Review: Vero Bistro in Cleveland Heights

I had pizza so good I forgot to take a picture at Vero Bistro.

My boss is a big fan of pizza, for every work related "boss" holiday - like his birthday or boss' day, we force him to go out to lunch with us. And by "we" I mean "me." If there's one thing I like to do, it's celebrate other people. Their accomplishments. Their triumphs. Hell, I've been to a couple "divorce" dinners or two. If you are going through something big and need someone to be there for you I'm your gal.

So as the official event organizer of my department at work, I planned a very belated Boss' Day lunch at Vero Bistro for my boss. He really loves pizza (I think? Or he's too kind to tell me to stop planning events at pizza places). We've gone to Crostatas, Flour, Mama Santas, and plenty of other places I've probably forgotten just so he could get a good slice of pizza pie. In terms of wood fired pizza, I think the pizza I had at Vero Bistro was literally the best wood fired pizza I've ever had.

Vero Bistro is a cute little pizzeria. In its former life, it was a gelato shop, so it's a small space. The new owners have put in a nice loft area with additional seating, and that's where my large party was seated. I felt bad for our server who had to trudge up and down the stairs to get our food and drinks, but she always had a smile on her face.

I had a mushroom pizza. Well, an amazing mushroom pizza. The dough was flavorful and the mushrooms were very fresh. My meatatarian coworkers tried nearly everything on the menu. Getting an egg on their pizzas seemed to be a big hit, but that's definitely not my thing. We all ordered a pizza each and no one needed a box. Not me or any of the light eaters. The pizza was that good.

I really can't wait to go back to Vero Bistro to try another one of their pies or even some of their gelato (a carry over from the space's former life). If you're in the area and looking for a great wood fired pizza, this is a place you definitely need to check out.

Review: Biga Wood Fired Pizza in Kirtland

So, I made it through 28 days of being thankful in my blog. I promised 30 days of thankfulness, but I only made it to 28. But this is my blog, and the new Roxanne does what she wants, so back to your regularly scheduled vegetarian content.

Back in October, I happened to be in Kirtland for the funeral of a high school friend's father (RIP Mr. Werner) and my uber supportive mom went with me. Before we went to the nighttime service, we decided to get some dinner at Biga Wood Fired Pizza in Kirtland.

It was a beautiful day, so we were able to sit outside on Biga's nice porch/patio. We started off with an order of breadsticks. I love me some breadsticks, and I have to say that they were just ok. (I could write an entire post about Cleveland establishments that serve bread or breadsticks, so I know what I'm talking about here)

My mom and I decided to order a wild mushroom pizza and a salad to split. I'm glad we decided to split the salad because it was huge. It's hard to mess up a salad, so I think the combo of lettuce/walnuts/cheese worked together. The pizza was good...but not great. I order mushroom pizza pretty mush everywhere I go (and I've had wood fired pizza plenty of times, so I expected it to be "different" than other pizzeria pizza), and this pizza was pretty solid. I love garlic, and I think the sauce could have used a little more oomph, but it was still a good meal.

Mom and I are hearty eaters, so we got some pumpkin cheesecake for dessert. That was a total letdown. It looked great...but it tasted pretty bland and like it had been sitting around for a few days.

Overall, we had a pretty pleasant dinner at Biga. Our server was very nice. We saw one of the owners floating around talking to different tables. The one downside is that a meal can be a little pricey, but...the restaurant is in Kirtland, so I'm sure it's affordable for most people who live there. I'd definitely go back, but it's not at the top of my wood fired pizza list. Stay tuned for my post on my favorite wood fired pizza of all time tomorrow...

Review: Lunch at Flour in Moreland Hills

If you know me in real life, you know that I am generally pretty happy with my job.  I get to travel occasionally and check out vegetarian food around the country.  I get to surf the internet at work (I work in emarketing).  And I have a boss who isn't a fan of standard catered lunches.  In the past year alone I think we've gone to Chinato, L'Albatross, Crostatas, XO, and a bunch of other "nicer than normal" places for lunch.  And I say nicer than normal because for me, a standard lunch is a microwaved Amy's vegetarian meal.

Last week some of my extended team headed to Flour in Moreland Hills for lunch.  My boss is a big fan of pizza, and since they offer wood fired pizzas, we thought this would be a great place to go.  He ended up having to cancel, but we decided to go without him. 

What struck me about Flour was how nice the interior is.  It's very swanky.  Which probably explains the price point for lunch entrees.  Pizzas start at $11 and only go up from there.  (we went to Mama Santa's a couple months ago and I think $11 could have paid for 2 pizzas)  Sandwiches are also around $10.  But this was on the company's dime, so we weren't all that concerned.

A few people asked for recommendations and our server steered them towards pizza.  People asked about the sandwiches and our server again reiterated that the pizzas were probably the best option.  More on that in a minute.  I didn't want pizza, so I ordered a chopped salad which consisted of iceberg lettuce, capers, blue cheese, roasted red peppers, and olives.  (on in my case, an olive - literally one)



I know many people who are lettuce snobs and won't eat iceberg lettuce.  I'm not so picky.  But for $9, my salad was kind of underwhelming.  And not so great tasting.  I always say it's hard to mess up a salad.  But this salad was definitely not good.  Maybe the combination of flavors didn't taste right together, but the only taste I got in my mouth was rotten.  Glad I carry gum with me everywhere I go because I had to get that taste out of my mouth.

The folks who ordered pizzas were a bit happier.  As the bill payer, I was unhappier when I realized that a few of the pizzas ended up being around $20 after people added toppings.  $20 for a lunch sized pizza!?  Mama Mia!

A few people ordered sandwiches at the table. And they wished they'd gotten something different.  Especially the person I car-pooled with who had to stop at a gas station bathroom on the way back to the office because his stomach was upset.

Overall, we had a less than great experience at Flour.  Although the pizza did look good, I'm not sure that I'm in any hurry to rush back when I can get a completely good pie closer to home and for a little less dough.  And you couldn't pay me to eat a salad there again.