April 2025 - Puzzleria

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Location - Puzzled Palate

  1. Did you notice that all the locations’ plates contain different symbols, but some are used for more than one city?
  2. The symbols represent letters in the names of the cities, but did you notice the number of symbols in some plates is actually less than the number of letters in the name of the city?
  3. If a city name contains two of the same letter (i.e. FLORENCE with two “E’s”) the symbol for “E” will only appear once on the plate.
  4. Look at the letters the city names have in common to use deductive reasoning and figure out which symbols represent which letters. For instance, notice that FLORENCE and VENICE are the only two cities with a “C” in their name. Which symbol appears ONLY on those two plates? (It’s also the first letter of the solution.)
  5. CIAO

The Weird Wine List

  1. Start by spelling out the answers in the wine glasses, using the clues next to them. Note that the clues are not necessarily in order. You must determine which clue goes with which row of glasses.
  2. The words in the wine glasses, in order, are CROWN, NIECE, TEETH, GREEN, BELLE, VENUE, TREND, SERVE, AGENT, (S)WORN.
  3. If your answers are correct, the letters you filled in, when read in order, give you directions for the next step to solve the puzzle.
  4. The letters spell out CONNECT THREE, ELEVEN, TEN, SEVEN, TWO. Carefully draw very straight lines to connect those points on the map of wineries.
  5. The lines you drew create boundaries between letters on the wine list cover. Read the letters inside the boundary in order, starting with the “HE” in “The” and the “RE” in “Region.”
  6. HE READS BETWEEN THE WINES

Word Salad

  1. Use the pictures on the left as clues to fill in the crossword. The numbers help you know which clue is for which word.
  2. As the instructions indicate, “each ingredient” is “changed slightly” and then “tossed.” That describes what you must do to all the answers before putting them in the crossword grid on the right. For each answer on the left, change one letter and then rearrange the letters to create the answer in the crossword on the right. The pictures help you identify the transformed words.
  3. One letter in each word in the lefthand grid must be replaced before rearranging the letters to create an object pictured next to the righthand grid. For instance, in entry #1 change the “W” in WOLF to an “A,” rearrange the letters and you get “LOAF,” one of the answers on the right. (A loaf of bread is shown.)
  4. The answers, in order, are WOLF,THIGH, SEAT, STEIN, CRANES, TARGET, HOMES, CAMEL, TAPES, CORN, NEST, WATCH, ALIENS, HORSE.
  5. Notice the question at the bottom. Each letter in “WHAT’S THE ANSWER?” appears directly over a box that holds a letter in the solution. Why? Could this have something to do with the letters being replaced?
  6. Each letter in “WHAT’S THE ANSWER?” is a letter in a crossword answer (in order 1 through 14) that you must exchange for a new letter. Then you rearrange the letters in the word to solve the crossword on the right.
  7. The answers, in order, are LOAF, FIGHT, TEES, WINES, CANCER, GARTER, MOOSE, CLAMS,STEPS, CROW, NOTE, CHART, ISLAND, SHOES.
  8. Below each letter in “WHAT’S THE ANSWER?,” write in the new letter that was inserted to create the answers in the righthand grid. For instance, W becomes A, H becomes F, etc. until you spell out the final solution phrase.
  9. A FEW CROSS WORDS

Pasta Point of No Return

  1. All the names of the pasta varieties can be found on the plate in the middle of the page.
  2. The five “meatballs” of letters to the right must be placed into the open spaces on the plate, but where? Through trial and error, you can use the names of the pastas to see which meatballs complete the names.
  3. The pasta names do not flow like a normal word find puzzle. They twist and curl as they travel up, down and sideways (but not diagonally). Find all the pastas on the list by crossing out the letters. No letter is used in more than one pasta name.
  4. Once you have marked out all the pasta names, does the phrase “What will happen when these diners have their fill?” take on a new meaning?
  5. THE PESTO IS YET TO COME

The Pizza Round Table

  1. First determine which person ate from which pizza, using logic and the clues provided. It is helpful to count the number of pieces missing and determine how many each person ate.
  2. Since we know that the group at a total of 32 slices of pizza (four pizzas) and Abercrombie and Christoph each at the same number of slices, the only possibility is that Abercrombie and Christoph each ate 10 slices, leaving 12 for Dora and Bruno. Remember that Dora ate twice as many as Bruno, so that means Dora at 8 and Bruno 4.
  3. Keep the total amount of pizza each person consumed in mind as you deduce which pizza was eaten by each person based on the clues.
  4. The angles cut in the pizzas imitate the angles of a familiar code, don’t they? You can translate each pizza using the semaphore code. However, you must look at each pizza from the point of view of the person who ate it. (As the instructions say, it must be seen “from their point of view.”)
  5. THREE-FOURTEEN (Didn't you expect one more pun?)

Meta: After Dinner...Now What?

  1. Split the solution phrases from the four puzzles into fragments, each remaining in its original order. Place them into the boxes in the clues on the left. All parts of the four solution phrases will be used.
  2. Of the eight clues you are completing, the first two clues are completed with fragments from puzzle one’s solution. The next two clues use fragments from puzzle two…and so on.
  3. Fill in the answers on the right using the clues next to each answer. Some are more difficult than others, but once you have enough of the answers, you may determine the puzzle solution phrase even if one of the answers eludes you.
  4. The small numbers in the boxes indicate that you must transfer that letter to a box at the bottom of the page to complete the solution phrase.
  5. ESPRESSO YOURSELF

Bonus: Just Desserts

  1. Use the directions to determine possibilities for what is in each square on the platter. For instance, since three cannoli are adjacent to each other in ROW 1, that means the squares at the top of COLUMNS D & E must contain cannoli. When you apply the clues, you have enough information to determine the contents of each square.
  2. One key is to determine the placement of the mint leaf garnishes in the first and last columns. The direction will make it obvious which spaces contain garnish as opposed to desserts.
  3. After you use a process of elimination to place all the dessert items, what do you do next? Did you notice in the instructions that Chef Betalli is very “black and white” and believes everything is “wrong or right.” What does this remind you of?
  4. Forget for a moment that the desserts are cookies and cannoli. What do their shapes make you think of? Do they remind you of zeroes and ones, as in a certain code?
  5. Use the binary code (base 2) wherein each letter is represented by a five-digit number made of ones (cannoli) and zeroes (cookies). Mint leaves are skipped entirely.
  6. GRAZIE