Me N Ed’s Restaurant Review: Annesso Pizzeria

We visited Annesso Pizzeria at 5pm on a Monday night.  This establishment is located in the shopping center located on Friant and Cole.  We have driven by this restaurant many times, and it usually is packed with people.  We were surprised to find the parking lot was not full.  This parking lot, in general, is not easily navigable.  The traffic in and out, including pedestrians, makes for a slow entrance/exit.  The restaurant was less than half-full.  It was warm and welcoming.  The hostesses were friendly but were wearing street clothes.  For a nice restaurant such as this, that surprised us.  We sat at the bar top and ordered from the draught beer selection.  I had the Peroni and Ed had the Menabrea Amber.  They were good, not great.  The beer selection was slim.  Our server was very nice and we enjoyed her conversation.  She was very knowledgeable about the menu and restaurant.  We learned this restaurant is the sister to The Annex Kitchen on Shaw and Van Ness Avenues.  Our server advised the most popular appetizers were the suppli, Jenny's hot wings, and the braised meatballs.  We opted for the meatballs.  They were delicious.  Next we ordered a Margherita pizza.  Yes, pizza again!  It too, was delicious.  We were both served water glasses, which we did not ask for.  With the drought, we don't like to be wasteful, so we would prefer not to be given water unless we ask for it.  But perhaps next time we will just advise them ahead of time.  Overall, we would return here. 

Me N Ed's Rating

Our rating system consists of 13 categories to include the following:  first impression, location, servers, menu variety, ambience, parking, overall cleanliness, drink selection, tvs/music, crowd, lighting, appetizer, and likely to return/recommend.  We rate from 1 to 5.  Annesso Pizzeria received a total of 104 out of a possible 130 points, earning them an 80%.  

Me N Ed's Restaurant Review: Press Box Sports Grill #2

 

There are three Press Box Sports Grills; one is Clovis and two are in Fresno.  We visited the Clovis location (#2) at 5:30 on a Saturday evening.  The location isn’t great, as it is located tucked away behind other buildings.  There was ample parking, though.  The parking lot was littered with empty beer cans; not a great start.  However, when we entered I immediately noticed how nice it looked.  It was spacious with a large bar top.  There were a lot of TVs with numerous sports games on.  We were greeted immediately and sat at a high top table.  I ordered a margarita.  Ed ordered a Lagunitas; no dice.  They didn’t have that.  He then ordered Sierra Nevada.  Strike two.  He settled for General Sherman.  He’s an IPA kinda guy.  Yuck!  Our server advised us the three most popular appetizers were the steak bites, the quesadilla, and the ahi poke nachos.  We decided on the steak bites.  They took a long time to arrive, which was odd because the restaurant was half-empty.  Ed really liked the steak bites.  I wasn't too wild about them.  The steak was tough, but the sauce was good.  The mushrooms were heavenly!  Next time I will order mushroom bites, lol.  We followed that up with pepperoni pizza.  Last time we were there, they were out of pizza.  Imagine that!  But they were redeemed this time.  We love Press Box pizza!  The bartender knew we wanted to watch the Warriors play, so he put the game on a tv where we could see it better, without us having to ask.  Nice!  My margarita was really good, but it was weak.  Weak sauce!  Ed visited the bathroom and he politely warned me against going in myself.  I heeded his advice.  Overall, not a bad experience.  We would return here.    

Me N Ed's Rating

Our rating system consists of 13 categories to include the following:  first impression, location, servers, menu variety, ambience, parking, overall cleanliness, drink selection, tvs/music, crowd, lighting, appetizer, and likely to return/recommend.  We rate from 1 to 5.  Press Box Sports Grill #2 received a total of 95 out of a possible 130 points, earning them a 73%.  

The Bookshop on the Shore

I decided to take a break from self-help and informational books.  I chose this easy-read novel.  It has been on my bookshelf for years.  I think I picked it up at Costco for some cheap amount.  I undoubtedly purchased this book because it had a picture of books on the cover.  This is not my typical read, but it was good to have a mindless book.  It tells of a London woman, and single mother, trying to make ends meet.  When she is pushed out of her flat because of increasing rent, she accepts an offer for two jobs in Scotland.  One as a live-in nanny.  And one as a traveling bookshop attendant.  She experiences many difficulties in her new environment, from ill-behaved children to unaccepting patrons.  The mother of the children she is caring for seemingly abandoned the family; the children are deeply affected.  The traveling bookshop owner, who is out due to her pregnancy, seems to be perfect for the job and the customers are not accepting of the newcomer.  Apart from her struggles to fit in everywhere, she struggles with her mute child, whose father does not take an active role in their lives.  

The author is British and so therefore some words are spelled differently.  For instance, color is spelled colour, and so forth.  There is also some Scottish accents and phrases used in the text.  For example, dinae for doesn't.  If you're not used to these words and phrases, you might not know exactly what they are saying.  I am familiar with these accents and didn't have any issues, but that would be the only thing keeping me from recommending this book.  It was a nice, easy getaway book.  Now, I move on to Limitless, by Jim Kwik.