Erbelli’s award in the Best Pizza category comes as no surprise. The restaurant has earned awards in this category for years, including a spot in the 2000 Readers’ Choice Awards and five years running as the Best Gourmet Specialty Pizza at the Portage Pizza Fest. This year, however, they moved up to the number one spot to claim the top award for the entire area.

Another award Erbelli’s is proud to accept is the #1 Best Italian Restaurant in the area. Past of this win is attributed to dedicated owner Greg Erb’s frequent visits to Italy to pick up new ideas and concepts. As a result, diners enjoy authentic Italian flavors and get the full experience of a welcoming Italian restaurant. Additionally, Erbelli’s was also voted the first runner-up for Best Family Restaurant and the #1 Best Place for Lunch in the Kalamazoo area.

A new award for Erbelli’s this year was the #1 Best Wait Staff award. This is a huge honor for Erbelli’s. At the restaurant, they have always placed a high value on service, training wait staff for at least two or three weeks before letting them take tables on their own. Plus, waiters and waitresses at Erbelli’s pride themselves on getting to know customers by name, which adds a personal touch to the dining experience.

With the recent expansion of Erbelli’s to include a full bar, it’s a huge honor for them to be included in the Best Martinis category. Erbelli’s earned the second runner-up spot in this section.

Fricano's of Alamo

Last night Aimee and I were debating about where to go for dinner. She was craving pizza, but I had pizza for lunch on Friday and was looking for something different. We made a compromise and chose an Italian restaurant that is pretty close to our home.

We decided to go to Fricano’s of Alamo. Even though Fricano’s has a Kalamazoo address, they are actually located in Alamo Township.

We arrived at about 8 PM and found the restaurant was still quite busy. We decided to sit closer to the bar because it felt a little more private as the main dining room was pretty full.

We were quickly greeted by a very friendly waitress named Kaylei. To start with, Aimee ordered a Martini and I ordered a Bell’s Amber Ale. I love Bell’s Beer and have not had an Amber Ale in a while so it sounded pretty good. We were not sure how the Martini would be because it was not on the menu.

Martini and Bell's Amber Ale

The beer was great as usual but Aimee’s martini was not as dirty as she hoped it would be so Kaylei brought out some extra olive juice. While this does fix the problem of the taste to a degree, it would have been much better if it was shaken into the drink. Aimee was not asked what kind of vodka she wanted in the martini and in hindsight we should have specified. We have a feeling that it was the cheap well vodka because the taste just wasn’t there and the drink was so inexpensive on our bill.

Caesar Salad and Bread

For our meals, Aimee ordered a mushroom and olive pizza. I was torn between the Italian sausage with peppers in a marinara sauce served over penne or my old Italian food standby: chicken fettuccine alfredo. I was torn so I asked Kaylei which one she liked more and she said that they both are very good, but she would order the fettuccine alfredo so I took her advice. Aimee ordered a side Caesar salad to go with her pizza and I also chose the Caesar salad as my side. I could have chosen two other salad styles or the minestrone soup.

Fricano's Pizza

Our salads were quite good and we were also brought out Italian bread with oil and herbs for dipping. The salad was fresh and the dressing was excellent. The Italian bread was simple, but has a nice flavor and was excellent dipped in the olive oil and herbs.

Aimee loved her pizza. Fricano’s still uses the same pizza recipe that they used when they first opened in Alamo Township back in 1979. Their pizza is excellent. It only comes as a 12” size and it has a very thin and crispy crust. The sauce, cheese and toppings were all perfect.

Chicken Fettuccine Alfredo

I also thoroughly enjoyed my meal. The pasta was excellent, the sauce was rich and creamy, and the grilled chicken was prepared perfectly. The portion was large which is great because it let me have some leftovers for lunch on Sunday.

Fricano’s may be a little out of the way for some, but it is definitely worth the trip. We like the environment. It’s the perfect family place or a great place to dine with friends. Down to the simple red and white checkered table cloths to the locals stopping in for a quick beer, Fricano’s is famous for a reason. We can’t wait to go back in the summer. The views from the table side are beautiful farm fields with plenty of deer grazing on the warm, sunny grass.

Fricano’s of Alamo
7454 North 6th Street
Kalamazoo, MI 49009
(269) 342-0808

D'Nicio's Parlour

Today Aimee and I decided to try out a restaurant that we have driven past several times and were curious about. The restaurant is D’nicio’s Parlour on West Main Street in front of Menards.

D’nicio’s is a diner type atmosphere that also has a large ice cream parlour. The set up was nice and they captured the classic American Diner décor. It is basically an American diner/ ice cream parlor that focuses on Greek food.

