Restaurant Review: Wood Stone Restaurant

For a while, my dad and I have wanted to try Wood Stone. A long time ago, in Columbus, there was a place called Mediterranean Cafe and our family looooooved it dearly. Unfortunately, sometime while I was away in either college or grad school or wherever, it closed. Seems like we both had heard that there was a connection though between the old Med Cafe and this newer place. Dad's work recently had catering from Wood Stone and he loved it. (Come to think of it, maybe it was dad who had heard then that the two restaurants were related...)

Anyways, to get back on track- we all piled in to my parents new (well used, but recently acquired) grandkid-mobile (minivan), and headed to Wood Stone. We got there right before 7 p.m. which I think was probably a good idea. We were seated right away and our waiter came and greeted us. At first, he was very quick with everything, but then I think he slowed down some because traffic picked up- tables started filling fast. He was very polite and as attentive as he could be. I just wish he had brought the check with the to-go box because that added on an extra 10 - 15 minutes of waiting (which hey, I'm looking out for the restaurant), I'm sure they wanted to clear our table and sit some more folks!

As far as taste goes, I am in love. You get bread as an appetizer. It's a good balance of crunch and softness. It's dusted with Parmesan cheese and served cut into strips with a little bowl of what I think was oil, garlic and pepper. I inhaled 2.5 pieces... so not WW friendly I'm sure...

My parents were trying to get back that taste of Mediterranean Cafe Pizza, so they "built their own" using what they remembered was on the sort of "house pizza" from back then. I couldn't decide on getting a pasta dish, big salad, or pizza. Tim and I ended up splitting a "Meat Pizza" without the prosciutto (also not very WW friendly). I also ordered a Caesar salad with balsamic vinaigrette instead of Caesar dressing.

My salad was fresh, yum, and a good size. Our pizza was fabulous. My only comment about it was that it seemed like all the toppings were in the center of the pizza and not evenly dispersed. It felt like after the first few bites it became a cheese pizza. But, nonetheless, it was very, very tasty. I look forward to having leftover for lunch tomorrow. I even specially told Tim, that half of our leftovers were mine and not to eat them tonight as a snack.

Overall, I give this place a double thumbs up. It's close to our home in North Columbus, cute on the inside, quiet, pretty artwork for sale in the front area, obviously great food, and pretty good service. I would recommend this to anyone for either a date night or a family dinner. I really want to try this place for lunch sometimes. Unfortunately, it isn't close to work so it would have to be a Friday or Saturday lunch if I've read their hours correctly.

Give it a try if you haven't!

Restaurant Review: Johnny's Pizza

Tonight was our last chance at squeezing in a "new" place as part of my Eleven in 11. I'll be honest, we tried to go somewhere else tonight in Columbus and it was closed....so needless to say, Mom, Tim and I were in a hunger jam.

We had passed by the Johnny's pizza place and I couldn't remember if it was the same one that is in Auburn (though I'm pretty sure it's Johnny Buscos)...however, upon getting inside and checking out the menu...I'm almost positive I've been to one of these in Carrollton. So, I didn't want to cheat. I wanted to make the geniune effort to try something new. And I did. I opted for the Hawaiian. It always sounds like it could be tasty, but I always grab a calzone. Well, since starting WW, calzones are not really an option. I ordered the slice and a small salad with reduced fat dressing.

All in all it wasn't that bad. It was certainly different. But, not bad. It hasn't become my new favorite, but I'm sure I'd eat it again if we stopped by. I'm very excited that their website contains nutrition facts. ALWAYS a huge plus for me since I'm constantly calculating things. Between the slice, the salad, and the dressing my whole meal was 16 points. Not bad for someone who saves the majority of her points for dinners anyways, and certainly not bad for eating out. (Maybe one day I'll blog about the tragedy that is Applebee's lunch menu- SCARY POINTS!).

If you like the crusty thin pizza, you'll love the place.