DINING DIVA REVIEW: Rotelli's Pizza & Pasta

We had lunch at Rotelli's in Stuart, Florida on Black Friday and it was a delightful experience! They are a small regional chain that has stores in several states in the Southeast. It was very tastefully decorated and smelled great when we came in. It was fairly empty because everyone was in the Wal-mart and mall stampedes and this worried me until the food arrived. John and I had the daily lunch special which is a cup of soup or a salad with a half sandwich and a large slice of cheese pizza. I chose the pasta fazole and John took the Italian wedding soup and he had the chicken parm as his sandwich choice while I tool the eggplant parm. My soup was thick and full of beans and pasta and had a nice flavor, but the Italian wedding soup was a star--delicious broth and filled with tiny meatballs and both were served piping hot. The sandwiches were on fresh Italian bread and had been baked and were excellent and the pizza slice was truly excellent with plenty of cheese. My mother had their chopped chicken salad which was ice cold mixed greens, ripe avocado pieces, fresh cooked bacon bits, tomatoes and a generous size grilled chicken breast sliced fresh and topped with their basalmic vinaigrette and fresh croutons. The iced tea was freshly brewed and tasty and the meal was delicious all the way around. The lunch special was a steal at 6.99 and the salad was 9.99. Service was cheerful and efficient and tea refills were prompt and automatic--we didn't have to ask! Rotini's is a gem in the strip mall and was located next to the ColdStone Creamery so we had dessert there!

If you go:

Rotelli's Pizza & Pasta
2181 SE Federal HwyStuart, FL 34994
(772) 403-2200‎

Food 3.5 Stars
Service 3.5 Stars

Dining Diva Review: Neely's Interstate Barbeque, Memphis TN

UPDATE: November:
I had luch there with hubby on the way back to visit the folks and it has gone
WAYYYYY downhill since then. It was truly terrible--like the meat had been reheated many times and the sides tasted stale. It was a disappointment since I had been looking forward to eating here again!! I'll never eat here again!

I found the Neely's Interstate Barbecue menu and flyer in the rest area just over the Tennessee state line, and since on I-55 you cross about a 3 mile tip of Tennessee it's easily accessible although you can sneeze and miss the entire state! If you are going to see Graceland, a trip to Neely's is time well spent as it has received numerous awards for barbecue. They also have an interesting and original dish called "Barbecue Spaghetti" that is definitely different and quite tasty, but for me the BBQ meat is what I came for! I had the sampler platter to taste some of everything and the meats were divine--tender and smokey from the cooking but the sauce was disappointing and I'm glad I didn't have it slathered on the meat. The biggest surprise was the baked beans--I make great baked beans, and like my secret spaghetti sauce, I don't really like anyone else's beans but the ones at Neely's were OUTSTANDING! Not too sweet and nicely thick and gooey--not the runny and icky version sold as an afterthought by most BBQ places, these were flavored with chunks of BBQ and cooked for a long time as they were thick and gooey. I ate a big portion and tucked two big containers in the trunk of my car to go--and since there's so little trunk space in the Diva-mobile it was tough fitting them in with the ribs that also left Memphis with me! When the food is this good, I eat all I can hold and take home all I can carry! They also had a dessert that is called "Better than Sex Cake" so of course I had to try a slice of that too and it did not disappoint--of course I'd have to call it "Better that Sex with my EX-Husband Cake" but that's a story for another day and a different blog!

Back in Memphis, Neely's Interstate BBQ is great for a quick meal or they also cater. The service was mediocre but it was during an off time and my waitress had probably been there since the place opened and I will give her the benefit of the doubt because of her sullen attitude, I will opine that she was tired and had sore feet and let it go at that. I am leaving in a few days to go to Louisiana to visit my beloved in-laws and then on down to Florida for some review and Thanksgiving dinner with my extended family. I will be stopping again at Neely's as I will have hubby with me this time and hopefully the service will be better this time and the food will be as good! See you at the next booth.......