WIth a menu spotlighting pasta and pizza slathered in housemade sauces, appetizers such as calamari and mussels, and veal entrees, Pepperoni Grille is the place you go when you want very traditional Italian food. But that's a good thing, according to the St. Claire Shores Patch, which praised Pepperoni Grille's classic, unfussy dishes. The Patch was particularly impressed by the garlic chicken, calling it "an intoxicating marriage of delicately breaded chicken and garlic butter sauce."

From his central open kitchen, chef Jason Hartland whips up the chicken, Lake Michigan perch entrees, pasta dishes featuring imported linguine, and other eats that inspired AAA to say, "For those in the mood for casual Italian fare, this place needs to be on the radar." Jason's wife, Anne Marie, leads the front-of-house operations and keeps things running smoothly without greasing the soles on the waitstaff's shoes.