February 8th, 2010
Cici’s Pizza
211 Texas 323 Loop, Tyler TX
Phone: (903) 526-9494
1938 E Southeast Loop 323, Tyler TX
Phone: (903) 533-9494
CiCi’s in Tyler is one of those places that may seem like a good idea at the time but never actually fulfills any decent expectations you may have had of it. CiCi’s combines pizza, buffet style dining, and screaming children into a one of a kind restaurant experience. CiCi’s may offer a pizza buffet at a decent price but they know that any sane person will be driven away within half an hour by the accumulated sounds of arcade games, whining kids, and several televisions all projecting angry sports announcers. The over stimulating environment is, I suspect, nothing more than a clever ploy developed by the buffet style restaurant industry to stop you from claiming the seven pizzas your four dollars gives you the right to under the eternal Law of Buffet.
They bombard you with flashing lights, constant loud ringing noises. A petting zoo themed restaurant would have a better family environment. CiCi’s doesn’t have bad pizza either, they show no shame in baking a funnel cake in a pizza oven and then pretending pizza was always covered in chocolate syrup. And I can respect the kind of courage it takes to offer decent quality dessert at a buffet, I imagine strawberry chocolate cheesecake has brought many a great franchise to its knees. CiCi’s could definitely improve its atmosphere. But If you can handle the overwhelming surroundings they have some good pizza.
Tags: 211 Texas, Chocolate Cheesecake, Chocolate Syrup, Cici Pizza, Cici S Pizza, cicis pizza, Clever Ploy, Decent Quality, Eternal Law, Four Dollars, Funnel Cake, Good Idea At The Time, Good Pizza, One Of A Kind Restaurant, Petting Zoo, Pizza Buffet, Pizza Oven, Restaurant Experience, Southeast Loop, Sports Announcers
Posted in Pizza | No Comments »
January 28th, 2010
Tyler, TX
3709 Troup Highway
Tyler, TX 75703
903.581.2678
Hours:
Sunday-Thursday: 11:00am – 10:00pm
Friday & Saturday: 11:00am – 11:00pm
I decided to give Oliveto Italian Restaurant a try a couple night ago and I was surprised to find that it was really good. The place was so nice inside and out I was actually suspicious that it was one of those fake food franchise chains like TGIF, Applebees, and Chili’s. I came to find none of the above. Oliveto had great appetizers, very good spaghetti sauce and well made pasta recipes. A lot of Italian restaurants have a prized pasta dish that is a cherished family secret only to find out that the dish really tastes disgusting to everyone else but the owners family. 
Oliveto understands how to make Italian food not just edible but wonderful.
There are a couple more italian restaurants in town that I like and will still go to like Little Italy and Joes Italian Cafe. Although Little Italy will always be a favorite of mine I will be going to Oliveto more often. Like I said, I was assuming it would be a disgusting Italian chain type of place like The Olive Garden only serving good salad and bread sticks but that is not what I found. Oliveto will surprise you with perfectly made pasta recipes and great spaghetti and marinara sauce.
My wife and I even tried one of Oliveto’s desserts and it too was fantastic. Our son got a free kiddie icecream with chocolate syrup which was nice and we left there a little shocked that we had such excellent service and great food. If you have ever eaten at McAllisters Deli you will know about excellent service as your sweet tea drink is refilled 50 times. This refill and constant checking on by the waitresses is what we received at Oliveto as well. They seemed to have designated staff just hired to refill drinks and check on your table. I imagine I will probably want to come here for business meetings and for things I need to zip in and out of quick.
I am a sucker for Italian food and this nice cookie cutter looking restaurant is so much more than The Olive Garden. I will probably never set foot in The Olive Garden again now that I know about this place. I don’t talk bad about restaurants usually but I know my italian food and the fake food chains shouldn’t be listed right along with the quality this restaurant delivers. 
Let’s give a hand for Oliveto for coming to the city of Tyler and showing people what real Italian food is. This is it!
Tags: Applebees, Bread Sticks, Cherished Family, Chili S, Chocolate Syrup, Fake Food, Food Franchise, Franchise Chains, Italian Cafe, Italian Restaurant, Italian Restaurants, Little Italy, Mcallisters Deli, Olive Garden, Oliveto, Pasta Dish, Pasta Recipes, Spaghetti Sauce, Sweet Tea, Troup Highway, Tyler TX
Posted in Italian | 5 Comments »
