Luciano's

In the ongoing exploration of Gwinnett County, I have managed to find a diamond among stones!
Juan Arroyave, my host at Luciano's, has given me a culinary experience not to be soon forgotten. Executive Chef John Soilis has brought his twenty plus years of experience to Luciano's, and his team at the Sugarloaf location (the other is in John's Creek) reflects his experience well!
Luciano's boasts "creations inspired by the rich traditions of Naples, the regions of Emilia-Romagna and Northern Italy". I had to try my luck.

The atmosphere of Luciano’s is very romantic. Dimly lit with white linen tablecloths, interior columns and a back-lit bar, the restaurant finished off the mood with soft music that had no hint of Dean Martin or Frank Sinatra (I love their music, but don’t you get tired of the cliché?).

Insalate
I started off with a small Wedge Salad. It was a nice blend of iceberg, gorgonzola, bacon and chopped tomatoes, with creamy parmesan dressing.

Antipasti

I was next to try the Carpaccio. I have to say up front that Carpaccio is not my favorite. That being said, I was pleasantly surprised with flavor of the thinly shaved beef tenderloin. It was enhanced by the crispy capers, truffle oil and garlic aioli. The dish was topped with shaved parmigiano and baby arugula. The presentation was superb!

Pasta e Risotto

Ask any American what he thinks of first when he thinks of Italian food, and I will bet the vast majority says “Spaghetti and Meatballs”. I don’t know if it is my inner child, but I am no different. Luciano’s serves theirs with braised meatballs, San Marzano tomatoes, onions, garlic and fresh herbs. Believe me it tastes as good as it sounds. The texture is just right. The meat is neither too dense nor too crumbly. The sauce is pleasantly spicy without being overbearing.

Specialita Della Casa

Finally. I have been struggling to hold in my thoughts on this dish the entire time I have been writing this review.

Agnello Scottadito. Practice saying that. Look up the pronunciation and say it over and over in the mirror until you get it right. Then, once seated at Luciano’s, repeat your well-practiced phrase to the waiter. He’ll be asking about drinks and salads, you just say “Yeah. Yeah, whatever… Agnello Scottadito, please.” You will be rewarded with some of the best lamb chops, grilled and seasoned to perfection, accompanied by roasted Yukon Gold potatoes, grilled peppers and balsamic. Pretend you thought of it yourself so that your date is impressed, and thank me later.

Pizzeria Venti

by Ann-Marie Reeder


On a rainy Saturday afternoon my 2 sons and I traveled to Pizzeria Venti for dinner. Brian Lackey is the General Manager and he was very friendly and welcoming. Their menu lists all the items with the prices listed in "bucks."


We started out with a Field Green & Apple Salad. This tasty salad has lettuce, raisins, apples, walnuts, red onion and feta cheese. It is beautifully presented and topped off with a sweet vidalia onion vinaigrette dressing.

We shared a wonderful appetizer called the Carciofi e Spinaci. It is an artichoke dip that is made in house with artichoke, garlic, and spinach. It is served with fresh toasted bread chips. It is a very large portion to share for 7 3/4 bucks.


My son Justin's favorite dish is the Bocce Balls. This savory dish is made up of Italian meatballs, cheese and marinara wrapped up in golden pizza dough. He could not get enough of these yummy Bocce Balls! 3 come per order for 7 bucks. It is plenty to be eaten as your meal or to share as an appetizer.








All of Pizzeria Venti's pizza dough is made fresh every day. They make the dough with imported Italian water and let it rise 18-24 hours before baking. We tried 2 of the Pizza Massimo's. These slices are 50 Square inches! The vegetarian version is called Pizza Max and has tomatoes, black olives, capers. oregano, olive oil and feta cheese. A vegetarian masterpiece!! The meat lover's version is called the Grande Max. It has Pepperoni, Italian sausage meatballs, green peppers, onion and garlic. Yum!


One of my favorite dishes is the Lasagna al Forno. For 8 1/4 bucks it was a steal! The noodles are cooked al dente and my son noticed that something was "neat" about the noodles. We asked Brian and he said the noodles have ridges in them instead of being wavy. Great texture and very flavorful!!

We ended our wonderful dinner with some gelato. My 7 year old Jake couldn't believe his eyes! There are 12 different flavors to choose from.

Pizzeria Venti has up to 20 varieties of handmade pizza by the slice along with several other authentic Italian dishes. They also have weekly lunch specials and a private party room available for large groups. They have been open just over a year and it is a must visit for any pizza or Italian food lover!

Brookhaven Bistro

by Ann-Marie Reeder

This week I had the pleasure of visiting the Brookhaven Bistro. It is a small cafe tucked behind Nuts 'N Berries Health Food Store. The owner, Chef Chip Desormeaux is from Louisiana and he puts that wonderful Louisiana flavor in all of his food.

My sister, Julie Malmquist and I started out with a garden salad. This was no ordinary salad. It had a variety of greens, cucumbers, tomatoes, carrots, red bell peppers and pepita seeds. The signature dressing is called Goddess dressing. It is very light yet creamy and it would satisfy any italian or ranch dressing lover.

The soups are to die for! We tasted the Thai Coconut Curry soup. While I am not a big coconut fan, the soup was fabulous! Chip rotates the soups throughout the year and they are a popular item in the restaurant.

