Greece Ridge Family Restaurant

3400 West Ridge Road, Greece
Visited Aug. 23, 2011
Written by Tyler




In general, we love family restaurants, as we’ve mentioned before. Usually there are a lot of similarities between them, but each decent one (B- or higher) has a few characteristics that makes each unique.

Most offer breakfast all day, but we saw no trace of breakfast on our menu at Greece Ridge, and couldn’t even find the restaurant’s hours to figure it out.

Actually, even the name of the restaurant is also a question mark. The sign says, “Greece Ridge Family Restaurant” but the menu says, “Greece Ridge Restaurant and Café.”

Whatever it is, it looks like a run-of-the-mill diner, and it is exactly that.

The menu was quite extensive and took a while to ponder, but I ultimately opted for a hickory ham and chicken sandwich at the last second, and Drew ordered a barbecue cheeseburger.

The service was insanely fast, as our meal arrived in just a few short minutes. As great as that was, maybe it was a sign.

For the most part, my sandwich’s components were very simple. Nothing had a ton of flavor. The grilled chicken breast was one of the blandest ones I’ve had, with no seasoning evident. The only thing that wasn’t completely generic was the roll.

That being said, I still ate the sandwich very fast, using honey mustard that also didn’t as much flavor as I would have liked.

All Drew could say about his burger was that it was weak, bland and didn’t sit well afterward. He had fries along with his meal that looked like they also fit that description.

We agreed most of the items were a tad overpriced, with most sandwiches around $7-9. Mine was around $9 including a side item.

I had a basic side salad, which was alright, but I was disappointed this family restaurant didn’t have home fries on its menu. I have never seen that before at this type of place.

To be fair, there were several menu items that sounded appetizing, like the Cuban sandwich or some of the various paninis. Whether they are or anything unique or not is another story, as everything we had was generic.

On a positive note, the service was phenomenal, and it had a decent at-home feel inside.

There’s no rush to return, but I wouldn’t completely rule it out.

Ratings

Service/Atmosphere: Service was excellent, and the inside appeared and felt homey, just as a family restaurant should.

Food: A lot of intriguing options, but it seems like a lot of generic ingredients.

Value: Slightly overpriced, but nothing ridiculous.

Overall: Very generic, with nothing about the food that made it stand out. Positive marks for service, atmosphere and selection, though.

Grade: C

Jack'ss BBQ & Pizza

3055 Buffalo Road, Gates
Visited Aug. 2, 2011
Written by Tyler




One evening while cruising the Gates-Chili restaurantopolis, Drew and I discovered an intriguing combination of cuisines – pizza and barbecue – that just about stopped us dead in our tracks.

Maybe that’s an exaggeration, but I at least did a double-take upon seeing the sign for Jack’ss. We knew we had to make the trip back out there soon and get involved, so we brought Greg along two weeks later to test it out.

It’s difficult for most small restaurants – especially brand new ones – to truly specialize in more than one general group of food, so we didn’t expect too much from Jack’ss.

We entered and ordered at the counter. No one else was in there at the time, but we were still surprised at how quickly our food was ready.

One interesting note about Jack’ss is that you can order any topping(s) you like on a pizza slice, unlike most places where the slices are premade and sitting in a warmer with no work left to be done until they are eaten.

I took advantage of that and got a slice with ham. The slice had a great balance of crust-cheese-sauce. It was piping hot, but tasted good thanks to the sauce.

The thin ham didn’t add a ton of flavor, but the crust was done perfectly. It was thick and crisp, without being too toasty or crunchy, and I thought it was decent pizza overall.

Greg opted for a steak-and-eggs sub with peppers, onions, mozzarella and hot sauce. Sadly, the sandwich came without the hot sauce (unless of course Greg just didn’t notice it, but I’ll take his word for it).

Amid his mild disappointment, Greg said he was surprised at how well-constructed the steaming-hot sandwich was and how good its roll was. But despite the hearty hoagie’s appearance, Greg said the flavor was bland.

“The steak was hardly seasoned – not even a hint of salt or pepper – and the same could be said for the veggies on it,” he said. A little more cheese would have been a perfect amount, and I'm sure the hot sauce, had they remembered it, would have taken it up a notch.”

On a positive note, Greg continued by raving about the roll.

“A crisp but not burnt exterior, fluffy but fully cooked interior, that was neither too soft that it became soggy and fell apart nor too hard that it was hard to bite,” he said. “It had a somewhat wheaty flavor that I really enjoyed, too. A real classic roll.”

Drew was the only one who sampled the barbecue selection, ordering his usual pulled pork sandwich. He also agreed the roll was very good, especially because it was toasted.

As for the meat itself, he noted it was slightly better than the typical pulled pork sandwich at similar restaurants.

"Usually when you order a pulled pork sandwich at a family restaurant or diner, it’s usually about the same stuff – pulled pork they froze and microwaved,” Drew said. “(This was) obviously not Dinosaur pulled pork you’re getting, but it’s better than the average family restaurant’s."

