Wolfman Pizza

Some friends mentioned Wolfman's Pizza and said it was the greatest pizza ever... hmmmm sounds like a challenge. I went to Wolfman's on Sunday hungry hungry hungry. We were seated promptly and was greeted by a friendly server... ordered drinks and apps (Styx - which are breadsticks with their homemade sun-dried tomato pesto, artichoke dip and marinara sauce). From reviewing the menu, they had pizzas that pretty much covered any appetite and taste - regular pepperoni, chicken, veggies, cheeseburger, potato - as well as sandwiches and pasta. We decided to settle for the 12 inch Led Zeppelin (Italian sausage, roma tomatoes, roasted red peppers, red onions, fresh mushrooms, black olives, jalapenos, fresh garlic and mozzarella cheese) - might as well go big or go home!

Once we placed our order, the Styx (you get 6) arrived and they arrived HOT. The steam was coming off of these breadsticks which had seasoning (tasted like some garlic, oregano and some other hints of Italian seasons) baked on top. The outside of the stick was crisp and it was moist on the inside. Also with the styx, you have the dips. My favorite was the artichoke dip. This was a cup of cheesy goodness. You could taste the artichoke while you pulled yards of melted Parmesan cheese. The sun-dried tomato pesto was also good. The dip was nicely balanced between the flavor of tomatoes and not too oily. The marinara was also good and was set aside to be used as a crust absorber.

About 10 minutes of finishing the appetizer, the pizza arrived. This pizza appeared to be chock-full! I could tell right away it was bubbly, cheesy goodness but also noticed that the crust was wet and a fork would be needed. I took a slice and placed it on my plate - ready to dig in. I noticed that the slice had an abundance of the veggies... the tomatoes and red peppers were chopped similar and looked identical on the pizza. The only way to tell them apart was the tangy taste of the red pepper compared to the sweet tomato taste. The red onions and jalapenos added a nice 'kick' and a crisp to the pizza - which was needed since the crust was so wet and moist. The Italian sausage was good and the fennel could be tasted throughout. I was glad that the sausage didn't overpower the pizza as the meat sometimes does. The veggies were definitely the fore-front of this pie. The outer crust was crusty and flavorful as my pieces had garlic and some melted cheese on them. Pairing the crust with the left over marinara and tomato pesto - it was a treat. I still do not know why the pizza was so wet and soggy for the most part. I am assuming the pizza crust was too thin. It was not too 'saucy' so I am thinking maybe the veggies must have cooked and drained their juices... just a thought.

Overall, the service was great. They were on-top of things and provided many refills. They get 4 ghosts. As far as the food - the Styx app was great and the sauces were full of flavor. The pizza was good but not the best I have had - if only the pizza was not so wet. I give the food 3 ghosts. Overall, Wolfman Pizza gets 3.5 ghosts.

The price was reasonable - for the Styx, pizza and two drinks and tip ~$25.

Go check it out - http://www.wolfmanpizza.com/index2.html

Cheese Mo'z

Over the week I tried Cheese Mo'z while out running evening errands. My spouse and I met up with another friend who wanted to try this new restaurant. It recently opened in May on Rea Rd in a nice little 'farm' community setting (along with some others - Cosmo's, Sweet T's). The Cheese Mo'z menu flaunts their 'coal fired' meals that are cooked at ~800 degrees.

We were seated on the patio and we had various servers walk by. About 5 minutes of sitting down, we were finally greeted and placed both our drink and meal orders. We ordered Cheesy Bread as an appetizer, which is coined as their signature foccacia bread with garlic, fresh herbs, smoked mozzarella and provolone cheeses and served with kalamata olive tapenade. I am not sure what is so signature about it - it was basically a piece of bread with some melted cheese on top - something I could made at home with Trader Joe ingredients. The olive tapenade did not look or taste like any other tapenade I have eaten. Both the bread and tapenade lacked flavor and I was not impressed by this dish. This was only the beginning of disappointment for the evening.

We ordered the following entrees:

Me - Five Cheese Calzone - Packed with mozzarella, ricotta, provolone, romano and parmesan reggiano cheeses, fresh tomato sauce and oregano - and I added pepperoni and mushrooms.

Spouse - Salmon Artichoke pasta - Oven-seared cedar plank salmon served on penne rigati pasta tossed with artichoke hearts, fresh oregano and homemade tomato sauce.

Friend - Small pepperoni pizza

I guess it was good we ordered an appetizer as it took about 20 minutes before any of the dishes were brought out. Mine and the spouses were first... The calzone was a big roll of black dough (we were warned of the coal... but the entire thing black?). The spouse's dish was not what was ordered - instead - it appeared to be spinach pasta. The spouse asked if this was the salmon and the waitress said she thought it was and left. (Keep in mind - the friend has yet to be served).

