Location: 4212 Brown St. West Lafayette, IN  (map it)

Phone: (765) 743-1668

Cuisine: Pizza

Review: I love getting reader recommendations, so when an email came in saying I just had to review Bruno’s, I hopped right on it! (It helped that I had a coupon for free Bruno dough.) So tonight we went there for dinner; it seemed just the thing for a wet, rainy evening.

Unlike the other time we tried to go there, this time there was no wait. We were seated right away and given menus. Apparently Bruno’s is a very popular place for sports fans, as there were TVs in every direction and sports paraphernalia on every inch of each wall.

The menu had not only pizza, but pasta, salads, sandwiches, and other items called “Bruno Specialties.” I usually opt for one of the specialities, figuring that the people who make the food know best, but as this was a family outing, we went simple and ordered a pepperoni pizza. (And our free Bruno dough.)

The drinks and Bruno dough came out pretty quickly, and I found the dough rather tasty, if a little greasy. My kids were big fans, eating more than we did. I’d like an opportunity to try out a few other dip options for the dough.

We ate our dough and waited for the pizza and it took quite a while for the pizza to come out. It didn’t seem that busy and our order was pretty simple so I don’t know what the hold up was. Service overall was a bit spotty all  night, and I do recognize that usually has more to do with a particular server than the restaurant. Our server wasn’t great or particularly friendly.

The pizza finally came. It wasn’t cut into triangles, but into narrow rectangular slices. Interesting option and the kids really liked it. I really enjoyed the taste and flavor of the pizza; it was really good. I was a little less enthusiastic about the goop factor. Not sure how else to describe it, but the dough was floppy and the pizza was very limp. It made it harder to eat, but we ate it all.

Overall, I definitely think it warrants a second try. I’d like to try some of the specialities and see if the pizza is generally floppy or if we hit a bad night.

Kid friendly: Yes

Price Range: $10-$20 for pizzas

No related posts.

Restaurant Name

Location: 300 Brown Street, West Lafayette, IN (map it)

Phone: 765-746-5000

Cuisine: Italian

Review: Puccini’s Smiling Teeth is located right behind the Wabash Landing theater. It’s a pretty big restaurant, part of a larger chain that has locations throughout Indiana and Kentucky. It has a separate bar that stays open late, and a large family dining area.

Our recent trip to Puccini’s was quite nice. It wasn’t crowded and we were seating right away. There were crayons and paper for coloring and the menu was pretty extensive.

The food was good and plentiful. I ordered the pasta primavera. It came with whole wheat penne, which was pretty good. I thought I was ordering a healthy dish, but the entire thing was liberally covered in oil so I’m guessing it wasn’t quite so much. It wasn’t great, but okay.

We also got bread sticks, which I didn’t care for the kids liked. My husband ordered the Sweet Lil Razorback pizza, which came with pepperoni, smoked sausage, and bacon and was really quite good.

My son ordered chicken tenders, and he really enjoyed them – although he was a little displeased that they didn’t have ketchup. (Really, they do not have ketchup in their restaurant.)

The service was okay. Nothing spectacular, but nothing bad either. A nice afternoon meal in a pleasant environment.

Kid friendly: Yes.

Methods of payment: Cash or credit.

No related posts.

Location: 515 South St, Lafayette, IN (map it)

Phone: (765) 423-1000

Cuisine: Italian

Review: I am having trouble mustering enough enthusiasm to write this review.  I think I’ll just start by saying how very disappointed I was in my visit to Toscana.  I’d heard that it had replaced Sarge Oaks at the Holiday Inn Select downtown and was really excited to try it out.

When my party arrived, the restaurant was pretty empty and we were seated immediately.  The restaurant was lovely in appearance, and I had high hopes for dinner.  I was excited about the drink special, $5 pomegranate martinis, and I can honestly say that was the highlight of dinner.

We perused the menu and made our choices.  One appetizer sounded so good our table ordered two of them to share among five people.  It was a tomato and Gorgonzola dip served with bread.  I had really high hopes, but was horribly disappointed.  What appeared at our table were dishes that appeared to be filled with seasoned tomato paste, topped with crumbled Gorgonzola.  I am  not someone who is all that particular about my food – I’ve been known to clean my plate even if I don’t like something, but I really couldn’t eat this. And neither could the rest of my table.

