First Visit: Luigi & Sons Italian Restaurant

We visited Luigi's on Cherry Rd in Rock Hill Friday night to celebrate Nate's birthday. 

The star of the table was definitely their pizza. Taylor said it was the most delicious pizza he's had in a while. "I can't wait to wake up in the middle of the night and eat the leftover slice!" He said. 

Bob had the meatball roll, which was beautiful to look at it. He liked it, but said it really had too much cheese in it. It's probably right for most people, but he and I don't, as a rule, eat just a ton of cheese. 

I had the eggplant rolatini. I'd rate it just "passable." It was seriously lacking in flavor, namely salt. But the eggplant was cooked appropriately...not too oily, and the pasta was al dente. I'm not really impressed with their sauce. It just seems sort of bland. That said, I will eat the leftovers. Not all the pasta, but I'll definitely finish the eggplant. Oh, and the salad. Ask for the dressing to be on the side. I was served a wonderful side salad with nice, fresh-looking ingredients, but they drowned it in dressing. You know what they say about "assume...."

About the restaurant itself: it's very much a family style restaurant and shows its age...mismatched tables and chairs, and aging decor. 

Service was terribly, terribly slow. But the staff were all gracious and friendly, even if not real attentive. It was not full in the dining room, so I figure their takeout and delivery must be pretty heavy. 

Would we go back? Probably not. But if I lived in Rock Hill, I'd probably make homemade pizza a lot less often. 

First Visit: Spice Wagon Kebab Food Truck

We were bumming around SouthEnd. We hadn't really been thinking about lunch, but we were open. We stopped in at the Atherton Farm Market and there in the parking lot was this kebab food truck. Taylor perked up immediately. "It's been a long time since I've had a kebab," he said. And so we queued up.

Let me first say the food was good and plentiful. But the process was an exercise in patience and nerve-calming. 

First, it took an incredibly long time to get our food. Bob and I had jerk chicken kebabs and Taylor had beef. I don't know if we got there just as they were about to make another batch of meat or what, but the wait turned into about 20 minutes. And it was a little chilly outside. There were tables behind the food truck that are part of the Atherton area,, but the generator they had on the back the truck was SO LOUD and SMELLY that we really weren't up to sitting back there.

I suspect they might be better on a food truck night, when things are fast and heavy. They probably have more food ready then. Like I said, the food was good. I wouldn't say it was excellent. The corn was fairly old but not totally gummy and the Parmesan they sprinkled on it was really good. The fries were a tad soggy for me, but not terrible. They had a spice dust on them that could have used some salt. The meat on the kebabs, though, was cooked perfectly (they were thighs, which hold well) and seasoned nicely. There was a small pita underneath the kebabs, and you got a little container of tzatziki on the side. The tzatziki was good.

It would not be a "destination" for me. I'm sure I won't wake up one day next week wishing I had another of their kebabs. But it wasn't a disappointment or waste of money.