Restaurant Review of John's Pizza Restaurant, 111 Rubber Ave Naugatuck CT

John's Pizza does not look like much from the outside.  It's set next to a Dunkin' Donuts and a Family Market, across the street from a Friendly's.  When you walk in, there is no host or hostess and it's as if you've come in through a back door simply because there is no one to greet you and the tables are right there in front of you.  I went there last night with my girlfriend, hoping for some delicious "wood-fired grilled pizza" as their handmade sign out front advertises.  Boy, were we in for a surprise.

The waitress came over to drop menus to us as she was bringing drinks to another table.  She was multitasking the entire time we were there, which is exactly what a waitress should do.  Within minutes she had taken our drink menus, nothing fancy, just a water and a diet coke, although they had Shiraz which is my favorite wine and I have not found that at many pizza places or Italian restaurants.  We decided on a chef salad with italian and peppercorn dressings on the side, and a small pizza with red sauce, broccoli, sliced tomatoes, and ricotta.

Our salad came out within minutes as well.  Nothing fancy, pretty comparable to any chef salad I had ever had.

Our pizza came out shortly after.  Now who are we kidding, this was the main event, what we were really looking forward to.  And it exceeded our expectations!  I love a thin crust.  The crust on this pizza was delicious, thin, light, fluffy, and tasted like a wood-fired crust should taste!  I was really impressed.  Now, a pizza can get pretty wet and messy when you have red sauce AND sliced tomatoes on it.  This pizza was not too wet, nor was it too messy, even with the added moisture from ricotta!  Instead each bite was full of flavor, chewy crust, no toppings were falling off so each bite had each of the ingredients in it.  The waitress was so attentive that my water glass was just below half full and she was bringing me a new full glass.  As soon as I took my last bite of pizza she was right there sweeping my plate away for me.  She was really great.  The whole experience was a positive one.  A great night out with a good friend, excellent food, friendly environment, and great service.  I would highly recommend John's restaurant if you are ever in the area and looking for some wood-fired pizza.

Amazing Weekend Breakfast!

So last weekend I was about to make breakfast and I noticed I had a couple of overripe bananas about to go bad and be thrown out so I decided to make banana pancakes for breakfast.  When I went to grab the milk out of the fridge was when I saw a pint of strawberries that also needed to be used, so I figured: strawberry banana pancakes.  Then for a twist, I thought I'd throw some heart-healthy oatmeal and walnuts in there and hope for the best.  I really wasn't expecting much.  How they turned out, though, was absolutely melt-in-your-mouth delicious!  The strawberry and banana paired so well together and the walnuts added a new taste and texture to pancakes.  The recipe is as follows:

Mash up one ripe banana
Mix with 3/4 c. Bisquick (I was in a hurry!)
1/4 c. oatmeal
1/2 c. milk
1 egg
cinnamon to taste
chopped strawberries, about one large handful
1 1/4 c. sour cream
1/4 c. walnuts

As with any pancakes, heat up your cooking surface on medium or medium-high.  I used a griddle.  Plop a large spoonful of batter down on the surface and wait until you see bubbles forming throughout the pancakes to flip them.  Once flipped, let them cook a few more minutes on the other side and that's it.  Top with some butter (I like Smart Balance Light) and light syrup.  They are really quick, easy, and taste like you spent hours perfecting them.  Good luck!