Category: Restaurant Reviews

Nicky’s Coal Fired, located at 5016 Centennial Boulevard, is the only pizza restaurant that uses coal fire technology for cooking their delicious pizza.  The restaurant opened in Nashville in 2013 by Tony and Caroline Galzin.

Tony has a long history as a pastry chef.  His humble beginnings started in Chicago, Illinois.  He worked with several award-nominated chefs through the years before meeting his business partner and wife Caroline.

Caroline has always been in the hospitality industry.  Her first job was a hostess when she was still in high school.  She has had many positions from bartender to manager to group sales director for restaurants and bars in Alabama.  She studied culinary arts at Kendal College in Chicago which gave her the desire to open her own restaurant.

When Tony and Caroline moved to Nashville, they opened their first restaurant, Fifty First Kitchen & Bar.  There they earned the title of best new restaurant in the Nashville Scene and chef of the year by Eater Nashville.  After they sold the restaurant, they moved on to open Nicky’s Coal Fired.

They have almost three hundred reviews online giving them a four-plus-star rating.  Their pizzas and pastas are seasonal and amazing.

Coco’s Italian Market & Restaurant has roots going back four generations.  Their grandfather was a Barber in New York who opened a pizza place next to his shop that was run by their Aunt and Grandmother.

Through the years the family opened restaurants and pizza places that are still popular even they were sold years ago.  The mission of this family was to create the best Italian food possible.

One can find a Coco’s Italian Market & Restaurant in just about every nook of Tennessee.  Their family atmosphere and commitment to true Italian food has made them very popular with residents and visitors alike.  They have over thirteen hundred positive internet posts giving them over a four-point-five-star rating.

Moto Cucina + Enoteca is only one of the many successful restaurants owned by a group known as M Street.  Several of the restaurants are on McGavock Street in the Gulch.

The restaurants vary from Asian fusion to Mexican and they introduced Moto Cucina + Enoteca in 2014.  This restaurant serves rustic-Italian cuisine and is known for their comfortable atmosphere and amazing service.

If one looks them up on the world wide web, they will see they get a strong four and one-half star rating.  The reviews rave about their food and service.

The M Street group was the idea of Chris Hyndman who is the President, Founder and CEO of this group of investing partners.  Their forward thinking has made this area of Nashville popular beyond believe.  They put in an amazing bar and lounge in their Kanye Prime restaurant and a place that can accommodate groups from ten to seventy guests.

The whole state of Texas is rich in history.  Each town was founded very differently.  San Antonio was established as a city in 1937.  Prior to that it was a camp for the Payaya Indians who were discovered there by Spanish explorers.  Mexico originally established the Mission San Antonio de Valero which later was call the Alamo.

Today San Antonio has a population of over one point five million people according to the last census taken in 2017.  That makes the population of San Antonio larger than Dallas!

With its rich history and booming population, it is no wonder that San Antonio has some of the finest breakfast places in the state.

Founded by two brothers, Jose and David Caceres in 2010, La Panaderia specializes in fresh homemade bread and pan dulce.  Raised in Mexico City, the two brothers spent their days selling their mothers homemade bread in the street.  Once they were adults, they took over their mother’s small business and built it to a larger scale.  This enabled them to eventually move to San Antonio where their place stands today.

Their artisan baked goods undergo a forty-eight-hour fermentation process.  They not only draw their inspiration from their Mexican heritage, but they have tapped into influences form American, Italian and French bread making techniques.

La Panaderia has been featured in the San Antonio Magazine,  Fox News 29 and The Food Network.  They now have two locations, Downtown San Antonio and Alamo Heights.

Don’t just think of them as a breakfast place, they serve lunch and dinner as well.  No wonder there are over seven hundred online reviews ranting about their food and giving them a four and one-half star rating.

The Magnolia Pancake House serves the “World’s Best Buttermilk Pancakes”.  Or so they say.  They cook everything from scratch so you are sure to get the freshest meal possible.

A longtime dream of owners Robert and Sheila Flemings, The Magnolia Pancake House became a reality in 2000.  Using the philosophy of consistency and quality, their reputation grew among the locals creating long lines out the door.  Their expansion came in 2006 when they renovated an old roller rink across the street to accommodate their new restaurant and their growing clientele.

They were featured on Guy Fieri’s Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives in 2001.  This caused another wave of growth as people from all over had to come out to see what all the buzz was about.

They opened a second location in 2016 called Magnolia Halle.  The seating capacity is three hundred, so they have expanded to events and catering.  They even have merchandise from Gift Cards to coffee mugs to apparel.

So let’s talk about their breakfast.  They serve only homemade syrups to use on their French toast, waffles and pancakes.  They service the finest Applewood bacon, Canadian bacon and ham.  Their custom-blended pork sausage has no artificial ingredients or fillers.  And their coffee is a must for washing down your amazing breakfast.

If you are not into breakfast don’t be afraid to ask for one of their deli sandwiches.  A favorite among the locals is their Reuben with a stack of house-cured, shaved beef brisket, sauerkraut, Swiss cheese surrounded by grilled pumpernickel bread.

The Magnolia Pancake House uses only the freshest ground black Angus beef and smokes their turkey in house.  With a variety of salads and soups you are sure to get the full tummy you were hoping for.  Don’t forget to write an online review like the seventeen hundred other raving reviews giving them four-point five stars.

Shilo’s is the oldest restaurant in San Antonio.  Opened in 1900’s it was originally a saloon in Beeville, Texas.  It was moved to San Antonio in 1914 where Mama Schilo began serving her German recipes in 1917.

Thankfully Mama Schilo had built up quite the following as prohibition caused the closure of all saloons.  Instead of serving beer in kegs they now served root beer.

The restaurant was moved once again in 1942 to its now current location.  Serving originally as an exchange bank they Shilo’s turned the old bank vault into their walk-in cooler.

Shilo’s was a family run establishment until 1980 when the Lyons family purchased it.  Their goal was to keep the German tradition going and serve only the finest home cooking around.  They must be doing something right because they have over one thousand three hundred reviews and a four-point four-star rating.

Next time you are in town and want a hearty breakfast, you cannot go wrong with Shilo’s.  Their Homestyle Breakfast includes traditional German Potato Pancakes that are grilled to a crisp and served with applesauce.  Their Pioneer Biscuits and Sausage Gravy says it all, add a couple of eggs and you have a very hearty breakfast.

Even though they are traditionally German, they do serve Breakfast Tacos like a bacon and sausage and egg taco.  But if you are one of those who have a sweet tooth in the morning, you cannot pass up their amazing cinnamon roll.