Geek Food Critic

Dinner at Savelli's Italian

Seventh day on my vegetarian diet and I decided to check out an Italian place that came up during lunch the previous day at Dazzo's - Savelli's Italian, and I'm glad I did.  I ordered the Penne Pasta with Alfredo sauce and it was delicious.

Savelli's Alfredo is great.  It may not be quite as good as Dazzo's, but it is still head and shoulders above everything else I've had in Knoxville.  I'm also inclined to patronize Savelli's a bit more just because the owner's story is on the menu and it turns out the owner is a single mom raising three daughters.  Savelli's is tiny, probably only 10 or so tables in the place, and several of those only for two people.  We went on a Friday night and it was packed by 7pm.

We decided to have dessert and I'm glad we did.  I ordered the Cheesecake and Rachael ordered a Chocolate Chip Cannoli.

Both were excellent.  The cheesecake especially was very dense and intensely flavorful.

Lunch & Dinner at Dazzo's

Sixth day on my vegetarian diet.  Went to Dazzo's with a group of guys at lunch and it was so awesome, decided to go back for dinner.  For lunch I ordered pasta with Alfredo and it was amazing.

I have to admit, everyone else ordered meat-laden dishes, and it was difficult to not do the same, but I've been to Dazzo's before and I recalled how excellent their Alfredo sauce is.  Still, seeing and smelling the lasagna and pizza my coworkers were eating was tough.

Having said that, Dazzo's Alfredo is the best in Knoxville, and some of the best I've ever had.  There is an Italian place in Epcot Center in Disney that has excellent Alfredo (it should, that's the name of the restaurant) but even that isn't better than Dazzo's, just a little different.  The pasta was linguine and even though I prefer their penne, it was very good.

We returned to Dazzo's that night, Thursday, and I ordered the manicotti.  It was excellent as well, but I have a soft spot in my heart for Alfredo sauce, so I know what I'll be ordering next time.  Rachael ordered the Chicken Parmesan and she said it was extremely good.

If you've never eaten at a restaurant owned and run by someone from up north (I think the owner is from Long Island), be warned, it's an experience.  He's a loud and seemingly angry man, but his lack of patience (think a lighter version of the Soup Nazi from Seinfeld) is more than outweighed by his skill in the kitchen and the pride he takes in his food.

I'd return to Dazzo's for dinner any night, and be quite content to stick with the pasta Alfredo as long as I stay on the vegetarian bandwagon.  I'm keeping my eye on the lasagna, though.

Dinner at Wok-Hay

Today was the fifth day on my vegetarian diet.  Another sucky/stressful day at work turned into another trip out to eat.  Yay stress!  Boo diet!  I ordered the Kung Pao Chicken (but substituted Tofu) with steamed brown rice.

This is the best tofu I've had so far and I really like it.  Instead of spongy cubes (Shono's) or crispy cubes (Stir Fry), Wok-Hay slices the tofu fairly thin and crisps it up really well.  The vegetables, especially the snow peas, were quite good - just the right texture.  The heat of this dish was a little on the light side; I'll probably ask for them to spice it up a bit next time, and there definitely will be a next time since this restaurant is close enough for lunch at work and on the way home from work.

I'm really enjoying tofu.  I can definitely see that preparation is key, though.

Dinner at Stir Fry Cafe (Turkey Creek)

Today was the fourth day on my vegetarian diet.  We were going to eat some salad and a couple of Nutrisystem vegeratian entrees for dinner tonight, but this is turning into a stressful week all-around, so I suggested trying Stir Fry's take on tofu.  I ordered the Kung Pao Noodles with Tofu off their "Bottomless Noodle Bowls" menu.

I'll be returning for this dish, it was very good.  I asked to have it spicy since it wasn't marked as such on the menu and while it wasn't "make my eyes water" spicy, it was spicy enough for my tastes.  The tofu was crispy, especially on the outside of the cubes, and definitely more to my liking than the spongy variety from last night's dinner at Shono's.  I'd put this style of tofu in the middle of what I've tried so far.  The rest of the dish was great as well; the noodles were firm and the vegetables were all chopped to match the nuts in size, which made mixing and taking a bit that included a bit of everything easy.

We also tried the Tempura Salmon.  And yes, I know that falls outside the boundaries of "vegetarian" but I don't care.  It was tasty and just a tiny amount of fish and it allows me to toss out the word pescetarian.

Dinner at Shono's Japanese Grill

This was the third day on my vegetarian diet and the first time we ate out since beginning it.  I normally order the Rib Eye Steak entree, and it is pretty good, especially for the price, but this evening I ordered the Vegetables with Tofu.

I'm still fairly new to tofu.  I've tried it a few times over the last several years, tasting a bite from someone else's plate, and never cared for it.  I'm still not completely sold on it, but I'm beginning to gain an appreciation for the different ways it can be prepared.

I liked this dish, although what I liked most was the rice and vegetables mix.  The vegetables were crisp and tasty.  The white sauce is what they call "shrimp sauce" although it isn't made of shrimp.  The tofu itself was spongy, having the consistency of a scrambled egg.  Of the three ways I've eaten tofu within the last couple of days, this was my least favorite, and I will likely order just the vegetables next time.

One thing I did miss on this visit was the Gyoza, or dumplings.  They're so good that we have made a meal of them on more than one occasion.  Rachael ordered a half order for herself and it wasn't easy to pass them up.

Shono's remains one of the quiet restaurants I prefer for a reasonably-priced meal in West Knoxville.