it that night since it was about 0 F outside. Maybe next time...

Note: I THINK they only accept cash so be prepared.

Chicken Pomodoro Panini from Go Roma - $6.49

28361 Diehl Road, Warrenville, IL - (630)393-7662

This sandwich is comprised of roasted chicken breast, oven dried tomatoes, spinach, basil, provolone cheese, and pesto mayo on panini bread.

The bread was too hard for my liking and the chicken a bit too dry. In spite of these two criticisms, the sandwich was still okay. The crispy fries that came with the sandwich earned it some bonus points.

On a sidenote, I also ordered their pasta & meatball soup. I didn't take a picture because soup pictures tend to look boring. Anyway, the soup was far too salty so I recommend passing on it.

Shrimp Fra Diavolo from Buca di Beppo - $19.99

90 Yorktown Road, Lombard, IL - 630.932.7673

Fra Diavolo (Italian for "Brother Devil") is the name given to a spicy sauce for pasta or seafood. Most versions are tomato-based and use chili peppers for spice, but the term is also used for sauces that include no tomato, or that use cayenne or other forms of pepper.
- Excerpt from wikipedia

Although this pasta looks like it's loaded with peppers, it wasn't all that spicy. In fact, I didn't even know it was supposed to be spicy until I looked up the meaning of "fra diavolo" just now.

In spite of that, the dish was really great. The noodles were a bit dry, but not in a bad way, unless you like your noodles sopping with sauce. The sautéed garlic shrimp were cooked well too. The price may seem steep, but the serving size is large enough to feed two even though we only ordered a small. All in all, I would happily order this dish again, if not for the chance to discover other great dishes on their menu.

Big Italian Beef from Portillo's - $5.79 + $0.30

950 East Ogden Avenue, Naperville, IL - (630)961-1151

Philadelphia may have their cheese steaks, but Chicago has their Italian beef. I honestly don't understand what makes these so good since it's just bread and beef with the optional sweet or hot peppers, but they are.

Now if you'll look at the picture and direct your attention away from the Italian beef for a moment and look at the wrapper, you'll see that it's soaked with juices and oil. That's the sign of a rockin' Italian beef.

With all those juices, any ordinary roll would end up soggy and disgusting, but these rolls somehow maintain a crispy outer shell and the inside stays nice and chewy.

I don't believe I've ever tried an Italian beef with sweet peppers so I can't tell you what that's like. Instead, I always go with the hot peppers because it adds a zesty kick that'll make you sweat slightly on your brow. God, I love that feeling.

Steak & Pepperoni Stromboli from Amore - $15.99

430 Old Baltimore Pike, Jenmar Plaza, Newark, DE - (302)369-1600

When you're in the mood for something greasy and filling, this sucker hits the spot.

When I first came out to this area, I used to think strombolis were my favorite food, but I quickly grew tired of them, because eventually, you realize that it's basically a steak and pepperoni pizza just folded over before it's cooked. Still good though.

Chicken Alfredo Pizza from Olive Garden - $10.75

1279 New Churchman's Road, Christiana, DE - (302)731-5430

As you can see, this isn't your traditional pizza. It's topped with grilled chicken, Italian cheeses, alfredo sauce (instead of marinara), and scallions.

I'm disappointed that they skimped out on the chicken purely for looks, but the pizza itself was still okay. Personally, I enjoy a lot of red sauce, so a pizza without marinara already at a disadvantage.

The pizza also comes with your choice of soup or salad. I went with the mediocre pasta e fagioli. The best thing I can say about this soup is that it's hearty.

Meatball Sub with Provolone from Capriotti's - $6.50

430 Eden Square Shopping Center, Bear, DE - (302)832-8132

If you couldn't already tell, I've been on a Capriotti's kick lately. That's because two smalls (9" apiece) fill me up well, they taste good without being overly unhealthy, and they have decent variety.

This time, I ordered the meatball sub with provolone. The meatball isn't really spiced in any way, so it tastes more like meatloaf than meatball - which is fine by me since I enjoy meatloaf sandwiches also. It's a messy sandwich so grab a lot of napkins.

Capastrami from Capriotti's - $6.75

430 Eden Square Shopping Center, Bear, DE - (302)832-8132

This sandwich is comprised of pastrami, Swiss cheese, coleslaw, and Russian dressing. I only ordered the 9" sandwich because any more than that tastes too... saturated? heavy? I don't know, but the sandwich is good in smaller doses.

Grilled Italian from Capriotti's - $6.75

430 Eden Square Shopping Center, Bear, DE - (302)832-8132

I'm not exactly sure of all the meats that went into this sandwich, but the Italian is typically capicola, prosciutto, and Genoa salami, with provolone cheese, lettuce, tomato, oil, and vinegar. This one also appears to have grilled onions.

The sandwich is good enough for me to revisit often, but if I really wanted to nitpick, there are a couple of downsides. For one thing, it's REALLY oily as you can tell from shininess of the sandwich and the see-through paper. The other thing is that the sandwich is fairly salty from all the various meats, but if you're like me, you won't be health-conscious enough to care.

The sandwich in the picture is the small size (9"). Normally, I would get the large (20") for $13, but I like to go for variety and get two smalls instead.

Shrimp & Asparagus Risotto from Olive Garden - $14.75

1279 New Churchman's Road, Christiana, DE - (302)731-5430

The Oliver Garden site's description of this dish is "Large sautéed shrimp served over creamy parmesan risotto with asparagus." That pretty much sums it up.

Personally, I think this is too pricey for what it is. It tasted okay, but I'd rather pay a lot less and make Uncle Ben's Rice instead. The shrimp and asparagus are both good, but not good enough to pay that much for cheesy rice.

The dish also comes with a soup or salad (I chose the minestrone soup) and breadsticks. The minestrone soup had too much bean for my tastes. The breadsticks are awesome, but you only get two when you get the order to go, whereas it's unlimited when you dine in.

Grilled Chicken Stromboli from Seasons Pizza - $9.99

203 E Main St, Newark, DE - (302)368-1515

Seasons Pizza is a local chain with fairly good food at reasonable prices. It's also one of the few places around here where I get good service - meaning that if they screw up my order, they try to do something special to compensate, such as making my order free or giving me store credit.

Anyway, the grilled chicken stromboli has grilled chicken, pizza sauce, and mozzarella baked inside of a large fold of bread. Essentially, it's a pizza that's been folded in half before being baked. Personally, I think the grilled chicken stromboli is one of the more bland strombolis I've had, but I wouldn't go so far as to say I was disappointed by it.