I ordered Ravioli and chose the Caesar salad to go with it.  My salad arrived with the appetizer, and it was almost all completely iceberg lettuce with a few croutons, liberally coated throughout with Caesar dressing. Every piece of lettuce was covered with dressing.  I like dressing on my salad, but it’s not an absolute necessity that every inch of it be covered.

When my dinner arrived, I was sad to see what appeared to be the same thick tomato paste on top.  I pushed off most of that and ate the raviolis, which were nothing special.  However, for the price of $13.00, I could have bought a package of ravioli and a jar of Prego and served the whole table – and it would have tasted better and saved us all a lot of money.

The rest of my dining companions had pizza, and while none were as disappointed as I was with my meal, no one was excited about their meal either.  One friend ordered a pesto pizza, and the crust was so soggy that she couldn’t even pick up her slices.  She had to eat it with a fork, which is a shame because it was actually the best tasting pizza at the table.

As for service, I don’t have any complaints.  Our waiter was friendly and fairly attentive, even if he didn’t get our jokes.  The music being played during our dining was a little retro.  I like retro, but we’re talking early 80′s songs including, but not limited to, “Island’s in the Stream” by Dolly Parton and Kenny Rogers, some early Madonna, and even “Kyrie” by Mr. Mister.  Not exactly what you’d expect at a fine Italian eatery.

My advice: Skip this one; you can get a better meal at the Olive Garden.

Kid friendly: Yes.  They had high chairs and the tables were covered with white paper and there were crayons on the table.

Methods of payment: Cash or credit.

Related posts:

1. La Scala
2. Pizza King
3. Olive Garden

Location: 312 Main Street, Lafayette, IN(map it)

Phone: (765) 420-8171

Hours: Lunch M-F 11-2, Dinner M-Th 5-9, Sat & Sun 5 – 9:30

Cuisine: Italian

Review: I had the pleasure of dining again at La Scala tonight, and as usually, it was a lovely time.  Myself and my girlfriends chose to sit on the patio, and it was a lovely evening for dinner.  I was surprised to see some remodeling in the second dining room, an addition of a full bar.  It was a very  nice update.

After being seated, we were eventually given water and ordered our drinks.  I ordered the baked Brie appetizer, because I was starving, and a glass of house Chardonnay.  (I know, I know, you aren’t supposed to drink white wine with pasta, but I’m a dork and I like wine better.) Anyway, I don’t know what kind of Chardonnay they were serving as their house wine, but I was surprised to see that it cost $7.50 a glass!  It was good wine, but I paid $15 for my two glasses – I could buy a decent bottle of Chardonnay for that much.

The appetizer came and it was very tasty.  We all love the Baked Brie, but I would really like to get more than six small pieces of toast with it.  Half of the appetizer is still there after the toast is all gone.  We used our basket of bread to help us finish it, but I think more toast would be great.

We all placed our orders. I normally always go for the Fontina Fruit Salad, because it’s just about awesome!  But this time my pregnant friend had been craving beef, so I glanced at the beef menu and saw the Bistecca Alla Gorgonzola, which is beef tenderloin scaloppini sautéed with garlic, shallots, fresh herbs, and porcini mushrooms in a gorgonzala belu cheese cream sauce, served with mostaccioli pasta.  Meat with gorgonzola? Right up my alley!

The meal was excellent.  Everyone said their food was great.  My only main complaint was the service.  Our waiter was friendly enough, but I had to ask three times for a second glass of $7.50 wine.  Everything seemed to come slowly and the waiter didn’t seem to check on us very often.

It started to rain on us so we moved inside after dinner where we ordered dessert and coffee.  My friends had the amaretto coffee, which I’ve had before, and is very good.  I ordered the cheesecake which was just heavenly.  Two friends ordered the Apple Tart with rave reviews.

Definitely a great spot to eat dinner.  I’ve been there numerous times and I cannot say the service is consistently bad.  I’ve had very good service there.  Perhaps the server was just having an off night.

Kid Friendly: Yes.  I generally don’t take the kids here, because it’s not really the atmosphere where I feel comfortable with them, but they do have high chairs and a kid’s menu.

Methods of Payment: Cash or Credit.

Download Lunch Menu, Download Dinner Menu, Download Summery 2008 Drink Menu, Download Dessert & After Dinner Drink Menu

Related posts:

1. Toscana Italian Grill & Bar