iFratelli Pizza

We had our annual car show at work this past week.  I was volunteering to setup tables and banners and stuff.  They ordered pizza for all the workers.  Sorry a few pieces had already been grabbed when I got there to take pictures and eat.

Really good stuff.   It was kind of funny.  One of the older ladies at work was complaining.  She said I don't know why everybody likes this pizza.  They always send it over here burnt.  I didn't want to explain the difference between burnt and char.  But hey, I love the char on the bottom of the crust.

Cavalli - Irving, TX

Had to run an errand for the wife at lunch today.  My friend James took me over there.  So I was going to buy him lunch.  We googled for a close pizza place and Cavalli was just around the corner.  I've been to the one in McKinney before, so I thought this would be great for lunch...

Here's a picture of my friends pizza.  Not really my type, but good.  Lots of veggies and stuff....

Here's my The Dallas pizza.  Really good flavor.  Like the char on the crust.

Here's a picture of their menu.  To me it was a little overpriced for lunch.  $12-$15 dollars just seems a little high for a personal lunch pizza.  Then if you want a salad or drink it is added on top of that.  I'm just not much for paying more than $10 for lunch.

Here's a few pics of their kitchen and oven...

Here's the outside of the building.  Not a huge place, but seemed to be big enough to hold the people they had.

Headquarters Beercade - Chicago

I was at a conference a few years ago in Chicago.  I had found a couple of places to play a game of pinball but nothing special.  The last night I was there, I had an invite from a vendor to attend a party at Headquarters Beercade.  Usually these type of conferences, it is hard to figure out which events to go to.  They are all overcrowded and not a ton of fun.  But once I realized this one had pinball machines, I was all in.   Here's a few pics.  Sorry they are kinda blurry.

Did you know you can purchase full-sized pinball machines from Amazon.  They will deliver them to you.

Check out these links:
Stern Pinball Ghostbusters Pro Edition Arcade Pinball Machine
Stern Pinball Spider-Man Vault Edition Arcade Pinball Machine
Stern Pinball WWE WrestleMania Arcade Pro Edition Pinball Machine
Stern Pinball Aerosmith Premium Arcade Pinball Machine
Stern Pinball The Walking Dead Arcade Pinball Machine – Pro Model
Stern Pinball Game of Thrones Pro Edition Arcade Pinball Machine

Pinball Games I've owned.

I was going through an old folder on my computer cleaning up some junk.

I ran across a list of pinball games that I have owned...


Game Show
Game Show
Street Fighter II
Shadow
Paradise - still have, doesn't work
Twilight Zone
Pinball Magic
Doozie
White Water
Night Rider
Night Rider
Comet
Laser Cue
Fireball (Home Edition)
Vegas
Vegas
Hi Deal
Star Wars (DE)


Yes a few games are listed twice, but that's because I owned two of them.  Most times, they came in a package deal.

Here's a pic of my gameroom in the old house:

You can see the Twilight Zone (under the protective covering).  This room was also my kids playroom since they were toddlers back then.  I normally had 1 to 2 games up and running in the gameroom and normally another 2 or 3 in the garage being worked on.

Man I miss those games.  But they were all older.  It was a lot of work fixing them up and keeping them all working.  If I had it to do over, I would buy a new game or two....

Did you know you can purchase full-sized pinball machines from Amazon.  They will deliver them to you.
Check out these links:
Stern Pinball Ghostbusters Pro Edition Arcade Pinball Machine
Stern Pinball Spider-Man Vault Edition Arcade Pinball Machine
Stern Pinball WWE WrestleMania Arcade Pro Edition Pinball Machine
Stern Pinball Aerosmith Premium Arcade Pinball Machine
Stern Pinball The Walking Dead Arcade Pinball Machine – Pro Model
Stern Pinball Game of Thrones Pro Edition Arcade Pinball Machine

Mazzio's Pizza Buffet - Camden, AR

I've mentioned in earlier posts that my love of pizza really kicked into high gear when I started working at Ken's Pizza in my hometown (Camden, AR) right after I graduated high school.  Of course, I had always loved pizza.  I remember as a little kid going to eat pizza at the Pizza Hut in Camden with my parents and uncle Raymond and aunt Jean.  I also remember my Aunt Onita takeing me and my cousin Rodney to Ken's Pizza for our birthdays.  It was very different back then.  I remember the Pizza Hut was very dark inside.  Had a large 360 degree (meaning all the way around, not temperature) fireplace in the middle.  Just a fun place to eat.  Ken's always had a jukebox with cranked up music...  I remember bugging my dad for quarters to play some tunes.

Well enough reminiscing for me.  I was in Camden a while back.  The Ken's is now a Mazzio's.  Different location, but same franchising place.  Even when I worked at Ken's, the franchise owner did Ken's and Mazzio's.  He had them in a few places in Arkansas, Texas and Oklahoma.  And maybe a couple in Louisiana.

Anyway, I had the opportunity to get a buffet at Mazzio's.

