For 16 years Ive hated lobster. It all started when my cousins held me back as I tried to stop my dad from boiling and killing 3 lobsters when I was 7. My attempt to free the lobsters failed, and from then on I vowed never to eat lobster again. That is until I my friend James Conlan started working at Fords. He went on about the grilled cheeses at Fords saying, “Oh man those johns slap harder then a bull out of it’s pen”, Then I said “Well golly gee James I might have to give it a try”. I then went on my horse to Fords Lobsters in Noank Connecticut. I hopped off and saw a magnificent dock location right on the Noank Harbor. Now this isn’t my first time going but I know you haven’t so I must describe it to you. Fords is a small outdoors restaurant with a classic lobster house covered with buoys (Great for pictures). The pebble parking lot leads you to a open restaurant with an open grill and beautiful seating right on the edge of the water. No matter where you sit you will see the massive ships and boats going by. I get a table with my buddies and order right away. As we wait I sip on a frozen strawberry lemonade, It tasted like the minute made popsicles that you had to slide up. Very nostalgic and delicious. About 7 minutes later my grilled cheese arrived. It was the one of the most beautiful looking plates I have ever seen. The grilled cheese was full of buttery lobster, melted cheese, and avocado. All stacked on top of potato chips and a side of coleslaw. As I picked up the first piece I feel my fingers get drenched in a warm butter that the bread happily shared. I took my first bite and shook the hand of sweet buttery lobster that followed with a slap on the back from the creamy avocado and cheese. I never knew something so simple could be so good. I felt so full when I was finished but it wasn’t a bad full it was a, I don’t have to eat dinner tonight full.

Overall, this grilled cheese introduced me to the world of hot lobster in such a classic and delightful way. From the setting, to the food itself. I wouldn’t want to go anywhere else for lobster. Therefore, I give Fords Lobsters of Noank Connecticut a 9.0 out of 10.

Today I will be talking about a food dear to my heart, Philly cheese steaks. From a young age I have been fascinated by the simple steak and cheese. Either a Philly cheesesteak consisting of steak and wiz wit to a steak and cheese with peppers, onions, and provolone. The steak and cheese is classic for most foodies. What I look for in a steak and cheese is a bun that holds it all together, keeps a crispy outside and contains the grease from seeping through. Most importantly chopped ribbons of steak with an even amount of cheese in each bite. Not having enough cheese makes a mouthful of meat that isn’t enjoyable unless with pepper and onions. Starting off my experience, walking into Philly’s I was welcomed by a baseball themed setting with a standing counter and multiple tables. My sister Posy and I order at the counter, I got the Broad Street Bully. A Philly cheesesteak rated number 1 on the travel magazine, with extra meat, provolone, mushrooms, sweet and hot peppers, cheez wiz, and pickles. My sister got a classic Philly cheese steak. It took 5 minutes for our steaming steaks arrive. All I can say is wow, my broad street bully looked absolutely magnificent. I could see all the ingredients with the chez wiz drizzled on top. I pick up the steak and dug in. My first bite was filled with a combination of flavors that I have never experienced through a cheesesteak. The chez wiz seeped through the top half of the sandwich but was met halfway with the provolone. The pickles brought a new flavor to the steak and the hot peppers were not too spicy and added a small kick to every bite. Each bite I took was better and better but also sadder. I didn’t want to finish it, I wish i could have just eaten it forever. The bun kept all the grease at ease and never fell apart despite how packed it was.

Overall, the Broad Street Bully was the best steak and cheese I have ever had. It absolutely deserves that rating on the travel channel. I have gained such a respect for this small steak joint in Norwich. From the chez wiz to the pickles everything worked as a team to make an amazing steak and cheese and a name for Philly’s. I give Philly’s a 8 out of 10.

