The Magic Tomato - Round II

A few months ago I reviewed The Magic Tomato. During that review our meal was ravaged by entree envy after seeing Chicago style deep dish pizzas brought to the table next to ours. I vowed that I would return to try them and I have...

Mrs. Food Blogger and I decided that we both wanted to try the deep dish pizza and one of their pasta dishes that seem to be popular with their patrons.

We ordered the Baked Mostaccoilli which is a penne pasta with meat sauce, provolone and parmesan cheeses baked and served in a huge bowl. This is very much like a baked pasta dish Mrs. FB makes at home, it was very nice and if you're looking for a change from a lasagna or spaghetti this would be a solid choice.

But, we were on a mission, at least I was, to get a taste of those amazing pizza pies that I could only covet from afar our last visit.

For our Chicago Style deep dish pizza we ordered "the Sicilian" which is a perfect selection for your carnivorous side. This specialty pizza salami, pepperoni, thick slicked ham, chunks of bacon with mozzarella and parmesan cheese.

The 8" round pizza came to the table piping hot and it must have been close to three inches deep. It had to weigh close to 2-pounds.



When I served slices to myself and Mrs. FB, the aroma of the fresh meats, the herbs in the sauce game wafting out of the pizza.

I admittedly came in with very high expectations after thinking about it for nearly five months, and it didn't disappoint. The Chicago Style Deep Dish was excellent, you usually can't find an authentic Chicago Style pizza in the South and especially not in a smaller city, but The Magic Tomato is hitting it out of the park.

They serve a good New York Style Pizza, but the Chicago Style Deep Dish steals the show. Enjoying it on a cold January night may have made it even better.

Jaybird's Stone Fired Pizza

Over the weekend the wife and I ventured into the commercial sprawl to find a Christmas Tree. We had some luck and found a nice Douglas Fir for a very nice price. On the way home we began a discussion on where to dine. I brought up an establishment that I've not had in some time – Jaybird's Stone Fired Pizza. She agreed and the debate didn't rage into something that would rival the Scopes Monkey Trial.

Just across Hardy Street from the main entrance to the Southern Miss campus and in the same strip mall as an independent coffee shop it's to be expected that they serve an eclectic mix of college students, young professionals, old hippies and families. On our visit all of the above were represented.

Jaybird's offers a traditional hand tossed and a New York style thin crust in personal (7”), medium (12”) and large (14”). They have a number of specialty combination and a large selection of toppings to make your own. You can also have any of the specialty pizzas made into a calzone.

We decided on a large Greek pizza. The pizza is topped with beef sausage, sun-dried tomatoes, red onions, black olives and three cheeses including feta.

The wait for the pie was pretty short and the dining area is simple, clean and well lit with a serve yourself beverage bar.

When they brought out our pizza the aroma was wonderful! The pizza was hot and baked to near perfection.

Upon first taste I could tell the ingredients were high quality, fresh and in good proportions. The beef sausage was flavorful, the texture of the sun dried tomatoes and red onion was the perfect compliment to the creamy cheeses. The black olives and feta tied the entire dish together. My wife is usually not a fan of black olives but, she even agreed that the combination of flavors was very nice.

Regretfully we don't have any photos for this entry either, we had decided on an unplugged weekend and left the cell phones at home. I highly recommend trying that from time to time.

Good pizza has come a long way in Hattiesburg in the last few years and Jaybird's has played a major part in bringing real hand made, stone oven pizza to the Pine Belt.

The Magic Tomato Eclectic Eatery

This weekend the wife and I were shopping (as much as I hate that) on the western fringes of the Hub City. When it became time for dinner we began to talk about different places. This can be a challenge for us, because we both have very strong opinions on what we want and where we want to go. After a vigorous discussion that could have rivaled some of the great debates of the 20th century, we decided to go somewhere that neither of had ever been before - The Magic Tomato.

This cozy, eatery is nestled quiet unassumingly in a strip mall located right in front of Oak Grove High on Old Highway 11. You notice two things when you open the door, first the scent of italian herbs coming from the kitchen and the terracotta colored walls, that are more warm and inviting than it probably sounds. Like I said it's cozy, a dozen tables at most. It has the feel of a European bistro or cafe.

After perusing the menu we settled on the Cancun Quesadini and a 14" New York Style Sicilian pizza.

Lets start with the Cancun Quesadini, I suppose this is Italian-Tex-Mex fusion. I think that once upon a time an apprentice pizza chef went to Mexico on spring break, had too much tequila and when he woke up slumped over on a table this is what he found in front of him...



It's thin rolled pizza dough full of peppers, onions, garlic, three kinds of cheeses, and seasoned chicken folded and grilled. They served it with a chipotle sour cream that was very nice. This was an ok experiment, not sure that it'll catch on and you'll see it at other Italian places. Not sure that I would order it again, but I don't have any negatives.

