Tre Piani (Central NJ)

Rating:

Quality, Taste, Cleanliness, Environment, Price , & Staff

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Positive:  Excellent fine dining experience with delicious food and superb service. 

Negative:  Not enough virgin cocktails, and the desserts are mediocre.

Overall: Great restaurant to visit when in the mood for a fine dining experience or for a special occasions.

Revisit:  Yes, especially for the steaks and burgers along with the ambiance.

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Ever wonder how it would feel to experience halal food at a fine dining restaurant instead of  just eating seafood all the time?

Well… Tre Piani offers just that! This place is perfect for celebrating a special occasion, having a fancy dinner with friends, or taking out your special someone. They have a separate halal menu that you have to request and they cook everything in separate pots and pans so you don’t have to worry about it being mixed with the non-halal meat. The service here is spectacular from the minute you walk in to the minute you leave. The servers are very well trained and they continuously come to your table to ask if you need anything, constantly filling your water glass. I’ve been there several times and the service has been spectacular every time. Tre Piani also has a catering service and I believe you could rent out a part of the restaurant as well to do a special event such as a graduation party or a birthday party for adults.

They offer a wide variety of food. The appetizers include fried calamari and different types of soups and salad. The entrees consist of Italian dishes, burgers, pizza, and some steaks. I have enjoyed their Tre Piani Burger (cooked medium well), and the filet mignon steak (cooked medium rare) the most. The portion size for the steak is perfect for one person. It is served with mashed potatoes and sautéed spinach. The meat was tender and juicy and I definitely recommended it medium rare for anybody who loves soft and tender steak. The Tre Piani burger was amazing as well. I would recommend getting it cooked medium well or well done rather than medium rare. Also, it is very big and heavy so only get it if you are really hungry. Otherwise I would recommend the smaller burger that they have on the menu.  Their italian dishes are truly authentic and delicious.  I don’t think you can go wrong with anything on the menu.  Please be aware though, the menu they have on their website is old — they have a newer, updated menu with more steaks at the restaurant.

I would really like to see a larger variety off virgin cocktails at the restaurant as they only have a mixed berry cocktail which is not worth nine dollars.  In terms of the dessert, I wasn’t that impressed. i tried the warm chocolate cake but I definitely like the Grand Lux molten chocolate cake better.

Compared to other high end restaurants, Tre Piani is not as expensive as you would expect. If two people go, and they get one appetizer, 2 entrees, and a dessert, they could expect to spend about a $100.
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Tre Piani’s Website

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Artichoke (Manhattan)

Rating:

Quality, Taste, Cleanliness, Environment, Price , & Staff

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Positive:  Artichoke slices are great as are the Margarita slices.  The Sicilian pizza is the best!

Negative:  Make sure to tell the waiter to have your pizza cut with a clean cutter and don’t cross contaminate with their pork meatball sauce.

Overall: One of the best pizza I have ever eaten.

Revisit:  OF COURSE!

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want to try delicious pizza and don’t want to wait long?

I was in the mood for Difara’s Pizza but it was closed. That is a rare occurrence but the main problem of Difara’s is the amount of time you have to wait. I agree that his slice topped with fresh mozzarella and basil is the best I have eaten, but sometimes you just dont have the time to wait. I looked up a few review websites and lists online, and decided to try out Artichoke Basille’s Pizza. I saw that they were known for their Artichoke slices but I didn’t think I would like them given that I usually like simple toppings or plain slices. Nonetheless, because of the raving reviews on sites and the customers I met at the location, I decided to take the plunge.

I would definitely say that if I liked toppings or was in the mood for something unique I would love the large, artichoke slice. It reminded me of spinach and artichoke dip on pizza. However, I am a simple person and plain slices just do it better for me. Also, if it had tomato sauce, then I may have liked it better. I did however, really like their margarita slice which closely resembled Difara’s but did not get as far. However, when I tried their Sicilian slice my mouth was doing the tango and I thought it was better than Difara’s by far. They had lightly burnt the bottom, something they were supposed to do, in order to give it a burnt/bbq style taste along with the already delicious sauce, buttery crust, and mozarella cheese. Given the time it took to get the pizza and the taste I experienced I would go to this place over Difara’s any day. However, if Difara’s just sped up the process I would definitely go there for their regular slices.

The sicilian winner in my book, though, is definitely Artichoke. The other great thing is that they have a few pies already out and constantly being made so that you can grab a slice on the go (unlike DiFara’s) and not wait around for pies to be made. They also have three locations in Manhattan (East Village, Chelsea, and Greenwich Village). Overall this is a great restaurant to hit up when in the mood for excellent New York style pizza by the slice or as a pie. I have yet to review other well known establishments but so far this place takes precedence over Difara’s based on taste and the waiting time.

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artichoke’s Website

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Di Fara Pizza (Brooklyn)

Rating:

Quality, Taste, Cleanliness, Environment, Price , & Staff

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Positive: The BEST PIZZA I HAVE EVER EATEN.

