I have to say Italian food in Houston is “meh”... really it is just isn’t very good in Texas... not terrible compared to most places but Hartford, Providence, NYC, Philly and St. Louis have better Italian food. San Fran and Vegas do too. The best meatballs I have had have been at Charlie Gitto’s in St Louis. It is great for a number of dishes... a lot of great Italian food in St. Louis... but there is one place better... In Miami is Harry’s Pizza. The best meatballs I have even have had. Great quality and very well made.
All pasta at Giacomo's is made fresh. I never knew it made that big of a difference, but it does. Would love to get your take on them. Are you in Houston?
@R0ckets03 @tinman More disgusting freak people like the Chinese amirite? Naw I'm just kidding fellas let's not derail Fatty's thread out respect for his greatness. I recommend schweddy's.
not going to lie. The HEB prepped meatballs aren't bad. Takes 25 mins in the oven. Huge time saver if you cant make your own
I don't know if they have restaurants in the Houston area, but here in Austin, Mandola's Italian has excellent meatballs. They have 3 locations in Austin, one of them out where we live in the southwest part of town at Arbor Trails. We've been getting curbside to go during the Plague. You can get meatballs ala carte, with some of their tasty marinara in the container for them to bathe in while you take them home, or with whatever pasta you desire, made on the premises. Their lunches during the week are a heck of a deal, including Italian soup or salad and bread, served until 3 o'clock. I'm getting hungry!
The best meatballs I've ever had are the ones I make myself. Mix up basil, 80/20 ground beef, salt, parmigiano reggiano, bread crumbs, a couple eggs, garlic, form into desired size meatballs, pan fry to crust them up, in the oven at 450, and then in the sauce. Sauce is garlic, olive oil, basil, salt, san marzano tomatoes on low/medium heat for five or six hours. Houston Italian food is not great unfortunately.
The Hill in St Louis has the best Italian food I`ve ever had.....Good call on Charlie Gitto`s.......miss Imo`s pizza to
I am currently in Chicago and recently have lived in Ohio (I sold it recently) and NI. I lived in areas across the country in my 20's and early 30's. I travel a lot for business and am big on local histories, food and the people wherever I travel. I still get into Houston 3-4 times a year for business and a few times for seeing family. I have eaten there once. I believe that was the place that has a binder for their menu. It is better than what I usually would get if I went to an Italian restaurant outside of the North East and places like St. Louis and pockets on the West Coast. Here is the thing about Italian food, even in places like Chicago and St. Louis.... it is very hit or miss and there isn't a strong agreement on what is good Italian food. I have gone to Little Italy in Chicago expecting a good meal.... 75% of the place spoke Italian..... and I had two Italian friends with me.... and we got the food and the gravy (which is what they call the marinara in some places like Chicago) was seriously disgusting. It wasn't just me. I ate about a quarter of the plate.... I thought it was just me, but as we are leaving my friend starts talking in Italian to an old guy at the front...... and the next thing I know the old guy is screaming at us and pushing us out the door. I get to the car and I ask my friend what that was about, and he said "I told the old guy in Italian that the food will smell better coming out of my ass than down my throat."....... so it very hit or miss.
I don't think I've had any type of food that I haven't had better at a restaurant. How many master chef episodes do I need to watch to get on yalls level?
Honestly, people are biased towards their own food because it is what they are used to and they can cook it to be tailored to their own tastes. Having said that, a master chef is better in almost all cases to most people. There are some specific ethnic foods where there are exceptions but that is even becoming less of the case due to the amount of information out there. People can learn a lot experimenting and cooking on their own for sure, but nothing like what a classically trained chef is capable of (for most foods). There are some exceptions....... I have had classic trained master chefs attempt to do thinks like BBQ and classic Texan dishes up here in Chicago. The outcome was good, they nailed parts of it...... but it wasn't the best I have had, and they also tended to try to put their own flare to the dishes. I had a friend my wife make me "Mexican food"...... and he bought very high quality ingredients and the meat was an 8/10 and many of the side dishes were at least an 8/10...... then the pico...... it was cut perfectly, done excellent...... but the ******* had put a small amount of mint in it, claiming that is something that is done in parts of Mexico. So......
I have to tell you, you couldn't pay me to eat a Subway meatball sandwich. Did not legal business for a few Subways years ago and I am not sure how they didn't lose their restaurant licenses.