I entered Lewis Barbecue of Charleston, South Carolina with only the recommendation by Phil who worked at the Trek Store in Mt Pleasant. I had no idea that the food I was about to eat would change my life forever. I have gone to many barbecue places in my life, from blue ribbon, Chester’s, red bones, Jim and nicks, and the dog watch barbecue. So not to toot my own horn but I know what is up with barbecue. When ordering barbecue I always get brisket or pulled pork and sometimes ribs. I think a true BBQ place shows its true self with it’s brisket. Walking into Lewis was an experience in itself. Wooden tables line the restaurants sides as I walked up to the main counter where the meat is cut and sold. Behind the counter is white tiles surrounding a bunch of ovens to keep the meat nice and warm. It’s kind of like the heaven of BBQ. Ordering is just walking up to the counter and telling the cutter what you want. I stood over the glass and looked at the array of sides and condiments available for the meats. I ask for brisket and he turned around and opened the oven. He pulled out a slab of brisket wrapped in pink butcher paper. He started slicing the meat and asked how many slices. I said give me all of it, which turned out to be over a pound of brisket! I was fuckin pumped! I accompanied it with mac and cheese. I sat down with my parents and we looked at our feast. The brisket was cut into think slices. It had a kosher salt and pepper rub that cooks onto it like a crust of flavor. It’s like a armor that keeps the fat from seeping out. I pick up my first piece of brisket and took a bite. It fell apart on my tongue and the flavor exploded. At that point I knew I was eating the best brisket of my life. The fats flowed on my taste buds followed by the meat which its tenderness is unmatched. Explaining how good this was is very hard. Each bite was like going to every BBQ place in America and taking the best part of each place, then putting it into one order of brisket. The mac and cheese was a Velveeta sauce and shells, but not the Velveeta shells. It kind of disappointed me because I was expecting fresh mac but at that point I couldn’t have cared less because of the brisket.

Overall, this is the best BBQ I have ever had. It changed the way I knew brisket and real southern BBQ. I give Lewis Barbecue a 9.5 on the taste bud scale. For only the Mac and Cheese held it back from a 9.8

A review by Miles Olivetti

So its a mid afternoon on the day we leave Raleigh North Carolina. We drive past NC State then headed straight towards Beasley’s Chicken + Honey, One of Ashley Christensen’s restaurants. As we pulled up 10 minutes before it opened a line had already formed outside the door. Luckily we were able to get a seat at the bar. I took a good look at the menu before I decided to get the classic chicken sandwich with a side of mac and cheese. After ordering, I thought about the criteria I would follow while rating this. I wanted to judge hard on the crunch on the batter used but also on the chicken, obviously. It came to us quickly, about 5 mins. Before I talk about what this master piece looked like let me explain the restaurant. It was a very modern southern style restaurant. Focused mainly on tourists and millennials living in Raleigh. Like seriously, if you want to see some hard core millennials go to this place because it literally like a zoo. Ooooooo as you can see here it is the coffee shop millennial with a beanie, clear glasses with no prescription, and a nice bow tie. All jokes aside though, millennials are woke as heck and have good style so all the power to them. Now to the main event, the sandwich. It had a nice sweet southern bun, lettuce, tangy honey sauce, and a large piece of perfectly fried chicken. The Mac and cheese looked just amazing. A huge square of white cheddar Mac nothing more to say. I placed my fingers on the buns and lifted the piece of art into my mouth. I sinked my teeth into a light fluffy bun which continued into a crisp like no other. It was a crisp that sounded like stepping on a thin piece of ice and my lord that was just the lettuce. The Chicken in sandwich was absolutely outstanding. The fry was perfect, It’s hard to explain with words to describe the sensation I felt biting into the chicken. It had a medium layer of batter that was complimented by the most moist piece of chicken a human could ask for. The chicken flaked away inside my mouth bursting with flavor. On the menu there is a spicy chicken sandwich which is made with Carolina reaper pepper (the hottest pepper in the world). I showed a big interest in it but didn’t get it so the bar tender went and got me a little kettle of the sauce they marinade the fried chicken in. I immediately tried it and IT WAS AMAZING! It was pretty hot but bearable. To help me with the heat I ate my Mac and cheese. It was a perfect Mac and cheese that is probably the best I have had, sorry mom.

Over all Beasley’s Chicken + Honey gets a 9.1 out of ten. I left with no complaints expect I don’t think I could go here for dinner because of the tables and chairs. Definitely a lunch place mainly. Over all though this place was amazing and would 100% recommend.

A review by Miles Olivetti

A beginning of my college tours brought my family and I to Raleigh North Carolina. Pretty much a small city full of millennials. The streets line with coffee shops that modern day hippies hang during the morning. Then a wide selection of food places and bars for a great night anybody would enjoy. We pulled up to our hotel and I researched the local restaurants. After about 30 minutes of contemplation we decided to try The Pit. A BBQ place widely known in Raleigh for good food and drinks. We call in and get a read on the wait which was about 1 hour. Making my parents disappointed but making me know the hype was real. I discover on the website we could do an online reservation which we jumped on immediately. At 8:15 we walked in and got our table right away beating a line of about 15 people. We sat down in a nice setting of dim lighting, great music, and tables of chatty people. Our waiter was very nice and gave us the layout of the menu. The menu was a classic southern menu with modern twists. I decided with the choice of two consisting of pulled pork, fried chicken and two sides of Mac and cheese and mash potatoes with gravy. It came very quickly and I was happily surprised to see a huge plate of food sat in front of me. I started with the pulled pork. It was very fleshy almost lightly cooked but tasted great. The fried chicken had a perfect crisp and a large amount of meat. Throughout my meal I ate the sides which were just ok. The mashed had to many skins and Mac and cheese was just basic. Overall, The Pit was a good BBQ place that does its job but its nothing special. A firm 6.7 for The Pit.