A few minutes later our server brought out our pizza, we ordered the Sicilian, which is a carnivore's dream. A thin crust New York style pizza with a very good marinara sauce, but the meats - Salami, peperoni, bacon, thick sliced ham we all fresh and flavorful. It had two different cheeses.

This was a good pizza, I was very happy with my order until...the server brought out Chicago style deep dish pizzas to the table next to ours. Before they could even dig into these three inch thick pie-sized pizza creations entree envy had set in with a vengeance.

I enjoyed the rest of our meal, but I couldn't help thinking that man, I should have gotten that, and you know I will, Oh, I will....Magic Tomato I'm coming back...

Fox's Pizza Den - Oak Grove

As a rule I generally don't review chain restaurants, but I've had a number of emails asking me to give Fox's Pizza Den, in Oak Grove, a try. This afternoon work had me in the area and I took in lunch.

A little back ground info, the origional Fox's opened in Pitcairn, Pennsylvania in 1971 and since then has spread across the country. They're just beginning to show up in Mississippi. They have two in the Hattiesburg area, the one in Oak Grove and according to their website, there is one in Sumrall.

I arrived after the lunch rush was over and the place was about 1/3 full, local franchisees Robbie and Sonya Gates were hard at work making sure things were running smoothly. One thing that really impressed me was that while I was there, at some point either Robbie or Sonya (or both) went to each table and thanked the patrons for their business. I know that's something pretty small and simple, but it made a big impression on this blogger.

Having heard good things about the "Wedgie's" I decided on the Beef, Bacon & Cheddar Wedgie.

This may be one of the most unique sandwiches I've come across, it's basically a pizza crust that has been baked fairly crispy, cut in half, layed with meats, cheese, mayo, lettuce and tomato, then folded over and cut in half again.



I'm not sure this photo dose it justice, this is a big sandwich. It's made from a 9" pizza crust (they also offer a 6").

The beef in this particular wedgie was sliced roast beef, and not too thin either, they give you a good portion of roast beef in this thing. The bacon was crispy the veggie's were fresh, but they could have used about half as much lettuce as was piled on mine.

I don't think I can give much of a food snob review of a Wedgie, I liked it. It was hot, the crusts were fresh baked, the meats were flavorful, the cheese was high quality and the veggies were fresh.

I had a sweet tea with my meal and it was satisfactory.

Readers know that I love to save money and Fox's makes it easy, check out these coupons you can right on your computer - Fox's Coupons. Wish I had found them before I went in...

Fox's moves way up on my list of chain's. I don't know if all Fox's are run like this one, but the Gates are doing something right!

Bianchi's Pizzeria

Tonight the wife was in the mood for "something Italian", so we headed downtown and stopped in at Bianchi's Pizzeria. It's been a few months since we've been there but have always had positive experiences.

Bianchi's is located downtown in a very nicely renovated building that is contemporary and simple. Red and white checked table cloths, the brick ovens open to the dining area, a bit warm for us to sit outside, but a number of patrons had chosen to do so.

Tonight, I'll be honest, I was a little disappointed. They were operating with a skeleton crew and were noticeably short-handed. I know what you're thinking, 'Isn't it unfair to review a restaurant under those conditions?'. To a point, but if you're open you have a chance to make a positive or negative impression on a customer that could become a life-long patron. We didn't have service problems despite the small crew.

We decided on calzones which we've had there on other occasions. I ordered the Prosciutto and Gorgonzola Calzone, while my wife ordered the Shrimp and Scallop Calzone.

When they were brought to the table, there was a noticeable difference from the previous times we had eaten calzones there - portion size. The calzones were much smaller than I have ever seen them at Bianchi's. I understand the state of the economy, the price on the menu was unchanged, but I would rather pay a buck more and get a larger calzone.

A positive was the quality of the calzones have not suffered. My Prosciutto and Gorgonzola was very nice. The plating was simple with a cup of a creamy sauce for dipping.

Prosciutto and Gorgonzola are both very strong, distinct flavors and are probably better suited for a more "experienced" pallet. Despite not being as large as I would have liked, it was fresh, hot, creamy with a nice portion of both main ingredients. I have no complaints in the least about taste.

My wife's shrimp and scallop calzone was good, not great. The portion was also noticeably smaller than in the past and the scallops were a bit over-cooked. But, it too was hot, creamy and loaded with shrimp.

Bianchi's is Tom White's second venture in Hattiesburg, and it some times seems to be a stepchild to 206 Front. It's better than any chain, but it could be so much more, and for the price it should be. Now, I am not going to tell you that it's not a good place to eat, but I can't in good conscious tell you that it's a good value with the portion size we were served.