WHERE WE WENT:
Bosco's Squared
2120 Madison Avenue
Memphis, TN
38104
WHAT WE ORDERED:
Baked Lasagna Bolognese, Bosco's Burger, Garlic Parmesan Fries
WHAT WE THOUGHT:
Atmosphere - 8
Menu - 7
Presentation - 6
Taste - 6
Price - 6
Service - 7
Overall - 6.5
Atmosphere - As it is with many places in the midtown area, the first word that comes to mind when you walk into Bosco's Squared is "cool." You get the feeling that you've walked into something
both warm and sophisticated and much more interesting than its unassuming exterior would suggest. A long, dark bar is the central focus of the restaurant with two sections of seating, one down either side. The atmosphere is sophisticated without feeling stuffy and is a great gathering place for people of all sorts.
Menu
-Bosco's sports a menu that is diverse but not cumbersome. There are plenty of choices for people of all tastes. They offer soups, salads, pastas, sandwiches, and flatbreads. One of the more interesting looking options is the Black Bean & Goat Cheese Tamale. The overall best part of the menu hands don is the beer selection. Boscos goes a step beyond offering local craft beers and actually brews their own. Their year-round offerings include The Famous Flaming Stone, Midtown Brown, Bosco's Bombay IPA, and Isle of Skye Scottish Ale. On top of those they have seasonal specialties available. They offer $11 half gallon growlers. Unfortunately we were unable to try any of the beers because we were sick during our visit, but our research has led us to the conclusion that it's the best thing about Bosco's.
Presentation
- Presentation at Bosco's was not bad at all. Plain white dishes that gave off an air of class accompanied all the dishes. We have definitely seen worse, but the low score derives from the fact that we expected something more from a place with such a vivid personality.
Taste
- One word: underwhelming. Nothing was bad per se, but nothing really jumped out and grabbed us either. Maybe it was because people had hyped up Bosco's to us too much beforehand, but it just didn't live up to our expectations. The Baked Lasagna Bolognese was bland. The cheeses did not stand out and the sauce was something that could have come out of a jar at Kroger. The signature burger was not much better. It was just a burger with no distinguishable traits.The garlic parmesan fries were the most
unique tasting thing we ordered, but were unfortunately drowned in garlic.
Price
- The price was not good. The lasagna was $15 dollars and was much to small and lacking in flavor to be worth it. The burger and fries were $13. We've had bigger, better burgers for less in many places in the city.
Service -Our service was just fine. Our server was polite, but with zero personality and was a bit slow.
WOULD WE GO BACK?
Yeah, but only for the curiosity about the beer.
Here's a link to their website:
http://boscosbeer.com/memphis/story/
WHERE WE WENT:
Movie & Pizza Company
110 Harbor Town Square
Memphis, TN 38103
WHAT WE ORDERED:
Sausage and Cheese Platter, Garlic Bread, Beef & Spinach Stuffed Shells, Yeungling,
Shiner Wild Hare
WHAT WE THOUGHT:
Atmosphere - 7
Menu - 6
Presentation - 5
Taste - 7
Price - 8
Service - 9
Overall -7
Atmosphere
- The space of the restaurant is typical of a restaurant in a strip mall, since it does not stand alone. It is one room where you can see everything the moment you walk in the door. The walls are a semi-obnoxious, not quite lime green that did not match our personal tastes, but some people may be a fan of. It has a nice focal point - a big screen TV that is mounted high directly behind the bar. The whole restaurant sort of gravitates toward it. The seating is a combination of booths and tables very few of which seem to match. The great part about it though is the wall decor. Mounted on the awful green walls you'll find framed photography, aluminum signs of beer logos and movie posters showcasing some of the greats like Pulp Fiction and The Godfather. Also, if that wasn't cool enough, there's a giant King Kong replica caged in the top corner.
Menu
- The menu contained a decent variety of pastas, sandwiches, pizza and a few salads. There were substantial vegetarian options. Where the menu loses the bulk of
its points is in ease of use and pure error. First off, there were three chalk special boards placed randomly throughout the restaurant each detailing different items. If you didn't look closely, you could miss one, like I did. When I saw it as we were leaving, it made me wish I had gotten something else. It would have greatly improved our experience if they had just had a sheet explaining the specials. They have a good selection of wine and beer, including many craft beers and local brews to the tri-state area. HOWEVER, they do not know how to categorize their beer. They have it divided into "Domestic" and "Imports." Only four of the beers listed in the import section were actually imported. They seem to use the two terms interchangeably with "cheap" and "cheaper."