Looking for a place for dinner, I scanned my brain for a local restaurant I would gladly try. After watching Phil Michelson throw away the 16th at the Phoenix Open I came to the conclusion I would give the Alta Strada Market a try. I went into this with extremely high expectations because the only place with a eatable chicken parm around here is Comella’s and let me be honest I am not trying to eat my lacrosse banquet for dinner. I go and pick up my order and when I walk in it smells absolutely amazing! Like holy smokers what a smell. My quick trip in and out didn’t give me a lot of time to solve the smell but man should I have gotten the smell instead of the sub. I get home and the presentation is on point. Nice red and white checkered paper and a big chicken parm smack dab in the middle. I don’t wait and I dig in. I bite into a hard roll made right in the market. It had a crunchy crust that opened into soggy bread that had the texture of a piece of stale baguette that sunk with the Titanic. I get to the chicken and sauce, the chicken is cut up into little pieces that are perfectly breaded. Bottom line well done on the chicken. The sauce on the other hand was completely horrendous. Having zero flavor except for a slight taste of basil and the bitter taste you get from tomato seeds, this tomato sauce was completely horrible. It ruined the sandwich for me. I didn’t even finish it. I would rather go to Comella’s. Bad bread, good chicken, bad sauce, and good presentation. I give Alta Strada’s chicken parm a 3.8 out of 10.

A review by Miles Olivetti

Sushi, a food that has consumed my life for the past three years has let my mouth experience tastes from culture on the coast of Yokohama to tastes originating in the big city of Tokyo. Flavor is what I think about when eating sushi. You can get sushi from your local grocery store or just even a 7-11 and you get that bland “sushi” taste. If you have eaten sushi you can understand what I’m talking about. It is that flavor of the slight sweet sushi rice and then the texture of the small piece of fish. I respect sushi no matter where it is from, but when a single piece of sushi touches your tongue and brings indescribable sensation to a palate just touched by a starter of miso soup. Thats when I consider sushi, “sushi”. Nigiri is probably the best style of sushi in my opinion. It keeps the traditional form of sushi without the stupid American twist most restaurants add to maki rolls. Biting into a piece of nigiri should consist of soy sauce brushed on top of the fish and then eaten in one bite, not two. So when I sat down at my favorite sushi restaurant near me, Yama. I was prepared for a quick trip to Japan. Right away I ordered Maguro nigiri. A classic piece of sushi that consists of rice and a lean piece of tuna. I got two orders and then a bowl of miso soup. Jumping right into the experience, I was greeted by a wooden boat full of sushi from what I ordered to my parents order. Colors jumped around making my eyes widen to capture the magnificent creation. I reach for my chopsticks but then stopped to slowly pour soy sauce into the small white dish. I grabbed my first piece of nigiri and slightly bathed the top of the fish in the dark soy sauce. I then ate. The sushi rice hits my tongue and before I know it my teeth sink into the fish and then met by the soft rice. The fish fills my mind of a cold morning in the fish market as it touches the top of my mouth. I chew delicately while my taste buds cannot process the euphoric pleasure from this single bite. Yama gets a 8.3 from me. It is the best food I can have where I live and it will always be my favorite restaurant.

Thoughts and review by Miles Olivetti

Ps: I took this picture after eating two of my pieces 🙂

Tonight I went to dinner at Bertucci’s in Needham. I think everyone knows Bertucci’s so we can all agree that they have the best bread rolls. Coming back tonight though I could tell the shapes of the rolls were flatter then fluffy. Still, they delivered with great taste and warmth to begin your meal. As I looked at the menu I only really glanced for a minute before I set my eye’s on the fettuccine Alfredo. I have ordered it before so I knew what to expect but none the less I was excited. I always am down for an Italian pasta dish. When it came, to our waiter Omar sat the plate down and I immediately covered the pasta in its bath of sauce. As my fork turned over steam rushed my face and a smell of cream flowed through my nostrils. I dug in.

Let’s be honest, Bertucci’s is a chain so the food is just ok but my meal was a solid 7/10. With a combination of the bread and main entree, I felt full and ready for a good nights sleep.

A Review by Miles Olivetti

• 

Hi, I’m Miles Olivetti and this is my food blog. For my whole life, I have loved food. It has consumed my thoughts day in and day out. For me enjoying meals is easy but on the occasion, I will be harsh.