MAD GREEK

Address: 2889 State Route 35, Hazlet, NJ 07730

My thoughts of what Greek food should taste like come from one of my friends from school who is 100% Greek, and introduced me to some Greek restaurants in the area that he said served very authentic Greek-tasting dishes. Sure, I know some Greek dishes like gyros, souvlaki, spanakopita, or saganaki, but I’m not proclaiming myself to be an expert with Greek food. That being said, I stopped by Mad Greek the other night to try it out, since I have been looking for a good Greek place in the area. Needless to say, the visit was just… okay.

I think that the reviews did a lot to hype the food up a bit and it was kind of underwhelming when I got there. I ordered a regular lamb and beef gyro with a side order of Greek fries (regular French fries with oregano and feta cheese crumbles on top) and overall, the taste of the gyro meat wasn’t too bad. The only thing I had an issue with was the portion size, especially for how much I paid (close to $11.50 for the pita sandwich, Greek fries, and drink). The gyro itself was stuffed with gyro meat, onions, tomatoes, Tzatziki sauce, and French fries. Personally, I’d say take out the French fries and just put some more gyro meat in there; I definitely felt like the gyro was lacking a bit in that respect. Back at school, a Greek restaurant my friends and I frequent has a meal option that for $8.50, I can get a gyro, fries, and a drink. That gyro has twice as much gyro meat, twice as much Tzatziki sauce, onions, tomatoes, and no French fries in it. That, to me, gives you much more bang for your buck.

The staff themselves, however, were very polite and courteous, and the restaurant is decorated very nicely. Open dining area (cafeteria-style) with a statue, some decorations on the walls, and Greek music playing in the background. It’s a completely open kitchen, so you can look over to see your food being prepared right from your dining room table. My experience at Mad Greek was good; it’s just that the amount of food did not justify the amount of money coming out of my wallet.

Here are my rankings for Mad Greek:

Food: 4 / 5
The food tasted pretty good, and the menu looked like it offered a ton of other Greek dishes as well. I just really wished the portion size was larger.

Atmosphere: 4 / 5
The dining room was nicely decorated, and the background music added a nice touch. Add that to the aroma of freshly cooked food in the dining room, and it was an overall pleasant experience.

Service: 4 / 5
The employee that took my order and my food to the table was nice and accommodating.

Price: 3 / 5
Like I mentioned above, I feel like the things on the menu are a little overpriced. The same money I’m spending could have been taken to another restaurant and I could get a larger meal. I would have been comfortable paying anywhere from $8 to $9.50 for the meal I had, but definitely not $11.50.

Overall: 15 / 20 (75%)

BERTUCCI’S

Address: 2847 State Route 35, Hazlet, NJ 07730

Tableside view of the Sofia brick oven pizza.

A slice of the Spicy Salami brick oven pizza.

Bertucci’s is a brick oven pizzeria that my friend and I headed over to tonight for some dinner before going to see X-Men: First Class (which, by the way, was quite an excellent movie). I have been to Bertucci’s multiple times before and the food has never disappointed me. Although the pizza offerings have changed over the years that I have been coming here, the quality has consistently remained the same. It is located in the same plaza as the Rave Motion Cinemas, so it makes a great place to grab a bite to eat either before or after a movie showing.

I have habitually ordered from their Classic Brick Oven pizza menu, selecting from options such as the Pucillo (pepperoni, Italian sausage, mushrooms, onions, peppers), the Sporkie (sweet Italian sausage, ricotta cheese, mozzarella cheese) or the Ultimate Bertucci (sweet Italian sausage, meatball, rosemary ham, chicken, pepperoni). Today, however, my friend and I decided to try something off of their recently revamped Artisan Brick Oven pizzas. We went for the Sofia, which was a white pizza topped with mozzarella cheese, a roasted artichoke spread, fresh thyme, and some sausage. I found it to be very delicious, but rather oily; I had to use a napkin to soak up some of the excess oil off the top of the pizza. But needless to say it was a good choice and I would be more than happy to sample more of their Artisan Brick Oven pizzas in the future.

One thing that I really like about Bertucci’s is that before your entrées arrive, they serve you some fresh bread with a plate of olive oil. It’s a pretty great way to start off the meal, and all of the bread is hot from just coming out of the oven in the back. I have never had the opportunity to try out their pasta dishes before, but I’ve heard that they aren’t too shabby either. In turn, Bertucci’s is a good place to grab a meal that will have your stomach filled.

Here are my rankings for Bertucci’s:

Food: 4.5 / 5
The menu offers a great spread of pizzas, spanning a variety of flavors. Their new line of Artisan Brick Oven pizzas are sure to excite your taste buds as well.

Atmosphere: 4 / 5
The restaurant is what I would call a “studio dining area,” an open-air large dining area with the brick oven in the back corner at the pasta preparations along the back wall. If the place gets crowded, it could get a bit noisy. Also, the dining area was a tad bit dark for my tastes. But I do love the smell that comes with an open-air kitchen.

Service: 4 / 5
Our waitress tonight took a little while to initially attend to the table, but later on she kept coming back to refill our drinks and ask us how our meal was going.

Price: 4 / 5
All the pizzas do shy on the expensive side, with individual portions about $10 and splitting a pie costing about $7 – $9. But, the portions are good, the flavors are all there, and the price is comparable to other pizzerias as well.

Overall: 16.5 / 20 (83%)