Lit Pizza #PickMyPOM Loser

 

If you've been following from the beginning, you know that I am obsessed with pizza. It's way beyond just a favorite food for me. Pizza is a form of expression. Pizza is how you show love. In fact, I care more about your favorite pizza place in the city than I do your opinion on most controversial topics. (I get "irrationally" angry that Shlitz & Giggles still gets votes in the Best of 225 awards over NY Pizza and Pasta...or really ANY pizza place in the city.) 

What did I do in my spare time when I went to a conference in New York? Not the touristy stuff other first time NY visitors did. I did a pizza tour. What do I do when I go to Chicago? Eat as much pizza as I can. 95% of the cooking classes I take? All from different pizzaiolos around the world. Have I paid to take a class on the history of pizza? Yes. Best part of my study abroad program? The time I spent in Italy sampling pizza that would have me questioning what it means for something to be a pizza, and truly expand my mind to what pizza can be. 

I give you all of that background to tell you that when Lit Pizza said they were going to let the customers compete to create the August Pizza of the Month, I felt that my time had come. All of this obsession and hard work had paid off. It was time to put all of the knowledge I had stored up to good use. 

How should I tackle this challenge? Should I go with something I know that everyone will love? Should I branch out and try to offer something different that people would order because it was the POM but not necessarily order on their own? What pizza have I had that was so unique that I want to bring something similar to the table? 

I opted for a pizza that is not my standard order. The pizzas of the month, to me, are pizzas that you enjoy, but only for the novelty of them. It's the thing you see on that chalkboard that makes you pause before you go into your order. It's special. 

So with that as my criteria, I tried to think of the most original pizza that I had eaten. The one that I was nervous about trying because I didn't think I would enjoy it. The one that, despite not being what I would ever order, I liked...for the time I was eating it, and I was glad that I had tried it. 

Artichoke Basille's artichoke pizza. I don't like artichokes. I'm not an overly big fan of spinach. But when I did my pizza tour in NYC, this was one of the stops on the way. But the combination of them with the cream sauce made it work for me. Would I order this often? No way. Did I enjoy it for the moment? Absolutely. 

So I decided to also do a play on an appetizer on crust. I decided to go with one of my favorites - a jalapeno popper. The first issue was with sauce. I knew marinara would not work, and white sauce and my stomach do not get along. I knew I was going to have to figure out a way to make this work, but I was limited to what was on the line at Lit. I opted to go with no sauce, but used ricotta, fresh mozzarella and cheddar cheese to try and replicate a creaminess. 

Then I topped it with fresh jalapenos and bacon, and finished with a drizzle of ranch and some parmesan cheese. Simple, but classic flavors, and still interesting. 

Beautiful, isn't it? Would I have done a few things different had I been able to use ingredients not on the line? Absolutely. But this guy did get me into the top 3, which made it through to the judges for their decision. 

Decision Time. I'll admit, I didn't watch the judging. I couldn't do it. I had a gut feeling that this guy would come in third and I didn't want to see it. After all, my reputation in my social circles was at stake here! 

Side note: As someone who has been a judge in competitions like this, I know how much personal taste can come into play when you are judging. It's hard to leave it out. If they just didn't like the idea or the concept, I didn't want to hear it. 

So, I'm a Lit loser. I did come in 3rd, but I did still get a $100 gift card out of the whole thing. I probably won't use it for a while because my pride is wounded ... but it's either help my pride heal with cheesy carbs I pay for, or cheesy carbs on Lit. I'm not sure I'm ready to let them back in. But come September, we'll be back on speaking terms. 

Please note that I still love Lit, and my bitterness is purely exaggerated to tell a better story...somewhat.  

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Fork N Spoon

 

What started off as a prepared meal service, has now expanded into a restaurant serving up breakfast and lunch specials a few days a week. Fork 'N Spoon opened close to LSU and while the menu isn't extensive, it has plenty of choices to satisfy everyone. 

The space isn't very large, there's only enough space for 4 tables of 2, but stepping inside was like stepping inside someone's kitchen with all of the cute decorations. 

I mentioned the menu isn't extensive, but it did take me a while to settle on what I wanted to try. Most people might not think a breakfast plate is exciting, but when one of your side options is French toast, well that is a game changer for me. (Spoiler alert - it's what I plan to get the next time I go!) 

