Guido's Pizzeria & Tapas, May 2011

Guido's Pizzeria & Tapas

5046 Shaw Ave., St Louis, MO 63110 (map link);  (314) 771-4900 ;  http://www.guidosstl.com/

Pizza Style: St Louis thin crust

Oven type: Stone deck.

The Skinny:  Ask for Mozzarella and don't forget the Tapas!

Price: $7.50 small (9in) cheese to $20.95 family (16in) speciality pizza.

Chief Pizza eater says:  Recommended. 

We set out on Mothers day with a car load of mothers to get pizza, and nearly went hungry.  We went to joint after joint finding them all closed, that is until we thought of Guido's Pizzeria & Tapas on The Hill (St Louis's Italian neighborhood).  It turns out that a large number of restaurants are closed on Sunday's in the City of St Louis and The Hill is closed down tight with one exception, Guido's.  As they say "All's well that end's well".

Lesson:  if you aren't 100% sure, call ahead to find out the hours of operation.

Being the only place open on The Hill seating was scarce, so we chose to dine al fresco, which was perfect as it was a beautiful day.

Because not all of the pizza eaters are as dedicated as the Chief, we had quite the mix of food.  Things we had other than pizza included:  House Salad, Caprese Salad and Ensalad Mixta.  from the Tapas menu we had Gazpacho Madrileno, Croquetas Caseras (chicken), and Empanadillas (tuna).  By now you must realize Guido's is bilingual, a little Italian and a little Spanish.

For pizza Guido's offers traditional St. Louis style pizza, with the option to have mozzarella cheese instead of  provel.  We had a large with half cheese (for the youngest pizza eater) and half with pepperoni, salami, Canadian bacon and red onions.  We also chose mozzarella over the provel.  The pizza crust was very thin, crispy and cut on the square as one should expect from a St Louis style pie.  The pizza was very good, if not a little messy.  The inner squares are the messiest as the cheese has no anchor and tends to slide around.  My choice of toppings wasn't the greatest, no problems on Guido's part, just my combination.  I like salami on pizza's but  it doesn't work great with Canadian bacon in my book, next time I will pair it with something a little less salty.

Over all the food was very good, and worth a visit.  And if it's Sunday Guido's is your only option on The Hill.  Recommended any day of the week.

Recommended

Chief Pizza Eater.
GAW

The Pasta House Co. February 2011

The Junior Pizza Eater wanted toasted rav's for supper, and in St Louis just about the best place to get them is The Pasta House Company.

I have eaten at the Pasta House many times over the years, but never have I had their pizza.  There were three of us, but only one pizza eater.  We started with some cheese sticks and a order of Artichoke and Spinach Dip Con Crostini.  Of course we also had the famous Pasta House Co. special salad.

For pizza I ordered a small (12in) with pepperoni, meatballs, onions and anchovies.  Yes anchovies, I though I would mix it up a little.  The first thing I noticed when the pizza showed up at the table was how many anchovies it had, I have never see that many on a single pizza, ever.  Either they are very generous with the anchovies or they had a tin that had been opened for a while and needed to use them up or throw them out, I think the later was the case.  The pizza was typical St Louis style pizza with thin crust and provel cheese.  The pizza was fine, a few less anchovies wouldn't have hurt, but in the end St Louis style is just not my thing.

I will no doubt eat at The Pasta House Co. in the future but I'll stick to the pasta next time, the Rigatoni Alla Carbonara is my favorite.  It's called The Pasta House Co. and not the The Pizza House Co. for a reason.

If somebody else is paying.
The Chief Pizza Eater.
GAW

The Good Pie, February 2011

About a week ago I did something I haven't done in a long time.  I ate at the same pizza joint for the third time in just 4 months time.  I do try to spread my return visits over a much bigger time span, but The Good Pie is just so good it couldn't be helped.

It goes something like this:  It's my birthday and I'll eat pizza if I want.  I had Family in town and they wanted to celebrate my birthday (a little early) and due to other family business we ended up just down the street from The Good Pie and the rest is history.

There were 5 pizza eaters and one junior pizza eater,  we stared with the white anchovy panzanella and the prosciutto, fried egg and bread appetizers.  Most all got the chopped salad.

For pizza we had the following:   Pizza del giorno (brussel sprouts, pancetta, pecorino and fresh mozzarella), Margherita (tomato, fresh mozzarella and basil), Sausage (tomato, sausage and fresh mozzarella), Mast'nicola (pancetta, basil, egg and pecorino) and the Prosciutto Arugula (prosciutto di parma, arugula and fresh mozzarella).

Once we had our fill and had no room for more we ordered gelato, one stracciatella and one chocolate.  Needless to say we all left fat and happy.