I have one word for the Black Beans and Rice with Wild Alaskan Salmon dish. Yum! It had a little of that Louisiana spice and was served over Japanese brown rice. It also had spicy chipotle sauce on the edge of the plate that mixed in nicely with the entree to give it an extra kick.

The Turkey Burger was my sister Julie's favorite. The moist turkey patty was served on a cracked whole wheat bun with lettuce, tomato, and sauteed onions and mushrooms. It had vegenaise (vegan mayo) that was so tasty you would swear it was Hellman's! They also offer organic ketchup to complement the burger.

The signature Salmon Quesadilla was a hit! It had delicious Wild Alaskan Salmon sauteed with onions, mushrooms, jack cheese and fresh tomatoes. My taste buds lit up while eating this dish!

I don't want to forget to mention the deli case of this quaint bistro. They offer many take and go meals which are very popular during lunch. We sampled the Quinoa Salad, creamy Hummus and Pimento cheese. Everything is homemade and all of the bread is made fresh by Galia and Eli Kikov who own Best Bread Co. They are from Israel and I have never tasted Pita Bread that was so fluffy and light. All of the breads in the restaurant are served fresh with no preservatives.

If you want a healthy, delicious meal that is beautifully presented, look no further. Chip is waiting for you!

Ann-Marie Reeder is a writer for North Georgia Leisure, From My Table's parent publication. Ann-Marie visited The Vineyard with me some months ago, and developed a desire to write. This review is her first, and we hope there are many more to come. Welcome to the FMT family, Ann-Marie!

John

Barnacles - Gwinnett

On my first stop in a series of visits to Gwinnett restaurants, I found myself near Gwinnett Place Mall, so I opted to visit Barnacles.

If you are looking for a beach style restaurant by day, sports pub by night and club spot on the weekends, this is it. This particular Barnacles is smoker friendly, has a well ventilated non-smoker area, as well as a VIP area, nice patio, game room and billiards area. Televisions at every angle and a huge multi-channel bar length television screen behind the side bar make it impossible to miss that special game or event.

The Barnacles menu is very diverse. Whether you want burgers, steak or seafood, you can get it here.

Seafood Medley

Appetizers of Oysters, Calamari, Crab Stuffed Mushrooms and the highly recommended Smoked Fish Dip along with the typical sports bar appetizers make for a tantalizing beginning.
A wide array of soups and salads will get you started nicely. (You can get a bowl of New England Clam Chowder that has a good "cold day" cream base and a little added something to give it a unique flavor for $4.59!)

Entrees range from $10 to $17 and platters from $11 to $15. You can opt for a basket or sandwich, if you like, and follow it up with a slice of Key Lime Pie, cheesecake or a brownie.


I opted to start off with the Smoked Fish Dip. This highly tasty Tilapia dip has a nice firm texture, and the jalapenos add just the right bite! Follow that with the clam chowder and I was plenty content, but why stop there?



I thought I would finish the meal off with the Seafood Medley. Described as a generous portion of fresh shrimp, scallops and salmon in a rich marsala cream sauce, this medley delivered as promised. The sauce was light, the scallops sweet and the shrimp plentiful, but my favorite part was the thick, pink chunks of salmon. Served with broccoli and asparagus, toast on the side, this meal was a very good way to satisfy my need for the beach.

Visit Barnacles online at www.mybarnacles.com

Missing Child

I want to take a break from the reviews to share this plea for help. Please read this post by my friend, Kendal Spinks Hall:

Update on my Missing Daughter - Day 16

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Thu at 12:02pm

First I wanted to thank EVERYONE who has contacted me. It DOES HELP to know there are people out there who genuienly care. Every day is struggle to remain calm and be strong for my other daughters and husband. I still get up everyday, get Grace off to school, keep the house up, run errands, cook dinner and on and on. Your words help me to do so.

As for any news, we have none. I wanted to put the entire story out there today so that those of you who I haven't been able to email back, will know what's going on and can keep an eye out her her.

Kaylyn is my middle daughter, age 16. With her long flowing red hair, she is hard to miss if you see her. She is very petite - about 5 feet, 100lbs.

The week prior to Christmas holidays, she and her boyfriend got into some trouble at school. After giving her the "you can't see the boyfriend" speech, she became hostile enough that I had to admit her to a stablization center for several days (she is bi-polar and requires this when her medicine does not calm her down.) The night after she was released home, she and her boyfriend ran off in the middle of the night. we have not had a single word from either of them. She left wearing a Cass High Blue softball hoodie, tennis shoes, one pink and gray backpack and at least $100. Neither have their cell phones, a driver's license or car. She has no ID at all.

We do have friends in law enforcement who are looking for her. They have checked the boyfriend's family to see if they have heard anything, as well as other friends and family. All phone records are being followed up on as well.

We do have someone watching our cabin in Rockmart, but feel she is too smart to go there.

I'm attaching a photo of her. If you see her, please contact the Bartow County Sheriff's Office. You can be anynomous - I just want to know she is safe and okay. You can also contact me day or night.

Thanks again for all your prayers.

Please contact the Bartow County Sheriff at :
bartow.org
770-382-5050