A Taste of Italy, in Flint

While it may not be in downtown Flint, John's Pizzeria and Italian Restaurant is celebrating 50 years of business. The pizzeria has three locations in the area, but the original location is at 3600 Davison Rd. 


In 1959, John's Pizzeria and Italian Restaurant was opened by Giovanni Bufalini. As an immigrant from Patricia, Italy, Bufalini wanted to bring authentic Italian food to the Flint area. The restaurant is now owned by his son, John Bufalini, after Giovanni's death in 2006, according to The Flint Journal.


I have never been to John's Pizzeria, but I'm certainly intrigued after reading this news. The idea of authentic Italian food sounds great in our ever-growing world of mass-produced food. This could be a nice alternative to Little Caesar's. 

Soyla's Mexican Cuisine: Good food, Poor Service

Today I ate at Soyla's Mexican Cuisine. It's located at 555 S. Saginaw, in the Wade-Trim Building. It's located almost in the center of downtown and is a pretty reasonable walking distance for anyone in the downtown area. 


For $6.99 ( a recent price jump from $5.99) you can enjoy Soyla's lunch menu, from 11 am - 2 pm. There's about eight options that you can choose from and all of them are pretty standard, including tacos (yes, even fish), quesadillas and chimichangas. All lunch orders come with a side of refried beans and rice. They serve Coke products and a selection of imported, bottled sodas. They do not serve alcohol.

My experience today was not the greatest.
If you were following my Twitter feed you saw what happened. Basically, it took 35 minutes for me to receive my order.

The 411 on 501

On Wednesday I ate lunch at 501 Bar and Grill, located at 500 S. Saginaw in downtown Flint. 

I was surprised by how it busy it was when I first walked in. The restaurant was about half full, filled with what looked like a lot of business people. I found a table for myself and the waitress asked for my drink order. 

OH Blendz

The UM-Flint University Pavilion is home to many eateries. I experienced one of these, OBlendZ, on Tuesday. OBlendZ primarily sells smoothies and grilled sandwiches. 

I ordered a bean burrito (pictured right). The burrito contains a mild salsa, cheese, refried beans and a spicy-sweet rice. All of this is wrapped and grilled in a 12" tortilla. 

Wise Guy, Eh?

On Friday I went to Wize Guys Pizza for the first time. It's located at 500 S. Saginaw, Flint. I didn't really "get it" until I entered the pizzeria and saw pictures of Al Capone, The Sopranos, The Godfather, and Scarface all over the walls. "Ohhhhhhh," I said to myself. Italian Mobsters, pizza, the name made sense now, and I found it to be pretty cool.

The restaurant didn't have any waitresses so we had to walk up to the counter and order. For pizza you have the choice to make your own, or choose from their pre-made menu.

The Lunch That FINALLY Happened

On Wednesday of this week I was finally able to make it over to The Lunch Studio. It's located at 444 S. Saginaw St. in Flint, Mich. 

After finding my own seat a waitress brought me a menu. I love their vegetarian chili so I ordered a bowl (pictured right) for $2.75 (price is with sandwich purchase).

The Lunch That Almost Happened

The Lunch Studio
Originally uploaded by sarrazak6881

http://www.flickr.com/photos/sarahrazak/
/ CC BY-NC-ND 2.0
The Lunch Studio is seen as the
black building with the orange and yellow sign.

Today I was supposed to eat lunch at The Lunch Studio (pictured right), located downtown Flint at 444 S. Saginaw. Since I didn't eat there today I can't review any of the food, but I will give a small preview of the restaurant because I have been there before.

The Lunch Studio serves mainly soup and sandwiches, and of course, their famous chili. The restaurant has a very retro feeling to it too. Every table and chair is different than the next and the walls are decorated with interesting art. One of my favorite pieces of art at The Lunch Studio is a giant piece of key lime pie, complete with whipped topping.

Rob Gill, a food writer for Flinttalk.com says that The Lunch Studio is a healthy burger alternative. "They do not deep-fry anything and I bet there isn't a hot dog in the building," said Gill on his blog. "The soups are almost all homemade and salads are prepared fresh daily." The Lunch Studio also received a Healthy Lifestyle Award for their menu and nutritional value, according to Gill.


With that being said, I will be reviewing The Lunch Studio the next opportunity I have!

Deco Deli: An Art in Itself

On Wednesday I ate at Hoffman's Deco Deli and Cafe, by a tip from one of my professors. So my friends Melanie and Mandy, and I headed over to Flint's Carriage Town to visit the deli/antique store located at 503 Garland St.


When we walked in we were pleasantly surprised by the atmosphere. The deli was very trendy, with colorful walls and plants everywhere. Almost all of the tables were full of a diverse crowd too. There were business people, college students, construction workers, and even little old ladies. This was obviously a very appealing place to be.

We walked up to the counter and stared at the enormous menu.
Most of the sandwiches had a Flint theme to them: The Flintstone, Carriage Town Corn Beef, The Durant, the College Club, etc. They even had a featured sorority sandwich, the Phi Sigma Sigma. You could also make your sandwich a meal by adding a drink with a choice of chips or couscous. 


All college students receive a 10 percent discount on orders, so I decided to order The Durant with chips and a coke, and Melanie ordered the College Club with couscous and a coke. Mandy didn't get any food, but she did order a small coffee. 

Churchill's: Not As Bad As You Think

On Monday I ate lunch at Churchill's with my friend Melanie. Churchill's is located downtown Flint at 340 South Saginaw. Students receive a 10 percent discount and happy hour drink prices during lunch. 

The entire month of November Churchill's is offering $1.35 pints of Coors Light Draft. We started by ordering ourselves a pint each and were not disappointed. You can't go wrong with a $1.35 pint, even if it is Coors Light. 


Melanie (pictured above) was very happy about her drink decision. We were going to order pints of Miller Light, but when the waitress informed us of the drink special we changed our minds. We thought it was a good deal for a couple of poor college students.