Are You Ready for Pronto?

Back in the summer, I had my yearly trek to the National Hamburger Festival in Akron.  It was there that I tried the Green Machine food truck's Italian Burger.  It was by far my winner that year.  It was delish!  Sundried tomato, balsamic caramelized onion, pesto aioli, smoked provolone and prosciutto on top of an Angus beef burger with lettuce and fresh tomato.  Seriously, what's not to love?  It probably sounds like too much, but it wasn't.  In fact, here it is...

Oh yes, look at that beauty!  I was hard pressed not to order it when I went to Pronto, the brick and mortar restaurant that was once the Green Machine.  It was on the menu.  But having had it once, I wanted to try something else.  And I'm also trying to be healthier so a burger and all those extras was probably not the best idea.

But before I get to ahead of myself, Pronto is located at 223 East Highland Road, in Macedonia, OH 44056, where Fat Casual BBQ was once located.  They are open Tuesday thru Saturday for lunch and dinner, closed Sunday and Monday.  It's small and quaint and only seats about 35 tops.  There is even an in house bakery for all the desserts.  The restaurant is billed at Modern Italian American Cuisine and to be honest, the lunch menu doesn't reflect that much.  Which is not a complaint, because the food was damn good.  I haven't been there for dinner, but the menu for dinner does have more Italian fare.  Chef Scott Wnek studied in Bologna, Italy so I can see that there is an Italian flair, just not exclusively Italian food.

I decided on the Vegetarian Sandwich, which was roasted eggplant and roasted tomatoes, arugula, balsamic reduction and garlic herbed goat cheese.  Simple, done well and delicious.  It was to be served with fresh cut fries and pesto aioli dipping sauce.  I asked for a side salad instead and for a small extra price, it was no problem.  It's that pesky healthier eating I mentioned earlier that made me do it!  

The man went with the Cuban.  A little bit of a different take, but a Cuban none the less.  Ham, dijon mayo, pickles, swiss cheese, moho sauce and pulled pork.

He got the fries and while it definitely looked like other plates that went by had a lot more fries, he was ultimately satisfied with the amount he had.  And that pesto aioli?  Fugget about it!!!  That's the stuff right there!  I took a bite of the sandwich and it was pretty damn good.  I liked mine better, but he said the same thing... he liked his better :)

And because the man has a sweet tooth, and there is an in house bakery, he had to try some dessert.   Yeah thanks, I did mention I was trying to eat healthier!  After speaking with our waiter, he went over to the bakery counter to scope out his choices.  He came back with not one, but two desserts!  A pecan bar and a lemon bar.  That probably sounds kind of dull but both were anything but dull.  I mean, come on... look at this thing of beauty!  It's a pecan bar dipped in chocolate!

Rich, nutty, buttery and Oh. My. God!!!  So incredible and the price was right at $1.99 (which was also the price of the lemon bar).  It was so good.  I had one bite.  OK, maybe two.  But I was good!   And the lemon bar did not disappoint.  It was tart and sweet, but not too sweet.  With a buttery crust and luscious filling.  Again, I only had a bite, or two, but loved both!

I think it's safe to say I'll be going back to Pronto!

Edited 3/7/14 - And go back we did!  A week later.  It was just as good as the first trip.  Want to know what we had?  Of course you do!

 

The first week we were given a coupon for a free soup with the purchase of an entree.  This week I was thrilled that the soup of the day was Butternut Squash Bisque.  Oh it's one of my faves and this was one terrific version.  There was a hint of nutmeg and finely chopped walnuts on the top.  *sigh*

 

The man decided he could not resist and had to get the Italian Burger that we had at the Burger Festival.  Can you even stand it??

 It sounds like a lot going on, but it is marvelous and does not detract from the deliciousness of the angus beef.  It has sundried tomato pesto aioli, smoked mozzarella, basil pesto aioli, crispy prosciutto, balsamic glaze and arugula.  It's served with fresh cut fries with basil pesto aioli and he was much more pleased with the amount of fries he got this time.  

Now feast your eyes on this!!   This was a special of the day and is not on the regular menu.  It's the Beef Tenderloin Salad.  Yes, salad.   Inside this glorious tower of decadence is arugula dressed in a balsamic dressing with a perfectly rare (but served cold) slice of beef tenderloin, one in each onion ring.  It also has sliced grape tomatoes, horseradish cream and balsamic reduction.  This was incredible!

And because the man always has to have dessert, he went over to the bakery counter again to check things out. This week he opted for the big ginger cookie (served warm and scrumptious!).

 

And the big chocolate chip cookie with an Oreo in the middle.  Also served warm.  It was melty and yummy and so comforting.  

Check out Pronto... I promise you won't be sorry!

Livin La Vida Retro

I can't explain it.  Retro Dog has been within 10 minutes of my house for several years now and I've never been  I don't know, so don't hassle me!  But now that I've been, I do believe I'll be going back. 

I already knew there were more things on the menu than hot dogs, which is good because I'm a notorious hot dog hater. I really just never liked them and don't plan on starting now.  But I do love all things retro.  And I do love burgers and all that goes along with a burger.  So on a particular Saturday night with not much else do, it was finally time to check out Retro Dog.

I love the whole look of Retro Dog, from the neon sign, to the old style diner interior, to the crazy artwork on the walls.  It's just a damn cool looking place.  And you can eat at the car hop if you'd prefer.

Looking over the menu I decided that I had to try a homemade root beer, that they have on draft.  Interestingly, I don't love root beer.  But the description sounded so enticing (Local Artisan and craft brewed to guarantee freshness and bold signature flavors.  Brewed with all natural ingredients including fresh winter green, vanilla bean, pure cane sugar and filtered water.​  A combination that provides a delicious creamy caramel vanilla flavor that's sure to please sip after sip!) that I decided to give it a go.  It came out in a frosty mug and truly did not disappoint.   It was delicious!

 

The man decided on a peanut butter milkshake.  Yeah, you heard me right.  And Oh.  My.  God.  It was so good.  Thick and creamy, delicious peanut butter flavor.  A work of milkshake art.

 

And now for the main event.   The man got the dogs, 2 Retro Dogs.  As hot dogs go, they did look good.  They were chargrilled, which if I ate hotdogs, I'd want.  They are topped with Coney sauce, cheese sauce and onions.  The man loved them, loved the snap of the dog (which is a natural casing dog), and all around was very pleased.

 

He also go the fries.   Nice fresh cut fries.  Portion was good and they were fresh and hot.

 

I chose the Retro Burger.   This isn't an interesting gourmet burger, but a good old fashioned classic done right.  The burger is topped with American cheese, grilled onion, sliced tomato, shredded pickle, shredded lettuce, and mayo/mustard sauce.  As a burger lover, it doesn't disappoint.  In fact, I'm quite smitten with it.  Honestly, I don't think you can go wrong if you chose the Retro Burger.

  

Really, check out that beauty!  Yeah it's messy, but aren't most good burgers?   The cheese is oozy, the sauce drips out, the burger is juicy and flavorful.  

I also chose the tempura onion rings.   Now, there are times when onions in general don't like me very much.  But sometimes you just have to take one for the team and deal.  This was one of those times.  I mean really, if you saw these could you resist them??

 

I don't think you could!  They come with a sauce to dip them in, that I'm not exactly sure what it was but it was mighty tasty.  These are some stellar rings.  The onion themselves are thin and battered perfectly.  Not too much batter and fried to a crispy perfection.  

Yeah, I'd say my first Retro Dog experience won't be my last.