If I remember correctly, this place burned or had significant fire damage a few years ago.  But they rebuilt and it is reopened.

Here's some pic's of the buffet pizza.  Nothing special, but man do I love this pizza.  I always thought Ken's and Mazzio's had the best thin crust in the pizza chain business.  It is like a cracker.  I always like Pizza Hut's deep dish as the best chain thick pizza.

Of course no pizza buffet would be complete without a great salad bar.  I love starting out my pizza buffet meal with a great salad.  Today was no exception.

Pinball Hall of Fame - Las Vegas

I was at a conference in Las Vegas a few weeks ago.  I’ve been to Vegas a few times and never made it to the pinball hall of fame.  Well I wasn’t going to let that streak continue.
After this little ad, I’ll talk about my visit…

Did you know you can purchase full-sized pinball machines from Amazon.  They will deliver them to you.
Check out these links:
Stern Pinball Ghostbusters Pro Edition Arcade Pinball Machine
Stern Pinball Spider-Man Vault Edition Arcade Pinball Machine
Stern Pinball WWE WrestleMania Arcade Pro Edition Pinball Machine
Stern Pinball Aerosmith Premium Arcade Pinball Machine
Stern Pinball The Walking Dead Arcade Pinball Machine – Pro Model
Stern Pinball Game of Thrones Pro Edition Arcade Pinball Machine

So I was staying at Mandalay Bay.  I looked on Google, it said I could walk to the Pinball Hall of Fame in around an hour.  I walk a lot in Texas, so I took off.  Well turns out, it was 112′ that day.  So I only made it about half way.  Then I flagged down a taxi for the rest of the trip.
The Hall of Fame was an amazing experience.  I loved pinball machines.  I’ve owned about 20 of them in my life.  Always bought in pretty sad shape and fixed them up.  Moving forward, I think I’ll buy one of the ones listed above…

Here’s some pictures from my visit:




















The pictures don’t really do justice to the number of pinball games at this place.  My favorite part was getting to play Haunted House again.   I loved that game as a kid, but haven’t seen it lately.

Modern Pinball NYC

Last year (2016) was in a conference in New York city.  It was my first time there.  I had experienced a lot of pizza around New York.  And loved every minute of it.  It was almost time to head home, but I wanted to find somewhere to play some pinball.  I turned to Google for help.  It suggested Modern Pinball NYC.  It was a short walk from my hotel so I took off...

Now don't get me wrong, I live in Texas.  Every building around me is giant.  A building dedicated to games would be the size of a small Wal-Mart.  But I realize this is NYC.  Land isn't as plentiful as in Texas.  And much more expensive.  So given the restrictions, this is a great place.

 I was impressed with the overall selection of games.  They were all in great shape. 

 The Games were on freeplay.  You paid an entry fee (based on time) and could play all you wanted.

 If I'm ever back in NYC I'll for sure make another trip to Modern Pinball NYC.

Did you know you can purchase full-sized pinball machines from Amazon.  They will deliver them to you.
Check out these links:
Stern Pinball Ghostbusters Pro Edition Arcade Pinball Machine
Stern Pinball Spider-Man Vault Edition Arcade Pinball Machine
Stern Pinball WWE WrestleMania Arcade Pro Edition Pinball Machine
Stern Pinball Aerosmith Premium Arcade Pinball Machine
Stern Pinball The Walking Dead Arcade Pinball Machine – Pro Model
Stern Pinball Game of Thrones Pro Edition Arcade Pinball Machine

Metro Pizza - Las Vegas.

See my post on my other blog about going to the Pinball Hall of Fame in Las Vegas:  https://drowland.wordpress.com/2017/09/09/pinball-hall-of-fame-las-vegas/

But anyway, after I had spent a few hours at the Pinball Hall of Fame, I was hungry.  I noticed a pizza place down the street.  Thought I would give it a try.

I got the stuff pizza.

They asked me if I wanted the marinara or meat sauce.  I wasn't sure, so they brought me both.

 Very good pizza.  A lot of cheese and toppings.  As far as the sauce, I really liked both.  Although the meat sauce seemed a little much since I already had meat on the pizza.

Next time you in Vegas be sure to visit the Pinball Hall of Fame: 

https://drowland.wordpress.com/2017/09/09/pinball-hall-of-fame-las-vegas/

And visit Metro Pizza.

Campisi's - Dallas Love Field

I was on my way to VMworld a few weeks go.  I was at Dallas Love Field for my flight to Vegas.  I normally like to get a breakfast pizza from Campisi's when I'm flying out in the morning.  But this time, I was flying in the early afternoon.  I still had to get some Campisi's though...

I just had to settle for normal pizza.  I chose a Hawaiian style.  Canadian bacon and pineapple.

It was so good.  See my next post for the pizza I had for dinner that evening after I got to Vegas.

By the way if you live in the DFW area and are still flying out of DFW airport, what is wrong with you.  The newly renovated Dallas Love Field airport is amazing.  Close parking, awesome restaurants.  Give it a try.