We walked in and immediately all of the wait staff greeted us with a friendly “Welcome to D’nicio’s!” which is refreshing. Too many restaurants do not greet their customers. Aimee and I sat in a booth for two, along the East wall.

Our waitress came to take our drink order and she also let us know that the fryer is down. Aimee ordered a coffee and I ordered an ice tea. The coffee was okay; it was what you would expect from a diner. The ice tea was a little off. It tasted like it may have been sitting for a long time or it was made from bad tea or poor quality water. I asked to have it switched out for a soda, which the waitress said would not be a problem.

Veggie Omelet

Aimee was hungry for an omelet and I knew that I wanted either the gyro or the Coney dog. Since the fryer was down and I could not order fries, I decided to try the gyro and one Coney dog with everything. Aimee ordered the veggie omelet with cheese which came with a side of hash browns and toast.

Aimee enjoyed her omelet. The portions were very large and it was filled with fresh veggies and cheese. The hash browns were a little underdone and under seasoned. With a little salt, pepper and hot sauce they at least had some flavor.

My gyro was nothing to write home about. The tzatziki sauce was a little too watery and it lacked in flavor. The gyro was stuffed with thickly cut gyro meat, tomatoes, and a lot of onions. Traditionally, I am used to the gyro meat sliced more thinly.

Gyro and Coney Dog

The Coney dog on the other hand was excellent. They specialize in Detroit styled Coney dogs. The chili was the best part of the Coney. It was beanless, but had more of a chili consistency than the Coney Island of Kalamazoo, whose Coney is more like seasoned greasy ground beef (Jackson style Coney).

The food and the atmosphere were both pretty good all in all. I do recommend that they spend more time training their wait staff though. Our waitress was friendly, but had poor etiquette. First, Aimee asked if they omelets came with a good amount of cheese to which she replied, “I hate omelets; they taste like burnt scrambled eggs.” This response of course raised a red flag, so Aimee asked if that was all omelets, or just ones from here, to which she replied, “All omelets.” We had to wonder how she does not know if they omelets had a lot of cheese, does she not look at the food she serves. After we finished eating, she came to our table and complained about how the cooks don’t speak English and how she can’t communicate with them. That’s just not something that a server should be telling her customers. Lastly, after we signed our credit card slip and put a tip on it, she came to our table and said, “I can take that up for you.” There was no reason for her to take it yet. As she walked away we could see her checking to see how big her tip was. Very unprofessional.

I do think we will give the restaurant a try again, as I would like to try more of their Greek food. Although their menu is vegetarian limited, Aimee is interested in trying their spinach pie and Greek salad. Their ice cream looks great too, so we will have to pay D’nicio’s a visit when the weather warms up, and we’re on a trip back from Lake Michigan.

D’nicio’s Parlour
6880 West Main Street
Kalamazoo, MI. 49009
(269) 353-8600

Erbelli's

This past Saturday night Aimee and were both hungry for pizza. That means one thing for us, Erbelli’s Pizza. If you have never tried Erbelli’s then you are missing out. They are hands down the best pizza in Kalamazoo.

Erbelli’s has a location in Portage, and in Kalamazoo. We prefer going to the Kalamazoo location off of Stadium because it is closer to home and it is larger and more modern. They have recently remodeled and included a large bar that is really sharp looking.

The restaurant was packed when we got there so we grabbed two seats at the bar and we were happy to see that Mike was working. Mike is a very personable bartender that makes a mean martini. As we debated which style of pizza to get, we ordered the Crazy Caesar Salad and to drink I ordered a Cabin Fever Brown Ale from New Holland Brewing Company and Aimee ordered a dirty martini.

Crazy Caesar Salad

The brown ale was a bit sweet and malty and an overall good brew. Aimee really likes the dirty Martini’s made by Mike. He topped them off with a variety of stuffed green olives. We were disappointed in the Caesar salad. The romaine lettuce was a bit too yellow, the croutons were from a bag, and the salad dressing was in packets from T. Marzetti. We feel that with the quality of food that Erbelli’s offers, they should be able to handle making their own croutons and having a salad dressing that is made in house and not served in a packet. Overall, the salad was nothing special that you could not make in a couple of minutes at home.

Erbelli's Square Pizza

For our pizza, we were torn of whether to order the pan or the square style crust. We decided to order the square because we always get the pan. Our pizza was half pepperoni and jalapenos and half mushrooms and jalapenos. As usual, the pizza was amazing. Everything about it is good. The crust is not too heavy or think and is nice and crisp. The sauce is truly one of a kind. It is the perfect blend of sweet and savory. They use just the right amount amount of cheese and only high quality toppings. You can also see and taste the flakes of parsley and oregano sprinkled over the top. We thoroughly enjoyed our pizza and luckily have enough left over for lunch on Sunday. After the meal we relaxed and talked a bit with Mike the bartender. I ordered a Bell’s Two Hearted Ale which is one of my all time favorite brews. It is a very hoppy India Pale Ale with a very floral bouquet.

