Yum!!! We *finally* found good Italian!

[Wilson]

We've missed our old Italian place in Houston since we moved up here 5 years ago. We like a small, mom & pop, casual place and we've finally found a suitable replacement! We went to Joe's Pizza & Pasta, in a strip center next to Sam's at Portofino. The atmosphere was very casual and laid-back and they've got everything from Pizza to special dishes. They've only been open for 5 weeks (they are a spring-off from the one in Conroe) and are working on their liquor license - until then, it's BYOB.

The kids split a pizza, dh had the Stromboli, and I had one of their specials - the Chicken Caciofi. Dh loved the Stromboli - called the crust "phenomenal", my chicken dish was so flavorful and delicious, and the kids' pizza had an excellent crust and was cooked to perfection. And everything was priced just right - it came out to $33.99 for the 4 of us and the entrees were so generous we each have *half* of what was ordered for lunch or dinner tomorrow.

I found a website for the Conroe location:
http://www.joespizzaconroe.com/index.html

The Shenandoah location does not appear to have a website, but it looks like their menus are identical. If you like good Italian, not with everything soaking in a red sauce or butter, and are looking for a quiet, casual place... this is it!

[schnauzermom]

We will give this place a try. My dd loves Italian, Macaroni Grille is her favorite but the rest of us don't care for it so I'll talk her into trying this.

[Wilson]

Let us know how you like it! I can't wait for lunch & dinner tomorrow :D

[TripleA]

Sounds wonderful! We will definitely give it a try.

[TripleA]

We went to Joe's on Saturday night. I had the stromboli and it was wonderful! The only thing I personally would have done is eliminate one of the meats (3 was a bit much for me) and add peppers, olives and onions. I'm sure I could have requested it differently, but I didn't. The dough was wonderful! I also enjoyed the bread they brought to the table as I was starving when we got there. DH had the spinach alfredo tortellini. He said it was a bit bland, but still enjoyable. DD had spaghetti with marinara and it was yummy. DS had lasagna and it was good too! I had half of my stromboli left and DD had a lot of spaghetti leftover too! DH ate it all for dinner last night. I would like to go back and try their pizza.

[Wilson]

I'm with you on the meat! I'd have liked to try dh's Stromboli, but I would see there was sausage and 2 different sliced meats and that was too much for me. I like more veggies, as well. I'm glad you liked it overall, though. I'm usually kind of hesitant to make recommendations like this because I'd hate to have someone else try it and then feel like their trip was awful or something!

[TripleA]

I know what you mean! The waiter was very nice and there was a good flow of people coming in. Only 2 tables were full when we got there, but by the time we left it was probably 6 tables or so. We will definitely go back when we are in the area again!