The spouse kept reviewing the dish and trying to find salmon and asked the waitress again - believing this was not the correct dish. The waitress said - "It was what was given to me." Also at this time, we asked where the small pizza was... A third time around, the spouse said that this clearly was not the salmon dish - the waitress - looking as if we were putting her out - marched back to the kitchen only to return with the 'correct dish.' No apology for the incorrect dish. Again - we asked where the small pizza was - and again - given an excuse ("the kitchen is backed up")... I would think that since all the orders were placed at the same time, the kitchen would receive the orders at the same time - weird how the kitchen seems to be backed up for just a small pizza. About 15 more minutes have passed at this point.

I decided to cut.... I mean saw... into the calzone. One bite and it was just a mess of dough with no flavor (unless you count burnt calzone a flavor). The cheese wasn't cold but didn't seem to be cooked all the way through and had a doughy aftertaste. There were a few pieces of pepperoni and hardly any mushrooms. I probably could have gotten a better calzone at Pizza Hut at this point. I didn't even finish the black ball of dough. What a shame. 20 minutes later - the small pizza came... Now, back to the salmon pasta - there was about 3-4 small pieces of salmon on dried out pasta. Seems like they cooked it, let it stand for about 20 minutes and then served it. The dish also lacked sauce and from what I tasted of it - it also lacked any type of flavor. This dish was also not finished. As for the small pizza, my friend took one bite and asked for a to-go box since it came 20 minutes into the meal.

Sorry Cheese Mo'z - this place is terrible and it will be very hard for me to go back. The service was slow and appeared to be 'put out' and drink refills hardly occurred. I needed all the water I could to choke down what I did eat. I give the entire place 1 ghost. If anyone has had a better experience, please let me know.

Don't waste your time.

http://www.cheesemoz.com/

Rotelli's

Today some co-workers and I decided to go out for lunch and try Rotelli’s. Since none of us has eaten there we figured it would be a good place to try – especially since it was around the corner. We entered the restaurant and were hit in the face with the smell of pizza cooking (always a great sign) and greeted warmly by the hostess (I will also mention it was nice and cold in the restaurant – could have been the 90+ degree days we have been having). Browsing the menu, I noticed there were some lunch time specials – there were five that varied between slices of pizza to half sandwich combos – all under $6. Our waitress then came to the table to take our drink orders and to bring us some garlic rolls. The rolls were warm and buttery and I liked how the rolls were lightly crisp on the outside and very soft in the inside…. Did I mention we had about 12 rolls in our basket!

Trying not to fill up on bread, we decided to all order the half sandwich combo, which comes with a side salad (or soup if you prefer) and a slice of cheese pizza. You also get to select which half sandwich you want so I opted for the eggplant parmesan while my co-workers got the meatball parmesan and the spa grilled chicken. Our salads came first and they were big! Usually a side salad is small and lacking but this was a good sized salad with mixed greens and romaine, red cabbage, cucumbers and carrots. This ‘side salad’ could have been a meal. Next our slice of pizza came – which was hot out of the oven! The pizza had a very thin crust – which I like – and had some nice spices mixed into the cheese. The slice was also large, equivalent to the “NY Slice”, and initially required a fork to eat. Lastly, the sandwiches came – which were on 6-inches of lightly toasted bread. Biting into my eggplant parmesan, careful not to burn my mouth, I noticed that the eggplant was not greasy and was tender. I would like to see a little bit more seasoning in the eggplant but overall with the marinara sauce, mozzarella and ricotta cheese, it tasted good. My co-worker enjoyed their meatball parmesan and also commented it was very hot. The meatballs were moist and nicely flavored. We both liked how hot the sandwiches were as the cheese stretched between a bite and the sandwich – cheesy goodness! My other co-worker ordered the spa grilled chicken. Per the menu, it states that it is marinated in 12 spices and grilled – but looked more like a regular piece of grilled chicken as I didn’t see 12 spices or hardly any seasoning. I took a bite of the chicken and confirmed what I noted – it was fairly moist but no flavor at all. My co-worker commented that if the chicken was the only item ordered and not the combo, that they would be disappointed and possibly not return.

I give Rotelli’s three ghosts on the seasoning but four ghosts on the food quantity, hotness and price - so an average of three and a half ghosts. Overall, my dish was very good and very filling - I am so full I do not think I will be eating dinner. Not to mention, but this lunch combo was only $6. We had fast service at a great price – perfect for the lunchtime crowd.

http://www.rotellicharlotte.com/