Negative: Small, hole in the wall place without adequate seating and VERY SLOW service

Overall: If you want to eat Excellent Pizza but don’t mind the wait or standing then this is the place to try.

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Are you a pizza junkie? Are you willing to go from place to place to find the best pizza in New York?

If yes then you’ll have to go to Brooklyn to try out Di Fara’s. You have to make sure that you get there atleast a hour before you plan on eating because all the details of making pizza are done right in front of you from scratch by Dom DeMarco himself. (and if you only want just a slice then just pray he has time to make an extra pie between all his other orders) The pizza is made with a special sauce which is absolutely delicious and very different from any other pizza sauce I have eaten. Another unique aspect of the way this pizza is made is that Dom puts freshly grated Romano cheese on it right after taking it out of the oven. He also adds olive oil and fresh cut Basil which he allows to sit and absorb before giving you it to eat. Besides the aroma of the pizza, just as i put the pizza slice in my mouth I knew that it would be one of the best pizza Ive ever eaten.

The taste of the sauce and the cheese combination with olive oil and basil was just perfect. I know that I would be back here every time I am in Brooklyn looking for great NY style pizza . You can tell from his various acolades at the store that he really is very highly rated in the New York. It is a bit on the pricy side; who really wants to give five dollars for slice of pizza when you can get one alot cheaper. Bit I think it’s definitely worth it. You can not compare every day pizza to this fresh and good tasting pizza. The place is definitely cramped for how popular this place is.  However its just like any typical pizza joint with some seating. Overall its definitely worth trying if you are a Pizza fan!

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 Di Fara’s Pizza Website

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Chicago Style Pizza Restaurants (Chicago)

Rating: 

Quality, Taste, Cleanliness, Environment, Price , & Staff

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Positive: High-quality deep dish pizza only found in Chicago. Go for Pizano’s if you want thin crust and Lou Malnati’s for the deep dish.

Negative: Must buy a whole pizza pie.  Also pizza is very cheesy and may not be good for those with health problems

Overall: Must try a few of these awesome deep dish restaurants when visiting Chicago.

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Tired of new york style pizza?  probably not…but if you are a pizza lover you must try chicago style deep dish pizza!

Wow, pizza is definitely the ultimate food choice when it comes to those that cannot eat meat. It is delicious, contains all the food groups, and can be eaten any time of the day and at any pizza temperature. I enjoy pizza very much and I had a chance to explore various restaurants in Chicago offering deep dish and thin crust pizza.

The chicago pizza restaurants make very special deep and thin crust pizza which you won’t find anywhere else (except for a few here and there – check out the websites below for locations).

I had a chance to visit Pizano’s where I ate a thin crust pizza with Gardnerella peppers and mushrooms. The hot thin crust pizza was extremely delicious and had all the makings of an excellent pizza. I normally do not like thin crust pizza but if I had to eat it, this would be the place to go.  It ruined Singas pizza for me.
 

I also had a chance to go to Giordanos which I have been to in the past and again enjoyed it very much. This pizza is different from the other deep dish pizza as it is stuffed with cheese, lots of cheese which may be a little too  filling for most people.

Lou Malnatis is another restaurant which is extremely delicious and has a balance between stuffed deep dish pizza and thin crust pizza. This is definitely a great place to go when you head to Chicago.

Another restaurant I explored was Gino’s East which is also well known for its highly rated great tasting Pizza. This is more of a deeper dish than Lou Mainatis but not as much as Giordanos. Again this also tasted very good and I would recommend this place as well.

I had a chance to also eat from the original Pizzeria Uno’s in Chicago which is very different from what you would eat at the chain restaurant. However you do get a pretty good idea of what a deep dish would taste like when you go to Uno’s chain restaurants throughout the USA.  However, you JUST get a good idea but don’t experience the real taste of Chicago.

Chicagoans enjoy pizza sitting down and relaxing.  Unlike the Northeast where we eat pizza at anytime of the day and in any way, the Chicago area enjoys sitting in a nice restaurant while having their meal (you can see this by the Uno’s Chicago based restaurant chain which shows you what a typical chicago pizza joint usually looks like).

Overall I like Lou Mainatis and Pizano’s for the great pizza. Unos and Gino’s is also up there on list. Giordanos s great fresh but you can’t be for the fainthearted who have cholesterol issues as it is really a stuffed pizza. Most of these restaurants are owned by families who have been in the area for a very long time.  They treat their guests like family and the atmosphere is also great, especially when its  filled to capacity with long lines out the door.  I would recommend taking the Chicago Pizza tour if you love Pizza as you will get to experience a little bit of each restaurant. You can even try it at home by ordering it online (Lou Malnati’s and Giordano’s do ship)  I tried eating at a new Pizza Restaurant every day, and by the end of 3 days I couldnt look at Pizza anymore!   Chicago Pizza is great, You must try it. But for those living in the Northeast, nothing is better than good old fashion New York Pizza!

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Lou Malnatis Website

Pizanos Website

Uno Pizzeria Website

Giordano’s Website

Gino’s East Website