I'm a sucker for hash browns, so I went with the loaded hash browns. The little potato cubes are cooked with onions and peppers and then topped with sausage gravy, bacon and a sunny side up egg. I added cheese for an additional charge, but cheese is always worth it. 

Y'all, that is a lot of food! Easily could have been split between two people. It was SO GOOD! The potatoes were cooked perfectly, crisp on the outside while being soft on the inside. I'm normally not a huge fan of sausage gravy, but I drink this gravy as a meal. (like a protein smoothie, totally the same thing, right?) The cheese isn't needed, but just adds another level of flavor, as if there wasn't already a tremendous amount of flavor going on in this dish! So good, so filling, so worth splurging and eating it all by yourself. 

Fork 'N Spoon is only open Tuesday - Thursday though, so don't make the mistake of showing up for your Friday special breakfast like I did. 😂

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Solera

 

What are you doing on Tuesday night? If you aren't going to Solera, then you should be! Solera has happy hour on Tuesdays from 4pm-9pm and it includes some of the small plates, along with the drinks. 

For the 21+ crowd, you can get a variety of adult beverages for $6, like the cold fashioned pictured below. 

But not only do you have drink specials, there are 5 small plates for $5! And the best part is that you could tell that everything had been made fresh and was made to order because it was all hot when it got to the table.  I'll be showing you all of those $5 plates (denoted by an * after their name), plus a few extra things that we just HAD to get. Which we were THOSE people who sat down and said, "We'd like all of the $5 plates", in case you were wondering how classy I am. 

Pan con Tomate*

First up on the $5 small plates, the Pan con Tomate. Full disclosure, I am not a fan of the texture of a tomato, so this was my least favorite thing that we got. However, if you like tomatoes, I'm sure it's fabulous. I ended up scraping the tomatoes off of my portion and the garlicy butter on the baguette was delicious. 

Croquetas*

Surprisingly, these croquetas ended up being one of my favorite things that I ate at Solera. They are creamy on the inside and have ham (which is another food I'm not a big fan of) but whatever they put with it made them taste so good. My only complaint is that only 3 came with the order and since there were 3 of us, I only got one. But at $5, I probably should have ordered another round. 

Papas Fritas con Manchego*

I know you may be saying "that's just fries" but y'all, they were SO GOOD! They were crispy and the cheese sauce with them was to die for! Honestly, I would say it's the best cheese sauce I've ever had. 

Calamares*

The citrus aioli that comes with the calamari is *chef's kiss* delightful. It brings a lightness to the dish that the marinara that I've had most places doesn't bring, which is a welcome addition to something fried. 

Piquillos*

This lovely plate is Manchego stuffed peppers on crostini with an infused honey. These were probably my second favorite of the $5 plates, but a very close second to the croquetas. The presentation was not what I expected when I read the words "stuffed peppers" and to be honest, initially I couldn't tell if they were stuffed....until I got a taste of the cheese. Delicious! 

NON-HAPPY HOUR SELECTIONS 

Of course, we could have stopped with the $5 plates and just kept ordering some of those, but so many things on the menu sounded too appetizing to pass up! So here are a few other items that my friends and I highly recommend. 

Patatas Bravas

Crispy potatoes, Manchego cream, and bravas sauce. These were a little spicy, but not too spicy, and absolutely delicious. You can also choose to get them topped with an egg, chorizo or both. I think that these topped with both of those would make an amazing brunch dish! 

Steak and Mahon Flatbread

10/10 will get this again! The steak was cooked to tender perfection, the mahon cheese is divine and the flatbread that tasted more like a puff pastry than a flatbread made this one of the best things I've eaten in Baton Rouge. 

BUT WAIT...THEY HAVE DESSERT TOO!

My only complaint about Solera's website is that the dessert menu is not on there. I also don't like how the dessert menu was not part of the menu that we got originally because I couldn't plan my orders appropriately to fully appreciate the dessert menu. So learn from me, and be sure to ask for a dessert menu!

Crème Brule cheesecake

This cheesecake has a top that is crème bruled, topped with some graham cracker type things and served with a blueberry sauce. While I don't like blueberries, I do like crème Brule and cheesecake. 

Affogato 

This affogato was truly the perfect way to end the night. I love a good affogato, and this will definitely be how I end the many future nights I plan to have at Solera. 

 Have you been to Solera? Do you like tapas? Do you like sharing food in general? If the answers to the last two questions is yes, then drop a note in the comments below and let's find a Tuesday to hit up Solera!

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