Cook's Pizza

My husband and I are pretty much perfect for each other, with the exception of pizza, he likes veggies, I like meat, he likes Papa John's, I think it is too plain, I like Bruno's, he thinks it's too salty. The only thing we can usually agree on is thin crust, until last Saturday night when we found Cook's Pizza on the corner of Elkhart and East Waterford in Wakarusa.

 Cook's Pizza is pretty much the portrait of a dive, it is just a little hole in the wall, but has been around for decades, and there is a reason for that. We started our meal with an order of fried mushrooms, which were pretty standard, but still good. As we noshed on our appetizer I said to Michael "this might just be our chance to find a pizza place that we both like," to which a passing waitress told us "this is my favorite pizza, and I'm not just saying that because I work here." We each ordered separate pizzas so that we could choose our own toppings, plus, who doesn't love left over pizza?!? I will say though, if my hubby had known he could order anything he wanted to on the stromboli he would have tried that, but he didn't know until after we finished eating (the sign and menu were a bit misleading).

As we waited for our pizza it became clear to us that we needed cash to pay, I share this so that you don't have to send a family member out in the cold to hunt down an ATM like I did. My hubby came back to our piping hot pizzas, which we knew were handmade by the uneven look of our pizza crusts. For me a good pizza starts with a good foundation, if the crust isn't good it kind of ruins the pizza for me, but Cook's has an awesome foundation; delicious, crispy crust! Next key to a good pizza is good sauce, if the pizza sauce sucks, it really kills the whole experience for me, but Cook's has a really good, yet subtle sauce. I like my pizza to be chock full of toppings, but my hubby is more interested in a thick, gooey layer of cheese; well Cook's delivered both. The only complaint at our table was that the pizza was a little greasy, but when you pile that much cheese on a pizza, it's bound to happen.

So my husband and I made history (well at least in our relationship) and finally completely agreed on a pizza place, the only problem is that it is a 25 minute drive, but hey, that might just be worth it.

Flippin' Cow

It is the middle of winter and I have had a hankerin' for a good burger, I thought I was doomed to the wait out the winter, until our dinner plans fell through tonight and we found ourselves at Flippin' Cow on Simonton Lake in Elkhart. We walked through the bar and were seated in the family friendly area in a three seasons room overlooking the lake, I can only imagine how nice it will be to sit there in the summertime, but for now they are using small space heaters to keep the place warm. We were seated on wooden benches and given menus that were contained inside old vinyl record sleeves, the first sign that this place was going to be great!

We were tempted by such appetizers as giant jalapenos stuffed with three cheeses, fried pickles made with homemade pickles, and hand battered onion rings, but we decided to skip an app in hopes of saving room for dessert. Our little man got his dinner before we did (thanks to a waitress who is also a mom!), and at first we were shocked at the $5.99 price tag on his cheeseburger dinner, but he got a full side burger and full side of tater tots, the burger was almost as big as his head, and totally worth the price!

My hubby had decided what he wanted before we even hit the restaurant, I told him about a burger with mac & cheese and bacon and his heart had been won over! He got homemade, from scratch mac & cheese between two hand pattied burgers, with thick bacon, topped with extra cheese sauce on a homemade potato bun that had been toasted on the flat top. He got a side of hand cut fries, that he admitted weren't his favorite, but personally I thought were fantastic, crisp and not greasy. All of this was under $10, and good enough quality to be a steal.

I am pretty plain when it comes to sandwiches and burgers, so while they had fantastic and unique combos, I chose to build my own burger from their myriad of toppings like grilled onions and mushrooms, lots of different cheeses, a couple different types of bacon, several different sauces and even a fried egg, the only thing missing according to my hubby was avocado. I inadvertently ordered the burger with two patties, but they are those patties that are patted really thin so eating two really doesn't make you feel like that big of a pig...and speaking of pigs the bacon on my burger was thick, well cooked, and delicious. I got all of this on a homemade pretzel bun that could only be topped by the Laugenweckle (Pretzel rolls) in Germany, and that's saying something because the German's know how to do pretzels. I have to say this really was the best burger of my life, because it was the first time in my life I didn't salt a burger, it had that delicious crispy edge, but was still perfectly juicy and flavorful, and if you aren't a beef eater, they also have turkey, buffalo, and veggie burgers. My side of hand cut chips were crisp and tasty, and for right around $10 this meal definitely wowed me!!

Despite all of this food, we still had room for dessert, and our choices were a banana split cheesecake or a homemade chocolate chip cookie mudslide, and we chose the mudslide. The homemade cookie was awesome, our only complaint about this dessert is that we would have liked the cookie to be warmer so it melted the ice cream, but otherwise, I would choose it over Hacienda any day of the week!

Winter, spring, summer, or fall if you are in need of a delicious burger Flippin' Cow has you covered, their concept and menu is unique, their food is top quality, the atmosphere makes you feel as if you are among friends (by the way, thanks to all of the diners who chatted with and occupied our sons attention), and the staff have some of the best customer service skills I have encountered. I know many people were disappointed when Lakeshore Grill closed and reopened as Flippin' Cow, but there is not an ounce of disappointment in that place!