Diner's Guide: Lucca Grill

Establishment: Lucca Grill
On the Web: http://www.luccagrill.com/
Date: 6.23.09

What's in my belly: Twelve-inch sausage pizza and a Cherry Coke. Brooksie had the chicken parmesan with a side salad and a Diet Coke.

The damage: Thirty-four bucks, tip included.

The scoop: The Lucca Grill has been filling bellies in Bloomington since 1936. It's a well known and popular Italian-American grill, and favorite of some of our friends, but it took over a year for us to hit it up for the first time. Brooksie and I have heard stories of how crazy it can be during peak hours, so when we were starving around 4:30 this afternoon we thought we'd saunter in and check it out. I actually had my first Lucca experience a few weeks back with some co-workers, but the most recent visit was the best. Lucca's food is pretty good, but the ambience is what really hooks guests.

"Our customers always feel "at home" at the Lucca Grill, with the familiar antique mahogany bar, the ornate tin ceiling, the first pizza in Central Illinois, and the many framed newspaper feature articles about the Lucca Grill from our local newspaper, The Pantagraph, to The New York Times, to The Washington Post. The feeling of "belonging" never ends."

If you're a sports fan, specifically baseball, there are a few subtle touches that really put Lucca over the top. First, there are helmets for the Cubs, Sox and Cardinals over the bar, each with a 'W' or 'L' flag to keep patrons informed of the team's previous outcome. Second, there are mini pennants on the wall, representing each team in the Majors. They're seperated into divisions and it appeared like they were ordered in their current division standing - that'd be a fun job to update everyday.

Back to the food. My pizza was great. I went pretty plain and ordered sausage and cheese. It comes with a thin crust, which I thought would be extra crispy, but it was delightfully plush. The sausage was OK, Brooksie wasn't a fan. I'll probably go with pepperoni or ground beef next time. Brooksie's chicken was great, but the sauce was chunky. To some that's a bonus, but for us Tomato haters, not so much.

I got a little grief from Brooksie for eating the entire medium pizza. If you're going in on a pie with a partner, order the large.

Will we go again: Certainly. Maybe another visit during non-peak hours to get comfy with the place and figure out our favorite dishes is in the cards before we make it a regular stop.

Diner's Guide: Meat Heads

Establishment: Meat Heads
On the Web: http://www.meatheadsburgers.com/index.html
Date: 6.13.08

What's in my belly: Cowabunga meal (double cheesburger) with cajun fries, cheese dip and a Pepsi. Brooksie ordered a Cowabunga meal with cheese, BBQ sauce and grilled onions, and had regular fries with a Diet Pepsi....or Root Beer.

The damage: Something like 17 bucks.

The scoop: Established in 2007, Meat Heads is a new joint but has a classic taste. It's nothing fancy - burgers, hot dogs, grilled cheese and hand cut fries - but what it lacks in pizazz it makes up for in substance. The place looks super cool, with the trendy industrial, rugged, clean look just like a Chipotle. We went at lunch and although the place was packed, we got through the line pretty quickly. "We like to do things fast," Kurt our order-taker/owner/manager looking guy would tell us later. With so little to choose from, ordering is super easy. We went with the double cheeseburger combo, affectionately called the Cowabunga, while a guy in front of us ordered the Petite Meat, a single patty and small fry, which the register embarrassingly called a "whimpy" - pretty funny.

This was my second trip to Meat Heads, having discovered the place with my sister Kathy on an apartment hunting trip earlier in the Spring. I informed Kurt that it was Brooksie's first time and he responded with "It's your new favorite restaurant" and gave her a fist pound. Kurt also informed us that he'd see us next week, or tomorrow but he didn't want to push us. Fun guy. Meat Heads might just be my favorite joint in town so far. It's simple and scrumptious. They use Angus beef and grill it up as you order. It's a better version of a Wendy's double cheeseburger, and Wendy's used to be my favorite burger. Definitely get the cajun fries. They're not real spicy, just have more flavor than the original. The cheese sauce, which I guess is a new menu item, is outstanding, although a little warm for some palettes. A little greasy, but that's a positive in my book.

Will we go again: Definitely, like Kurt said, it's our new favorite restaurant.