Looking back now, it seems like my impression of the place isn’t much different from Aaron Landry’s. His review is what started me thinking about restaurant reviews in general, because his seemed more straightforward than most: decent background statement, simple choice of standardized menu items, and commentary that was not overly effusive. Nice.
What interested me most about the review was the fact that this was a place less than a mile from my apartment that I had never even heard of. Decent food in Roseville? What a concept! Then we went to the place. We ordered the same sort of thing we usually do—some sort of combination reasonably identifiable as the house pizza. It just plain sucked. The ingredients were less than fresh, the pizza was greasy, and huge chunks of bell peppers (which I detest on pizza) dominated the thing. How could two experiences be so far apart? I didn’t write anything then (months ago).
We vowed to go back, as Krista explained that most real food reviewers eat someplace at least three times before passing judgment. I can’t say that we’ve eaten there three times—just two—but the experiences (caused by our choice of item ordered) are radically different. Landry always orders a simple pepperoni or cheese pizza it seems; the second time, we just ordered a small pepperoni and mushroom.
Continue reading “Aurelio’s Pizza” →