From my own observations I was pleased to see that Jack’ss had actually put some thought in to Greg’s and Drew’s sandwiches, rather than serving up generics.

The rest of the menu included several specialty pizzas and salads available, along with common grill and fryer items, subs (including a separate steak-specific section), and a few pastas and calzones.

The barbecue menu isn’t particularly extensive, and I was disappointed by the lack of sides available, but it includes several variations of both ribs and chicken.

We all agreed the service was good and the menu had some things that stood out a bit. Jack’ss was nothing that blew us away, but we were somewhat pleasantly surprised by it.

It’s nothing we would go out of our way for, but if we’re nearby we know we can stop by Jack’ss for a reliable meal.

Ratings

Service/Atmosphere: Very clean restaurant with quick service in a quiet location.

Food: Unique variety, slightly above average. We were fans of the dough used in the sandwich rolls and pizza crust.

Value: Overall it seemed the prices matched the quality and portion size of the food.

Overall: Nothing spectacular, but we were pleasantly surprised. It’s a brand new restaurant with potential if it can attract a following.

Grade: B-

DiRosato's Pizza and Pasta

3869 Lyell Road, Gates
Visited July 19, 2011
Written by Tyler



Believe me, we are well aware that just about every restaurant we visit falls in the ‘B’ grade range. One evening, Drew and I set out to find a bad restaurant.

We couldn’t find a place that looked comfortably sketchy enough (if that makes sense) in Gates, so we settled for what we figured would be a decent meal at DiRosato’s, on the corner of Lyell and Elmgrove roads.

I hadn’t been to DiRosato’s in about eight years, and noticed a lot of changes to the inside of the restaurant since. It no longer had sort of a sports-bar feel it had last time I visited, but now seemed like a typical dine-in pizza place with some semblance of a bar on the other half, as well as some outdoor seating.

We walked in expecting to order at the counter like at a normal pizza place, but it turns out this is supposed to be a sit-down restaurant with table service, so we took a seat to be waited on.

After perusing the extensive menu, I decided on a Buffalo chicken sandwich and a slice of pizza, while Drew opted for a grilled chicken calzone with a side of potato wedges. Much to Drew’s dismay, they were out of potato wedges and he had to settle for curly fries.

My slice and his fries were first to arrive. I was impressed by the pizza’s appearance, and it had a decent crust-cheese-sauce ratio. The cheese was alright, and the sauce didn’t really have any kick to it. The combination of those two was decent, but the crust was the best part.

It was thick and doughy in most spots, but had a nice crisp on the bottom and on the edge. Overall it wasn’t spectacular, but it was good and I’d definitely stop by and order it again.

Drew’s fries were predictably generic and seemed to have more batter than potato. He was also disappointed that the waitress never brought out his ketchup until he was almost done.

Which brings up my next point, the service was kind of awkward. Like I said, we walked in not expecting to be seated and waited on, and when we were it was a bit slow considering there were only two other tables occupied. To the staff’s credit it was friendly and helpful, just a little slow.

Anyway, I was impressed by my sandwich when it came out. It was the perfect size and came on Martusciello’s bread, which always equals bonus points. The chicken tasted good and looked like some effort went in to preparing it. The sandwich tasted good overall, but was maybe just a tad dry for my liking.

I thought Drew’s calzone looked really good – with a doughy exterior – but he said he’s had better. It had a lot more cheese (mozzarella and ricotta) than chicken, and was pretty dark – almost burnt in a few spots – on the bottom.

Drew said the chicken was nice and juicy, but he wasn’t thrilled about the dark bottom crust. He also wanted a mild Buffalo sauce with the chicken, but it instead came on the side. I got to sample some of the crust and thought it was good, but the calzone could have used more chicken and less cheese.

Drew took a huge peanut butter cookie for the road and enjoyed it, saying it was very soft and filling. I didn’t try any, but it looked really good – as did the few other cookies at the register.

Overall DiRosato’s fell in the ‘B’ range, as expected. It could have been better, if not for the awkward service, atmosphere and a few flaws with our orders.

It’s hard to tell what type of restaurant DiRosato’s is trying to be. On one hand it looks like a typical pizza place, but it’s also working on becoming sort of a bar and a family restaurant at the same time – adding to the overall awkwardness.

However, the food was pretty good. The sandwich, pizza and calzone all had features that made them somewhat unique from similar items at comparable restaurants.

DiRosato’s also offers several pastas, plus typical grilled and fried items, subs, wings, wraps, salads and tacos.

While we wouldn’t make a trip out to Gates (or the supposed second location in Greece) specifically for DiRoasto’s, we would definitely stop by if we’re in the area.

Ratings

Service/Atmosphere: Awkward.

Food: I really liked the crust on the pizza and calzone, enjoyed my sandwich and thought there were a lot of intriguing choices on the menu.

Value: I don’t have the prices of the top of my head, but they were very reasonable and the portions were decent.

Overall: The restaurant seems to be in some sort of identity crisis, and the service and atmosphere are kind of awkward. A few things held DiRosato’s from meeting its potential, but as it is the food is good and comes at a good value.

Grade: B-