The first installments of this column have been broken down separately into pizza/Italian and Chinese/Asian. Because I’ve slowed down a little bit on the takeout lately, I am going to combine the two for Volume 3. Below we have one of each, and my, how vastly different they were in quality!

Review #170: Luigi’s Famous Pizza (Matawan, NJ)

There are a lot of Luigi’s around here and all of them are famous. Well, this one may actually be the real deal and deserve the moniker of that word. While the pizza may be “famous”, I find myself more drawn to their sandwiches. Make no mistake, the pizza is good (especially the white pie) but I found them to be a bit pricier than other comparative places. Their sandwiches, on the other hand, are out of this world. They make a panini that comes with grilled chicken, my beloved broccoli rabe, and fresh mozzarella. It is grilled to perfection and placed over a bed of fries (or sometimes potato chips), which are included for the $7.95 price. I also once had a cheesesteak sub that was incredible. The addition of hot peppers put it over the top. It was a two-hander, and quite messy, but so worth it. 3.5 out of 5 stars.

Review #169: Asian Fun (Matawan, NJ)

I was with a group of friends when we ordered from this place. I think we had two dishes of Pad Thai, some fried rice, and scallion pancakes. As we chewed, I could hear nothing but my own chewing. I surmise everyone else heard the same. There was total silence. I finally broke it and said, “Is it just me, or does everything taste like peanuts?” They nodded in agreement. Not a word was spoken. Without any actual nuts present, I can also guess that their food was cooked in peanut oil so old that it tainted the flavor of all other ingredients. It was disgusting. My friends later said that they each wanted to say something–no one wanted to be”that guy”, but I beat them to it. Nutty taste aside, the food was bland and the pancakes limp and soggy. It may be the worst takeout I have ever had. Anywhere. I bet you are waiting for me to say something clever regarding the name Asian Fun. Nope. No humor or puns. This place sucked. 1 out of 5 stars.