Presentation
-You don't expect fantastic presentation from a place like Movie & Pizza Company, but you do expect consistency. The beef & spinach shells were served in ceramic dish that had obvious wear, making it feel like a home-cooked dish. The sausage and cheese platter and the garlic bread were both served in red diner baskets with wax paper. The sausage and cheese platter had a lot of potential for interesting plating, or at least a plate.
Taste
- The sausage and cheese platter was good. The sausage was crisp on the edges with a great texture and just the right amount of spice. The BBQ sauce served with it was an excellent addition to the taste, both sweet and smoky. It had the makings of a great dish if the cheese pairings had been a little more original than sharp cheddar and pepper jack cubes. The overabundance of crackers was also distracting. As for the shells, the sauce was delicious, just a little sweet. All 3 shells were overflowing with spinach and ricotta, HOWEVER there was a distinct lack of beef, just enough to say they held true to the name but not enough to contribute to the taste. It felt like eating florentine shells, which would have been delicious if that were the order. The garlic bread...well you can't really mess up garlic bread.
Price
- The menu was well priced, especially considering the portion sizes. Beer and wine as reasonable, both draft, bottled, and pitchers. At the changing of seasons they have $2 "firesales" to get rid of their seasonal beer.
Service
- Our waitress was attentive and friendly. She answered questions and gave suggestions enthusiastically. The only issue is that it took a long while to get our check.
Extras - Tuesday nights are movie nights, where they screen a classic up behind the bar.
Friday nights at 8:30 is free team trivia.
Check the website linked below for a schedule.
WOULD WE GO BACK?
Yes. It's a great place to hang out. The food is good and the drinks are affordable.
Here's a link to their website: www.moviepizzacompany.com/
WHERE WE WENT:
Little Italy
1495 Union Avenue
Memphis, TN
38104
WHAT WE ORDERED:
Medium Cheese Pizza, Ham & Pepperoni Stromboli
WHAT WE THOUGHT:
Atmosphere - 7
Menu - 7
Presentation -5
Taste - 7
Price - 6
Service -8
Overall -7
Atmosphere
- The restaurant itself is pretty small, seating about 25 people. The walls have a warm orange tone that is cozy and evokes an Italian feel. The layout of the restaurant and the simple decor allow the restaurant to live up to its name. It feels like you could walk right off the streets of New York up to the counter of this little place.
Menu
- The menu is a board posted behind the counter and can be a little tough to read. They have a great variety of your typical New York-style favorites including stuffed pizzas, sandwiches, strombolis, desserts, pasta dishes etc. You can order pizza by the slice as well. The only thing lacking is alcoholic beverages.
Presentation
- Little Italy deals primarily in take-out orders, so the presentation is virtually non-existent. Pizza boxes and styrofoam take-out boxes are the norm, but that is only to be expected from such a delicious hole-in-the-wall.
Taste
-With Mike's family being originally from New Jersey, and having spent much time in NYC, he is pretty picky about his pizza. The pizza was overall very good. The sauce had excellent flavor and texture and you can tell the cheese was fresh. We're fans of thin crusted pizza, but the crust tonight was a little doughy. It needed to be crispier. Pizza should be able to stay straight (not flimsy) when held by its crust. The stromboli was excellent. There was just enough dough to hold everything together, but not too much so that it felt like that's all you were eating.
Price - The menu was reasonable, especially for somewhere so close to downtown. We've seen better. The best deal is the pizza by the slice. The slices are huge, in true New York fashion. Monday and Thursdays are "Pizza Nights". You can get a large cheese for $10 and a large 1 topping for $12.
Service - All of the pizzas are made to order, so it took a few minutes to get our food, but it was worth it. Since its a small place, there's only a few people who work there. The people are friendly, but not over-talkative.
WOULD WE GO BACK?
Yes. We really like this place. It's the closest thing to real New York we've been able to find since we've been in Tennessee.
