Regular Joe's Guide

First visit: Jul 2012 The year after we decided to sell our summer townhome in Denver, we agreed to take an extended work/vacation somewhere in the US. I chose Oregon and Washington, as other than Seattle, I had very little exposure to either state. The first week of the trip was in Bend, and I worked all 5 days, and we would venture out for lunch and dinner. And beers... lots of them (after work hours of course...). Later I would refer to this jaunt as our first dedicated craft beer trip. For beer lovers, especially back then, Oregon was ground zero. Even the Bend tourist board got in on it, and encouraged everyone to try each brewery, and you would get a trinket at the end. We did just that but I can't remember what we got.  We stayed in a cute small one bedroom / one bath cabin just outside downtown, where many things were walking distance. It was a fantastic start to the trip - and one of the best travel week's we've experienced. We also enjoyed the food there, and over...

Last visit: Jul 2012 First visit: Sometime in 2003 Ugh. Closed. This was our favorite neighborhood spot for Italian. Also note that the old Dal Italia is now Oggi Italia. New owner, but same cooks, recipes and menu. They changed the look and feel of the restaurant (for the better), but otherwise the below review still applies. North Richland Hills is NE Tarrant County's largest and most diverse suburb. Stretching from the working class areas near Haltom City to the south, through the ostensibly middle class of Hurst and onto the McMansions of Colleyville and Keller that make its northern border. There is no similar theme that runs through NRH, nor do they sport an authentic, or even made-up, old town (though I suspect the area where the Cottonbelt BBQ stands will one day be just that, and with any luck at all, a stop on the proposed railway from DFW airport to Ft. Worth). The utmost northern reaches of NRH is where you'll find Oggi Italia Cafe, sitting quietly in a new, but...