Oregano's

Continuing with my Arizona visit.....Saturday night and well into Sunday was visitation day with my friends in Phoenix and Tucson. So, on Saturday night, I met a few people at one of my favorite restaurants in Arizona, Oregano's!!!! I am getting excited just thinking about it! I know living in Arizona you may think Mexican food would be the way to go, which in some cases it is but when I think of Arizona food I crave Oregano's pizza, salad and hot cookies......mmmmmm!

On this particular Saturday night when I was dog tired from my day in Sedona and from driving, I still found the strength to drive 30 minutes to the restaurant and I am glad I did! As usual, I knew I was getting the thin crust peperoni pizza ( yes, I am simple when it comes to pizza), a anti-pasta salad and a hot cookie!! All of these deserve their own section so here it is.....

The Pizza

Oregano's pizza is some of the best pizza that I have ever had. I have never tried the Chicago style they offer because it takes 45 minutes to get and that is just to long for me to wait. So, I go with the thin crust which is perfect. Normally, I do not like thin crust because it is not filling (sorry carb haters) but I love bread and pizza crust. Anyway, the thin crust is perfect because they cut them in perfect squares and the combination of sauce, cheese and pepperoni is amazing! Best of all, they allow you to split the pizza if you are with someone who wants something else.

The Salad

Oregano's also have some of the best salads that I have tasted. Again, they have the right blend of indigents to make the salad memorable. My favorite salad is the anti-pasta salad (yes!). This salad has just about every Italian ingredient in it but pasta, hence the name :). The salad has peperoni, salami, artichokes, olive oil, onions, tomatoes and a few other items but it is mouth watering!!! A word to the wise........never go and not order a salad! Oh, the cesar is great as well!
The Cookie......mmmmm!

So, the hot chocolate chip cookie is my all time favorite dessert! It takes 15 minutes to make and once you get it you will see why. The cookie comes in a skillet with several scoops of ice cream on the top, big enough to share! Once I tasted it I was in heaven and so was the rest of the table. The perfect lend of hot and cold gets me everytime. If you do not like chocolate chips, they also have one with macadamia nuts, but you already know my preference :).

Sorry folks, its only an Arizona chain :(, but I kow you were there in spirit!