J Parrino's, Springfield Mo

J Parrino's Italian Restaurant
1550 E Battlefield St, Springfield, MO
Tel: (417) 882-1808

General Impression: Excellent
Service: 5/5
Food Quality: 4.5/5
Atmosphere 4.5/5

When we walked in to the bar area, it looked pretty average. We went into the larger dining area and it was cute, but not absolutely beautiful. Decorated somewhat like an Italian villa (Americanized, naturally), there was an arbor covered in vines, a few statues of what I believe were Saints, and frescoes on the walls. The tables were not covered in tablecloths, but were pretty wood and the chairs were spacious and sturdy. Important to a large fellow!

We began with the stuffed mushrooms, called Mushrooms Louis. They were decent, though I had a few piques with them. They were large button mushrooms, which I really enjoy. They are common and cheap, but mild in flavor and firm and meaty. The caps were pulled out and they were stuffed with a small amount of 'herbed' cream cheese which I believe was probably just parsley, garlic, and cream cheese. Button mushrooms don't hold much filling though, so there really was not enough cheese to balance the mushrooms. They were fried in a lovely batter, though, and I always respect hand-breaded items that taste good and look nice. Served with a course mustard seed sauce made with honey, vinegar, and mustard (I did not care for it, though my companion did). $6.95- not a bad price for 5 really, really large mushrooms.

Next I had small Cesar salad that came with my meal. The pasta dish does not come with salad, sadly, though it can be added for $3.00. The Cesar was pretty usual- cool slightly bitter romaine lettuce, a creamy Cesar dressing, shredded Parmesan (I prefer large shaved slices and wish more restaurants would go with this method. Tangent, I know), and homemade croutons that were lightly fried and garlicky. They were made from the same bread, wheat and white, that comes with all of the meals. The dressing was, quite possibly, made in house, though I can never tell with Cesar. Either way, it was nice.

The entrees were excellent, and rightly as they should be, the star of the dinner. I ordered the Apple Brandy Pork Loin and broiled asparagus. I would most certainly order it again! Around 8oz. of extremely tender pork fillet were stacked on my plate and covered in a rich, sweet brandy and caramelized onion sauce. The loin, I believe, had been seared on the outside to keep it moist when roasting in the oven. Before serving and adding sauce, however, it was cut into lovely 1 inch slices and quickly grilled to give grill marks and flavor. Very, very moist and flavorful, which is always a chance one takes when ordering pork. The sauce seemed to be made from nice golden delicious apples with the peel, sweet yellow onions, and a splash of brandy. No cinnamon (or not much at least), which I expected. A good choice for a spring menu, however, for cinnamon always leaves memories of the fall. The asparagus was tender and sweet, roasted simply in sea salt, olive oil, and garlic. The other dish we ordered was pasta with broccoli, mushrooms, and a rich white sauce. It was wonderful, perhaps better than my own. A huge portion of pasta that I will incorrectly call tubetti was covered in a heavenly white sauce made with cream, thickened with a bit of flour (I believe) roux, and cheese. With a good hint of black pepper and nutmeg, one can't go wrong with this one. Pork loin, $17. Pasta with Broccoli, $9.50.

The dessert was very, very tasty as well, though I think it could very, very easily be re-created. It was a lemon cake studded with berries with a layer of mascarpone cheese in the middle of two stacks of cake. A huge piece was perfect for the two of us. A squeeze of fresh lemon, insisted our wonderfully sweet waitress, would be perfect with it. It was, indeed. It cut through the decadence without fail and I really, really liked the fresh summery taste of this one. The cake was what I will call a muffin batter, so I think this could easily be redone with either purchased muffins or using a homemade muffin batter and baking a cake of it. $5.50

Petra

1761 Madison Ave
Memphis, TN 38104
(901) 726-6700

Price Range: Moderate $-$$ Entrees range from $8-25
Stars Awarded: 3.8
Letter Grade: B, Above Average
Portion Size: Small

Food: We began with Dolmas ($5) and hummus with pita chips ($4) which were both excellently seasoned, fresh, and made in-house that day. The Dolmas, grape leaves stuffed with rice, ground meat (usually lamb), lemon juice and spices, were interesting in texture, slightly spicy, and really fresh tasting. The grape leaves were cooked until tender, bright green, and very earthy in taste. The texture reminds me of spinach, but much thicker and a little courser. The hummus, a ground chickpea dip made with olive oil, spices, salt, and lemon juice, was served with what seemed the be homeade, hot pita chips. This was really simple and with much less lemon juice and spices than I would have preffered.