Erbelli’s is really the best pizza restaurant in Kalamazoo and we try to go there at least once a month. Overall, you are safe to order everything on the menu as it is all top quality food. The only exception is the salads, which are slightly uninspiring.

Erbelli’s Gourmet Pizza
6214 Stadium Drive
Kalamazoo, MI.
269-375-0408

Zooroona

Tonight for dinner we were craving something different. We were not hungry at all for the typical pizza or burgers and fries. Both Jeff and I really enjoy ethnic foods so we decided to try Kalamazoo’s newest Middle Eastern restaurant, Zooroona.

Zooroona in Arabic means ‘come visit us’-which explains the welcoming atmosphere and the fresh, authentic tasting food. Located on the end of the same plaza as the well known Tiffany’s beer and wine store, Zooroona opens the doors to an exciting dining experience. Jeff knows Saad Mandwee, the owner of Tiffany’s, through the natural and specialty food market in Kalamazoo. When we heard that Saad and his brothers opened an authentic Middle Eastern restaurant, we knew we had to visit.

Iraqi Tea

The manger, Rafet was first to great us and offered us a seat. He was very friendly and seemed like a very genuine person who takes pride in his work. When he asked us where we wanted to sit, we had the option of a booth, a table, or a raised area with curtains and uniquely crafted walls for privacy. There was a low table and the seating was on some pillows that were placed on the ground. We have never dined while sitting on the floor before, at least not at a restaurant, but we thought we would give the Majlis seating a try. The Majlis looked like a little romantic room that had antique doors as walls on one side and rich, imported drapes on the other. Rafet asked us to take off our shoes, which I clearly didn’t plan for, or else I would have worn some cuter socks. Jeff let me know that culturally, it is disrespectful to show the bottom of your feet so I was mindful of not showing the fellow diners and restaurant employees the soles of my feet.

Lentil Soup and Fattoush Salad

While trying to keep our backs straight and our legs from falling asleep, Jeff and I were warmly greeted by an old friend of mine who, by chance, turned out to be our server. Her name is Jen and her enthusiasm for the quality of the food at Zooroona made us both very excited for the meal to come. To start with we ordered a small pot of the Iraqi tea which is a delicious black tea with cardamom.

For appetizers, I had the lentil soup which came with my meal. The soup is by far the best lentil soup that I have ever had. It’s a crushed lentil vegetable soup that is mixed with a dash of lemon and is flavored with Arabian spices. Jeff had the fattoush salad which he thoroughly enjoyed. The fattoush is a mix of romaine lettuce and greens with tomato, cucumber, radishes, and parsley which is tossed together with Zooroona’s signature dressing and topped with crispy Arabic pita.

Veggie Dish

For the entree, I ordered the veggie dish which consists of hummous, falafel, dolmeh, muttabbel, and tabouleh and is served with tahini or garlic sauce. The dolmeh or grapeleaves, had the freshest flavors of lemon, and tasted nothing like grape leaves from the jar. The muttbabbel, which some call baba ganoush, had just the right amount of salt infused with roasted eggplant. I usually steer clear from baba ganoush and opt for the standard hummous, but both were the best I’ve tasted.

Tekka Tekka Beef

Jeff ordered the Tekka Tekka Beef, which basically is a deconstructed shish kabob. All the vegetables were roasted whole; the onion still in tacked with the skin on and the green pepper had the seedy middle. Jeff’s side dish was light and flavorful saffron rice. The beef was cooked perfectly and pairing the beef with the roasted onion, pepper, or tomato and dipping it in the tahini sauce was absolutely delicious.

We were both very impressed with quality of the food at Zooroona. The ingredients were simple, but the flavors were not. You can tell that the food is fresh and great care is taken in choosing the ingredients that are used. We asked our server Jen more about the food and she told us that Chef Loui is a traveling musician and chef from Syria who has settled down to head the kitchen. He takes great care in the quality and authenticity of the food. In fact, he even called his mother back home in Syria to learn her secret ingredients for the falafel.

At Zooroona, you will find authentic Middle Eastern cuisine, great customer service, and beautiful décor. If you are looking for a romantic night out, or just a good place to share a meal and a conversation with friends, then you are going to love Zooroona.

Zooroona Restaurant and Lounge
1710 West Main St
Kalamazoo, MI. 49006
269-382-4444
www.zooroonarestaurant.com