The Bi Bim Bop is served as a bowl of warm white rice topped with namul (sautéed and seasoned vegetables), meat, a fried egg, and gochujang featured in many (chili peper paste). The ingredients are stirred together thoroughly just before eating. It can be served either cold or hot. Mine was hot. Pipping hot! It was served in a stone bowl that had been heated in the oven and kept my food hot throughout the entire meal. The dish had a lot of spicy chili paste that burned my tongue instantly but just as quickly faded into a pleasant warmth. I don't like hot food, but this was fantastic!!! I loved the feeling of the heat and how it backed off instantly. It had chunks of sweet, marinated chicken, veggies, and white rice that all blended together in that hot spicy red pepper sauce. It was amazing! I'll most certainly be ordering this again. My companions had a Korean noodle dish and a Greek couscous dish with vegtable stew. The Korean dishes tended to be much larger in portion than the Greek, so either go when you're not too hungry or order the Korean dishes. Yum! We also ordered baklava for dessert. Baklava, a rich, sweet pastrycuisines of the former Ottoman countries. It is a pastry made of layers of flaky philo pastra filled with chopped walnuts, pistachios, or pecans and sweetened with syrup or honey. While it was good, it was not anywhere near as tender or heavily spiced as my own. Served with ice cream (which I liked better than the Baklava, speaking for it's deliciousness, or lack thereof), it was decent, but not worth its price tag.

Atmosphere: The restaurant is an old gas station that is pretty small, but cozy. We went in later in the evening and perhaps only 6 other patrons graced the establishment. It was quite cool in the room, despite the faux fire in the corner. Bring a sweater! It was very cute, though, and very unique. The restrooms were clean, which is always a plus!

Service: Excellent beyond belief.

Value: Our ticket was $53.00 for three entrees, two appetizers, one drink, and a dessert. Keep in mind they have really small portions. Thus, this isn't a value in any sense, though it was a great experience for one companion who adores Greek food and it was a jovial evening with good food and company.

The Beauty Shop

Price Range: Moderate $-$$ Entrees range from $10-$20
Stars Awarded: 3.5
Letter Grade: B-, Above Average
Portion Size: Small-Medium

The Food: The menu selection on Sunday morning was limited to breakfast fare and was somewhat uncreative. Most of the items could be made by a decent amateur cook at home, though the quality of my food was excellent and my personal portion was medium, though for $15 I would expect a bit more. Some of my companions had rather small portions that a large man like myself would not have been full after. In fact, one of my smallest companions ordered $8.00 French toast and received one piece of toast with warm banana's foster-like compote. She was still very, very hungry and I think would have liked a side of bacon or sausage and some hash browns with it, had she ordered again. I, on the other hand, ordered the Ham Hash: potatoes, sweet potatoes, sweet onions and red peppers, fried ham, fluffy scrambled eggs that were heavily peppered, and herbs. It was salted perfectly and served hot and the flavors mingled well, though did not "pop" in your mouth in any certain way that makes you remember a meal. The potatoes were roasted perfectly and were still firm enough to stick with a fork. The peppers and onions were lightly sauteed and were fresh and tasted like sun-kissed veggies from a farmer's market. The eggs were nothing out-of-the-ordinary but were cooked well and were adequately fluffy in the American style and paired well with the lightly fried country ham. Dessert, however, was absolutely delightful. Full points awarded here and well worth the premium price charged for them. The Red Velvet Cake was the same recipe from the Waldorf Astoria, I believe and was moist, chocolatey, and the icing was buttery and so silky I was made jealous that my own similar icing could not be that same texture. The coconut cake was heavenly as well. Tender white cake was abundantly served with rich, fluffy whipped-cream frosting covered in shredded coconut. The two cakes were served with berry puree and fresh unsweetened whipped cream. Ah, delight.

Overall impression: beautifully unique place to take friend or special guests, though no somewhere I would go ever week if I were anywhere near gifted in the kitchen and could re-create these items in my own home. Have a mimosa Sunday morning like the many patrons who we saw today. The were everywhere and looked luscious!