I could go into great detail about all the things we ate, but I will let the photos speak for them selves.  I will say just go there already!

Highly Recommended.
Chief Pizza Eater.
GAW

The Good Pie, December 2010.

Having the day off to take care of some personal business and having completed that business early, I asked my wife and part-time pizza eater if she would like to go out for lunch.  To my surprise she not only said yes, but she suggested that we go to The Good Pie and check out their lunch specials (see previous visit here).  So we did.  I believe the lunch specials run Monday thru Friday 11A.M. to 1:30P.M. but recommend calling ahead to make sure.

We squeaked in just under the wire, I think it was 1:29 when we sat down.  My fellow pizza eater ordered the pizza del giorno (daily special) with a chopped salad.  The chopped salad had a creamy garlicky dressing (made with raw egg, so maybe the same as the Caesar) romaine lettuce, olives and pepper rings.  Spinach pizza was the daily special, it had spinach, garlic and pecorino (cheese).  I believe it also had olive oil.  The bite of chopped salad I had was excellent, On my next visit I will have to get it.  The spinach pizza wasn't bad either, but due to a traumatic childhood event, not something I would ever order for my self.  I ordered the salami pizza and Caesar salad. As with my previous visit the Caesar salad was excellent.  The salami pizza had tomato, Genoa salami and fresh mozzarella.  On my previous visit my pizza seemed a little wet, at the time I suspected it was the buffalo mozzarella (there water buffalo you know!), so I made sure I got fresh mozzarella.  My salami pizza was great.  The tip of the slice still needed some support when they first brought, but after it cooled slightly it could hold it's own.  I know I just said my pie was great, but that really doesn't do it justice,  it was probably one of the best pizza's I've ever eaten. 

On that note I don't feel I can add anything else worthwhile.  So do your self a favor, open your mind and eat some pizza from The Good Pie.

Highly Recommended.
Chief Pizza Eater.
GAW

The Good Pie: Pizzeria Napoletana

The Good Pie:  Pizzeria Napoletana.

3137 Olive Street Saint Louis, MO 63103 (map link);  (614)289-9391;  http://www.thegoodpie.com/

Pizza Style: Neapolitan.
Oven type: Wood.
The Skinny:  Neapolitan Pizza in St Louis.
Price: $9.50 (marinara) to $16.50 (prosciutto arugula)
Chief Pizza eater says:  Highly Recommended.

The Good Pie has been on my to do list for the past couple of years, but only just recently did I manage to try it.  In celebration of our 12th wedding anniversary my wife suggested I choose a pizza place for dinner, and The Good Pie was it.

The Good Pie is not your typical family pizza joint,  If you want a pepperoni and bacon pizza or a sausage and mushroom pizza with a pitcher of beer you might be disappointed.  As the names says, The Good Pie is a "Pizzeria Napoletana",  and myself being a Neapolitan Pizza neophyte I won't try to explain what goes into using that title, but will suggest you follow the link for a better idea.  I will say that the pizza's are somewhat simple in that they have few toppings and cooked at very high temperatures in a wood fired oven.  The menu has only 12 pizza's, including the daily special and the only additions or substitutions allowed are the addition of  Buffalo Mozzarella or a large farm fresh egg.

On our visit my wife (and part-time pizza eater) stared with the White Anchovy Panzanella from the appetizers.  It has a bed of greens (arugula?), croutons, olive oil, pesto and the white anchovy's.  The white anchovy's are nothing like the brown, briny bits you find at the supermarket and on most anchovy pizza's with the exception that they are both fish.  Don't get me wrong I like those brown briny bits, just in moderation.  The white anchovy's had a mellow taste and the dish as a whole was very good.  I ordered a Caesar Salad, it had romaine lettuce, Pecorino cheese and egg.  The menu states also that the dressing is made with raw eggs (just so you know).  I can't describe exactly what it was but, I believe my Caesar salad was the best I have ever had.  On my next visit I will add the white anchovy.  If they didn't serve pizza I would still return for the Caesar salad.

We ordered 2 pizza's the first was the Funghi, with roasted mushroom, taleggio (cheese), fresh mozzarella and herbs.  The second was The Good Pie with tomato, buffalo mozzarella and basil (same as the Margherita with exception of the buffalo mozzarella).  I believe both pies had a drizzle of olive oil.  The pizza's were about 12 inches and were served un-cut, each came with a pizza wheel.  Before I get any further, I should remind you that I know little or nothing about Neapolitan pizza other than what I may have read,  so...  As you can see from the photo above the crust on both pizza's had a nice char.  After cut, both pizza's where very limp at the tip, kind of needed to be folded back on it's self to keep the topping from falling off.  The Good Pie seemed to be a bit wet, I'm not sure if it was from the buffalo mozzarella or the tomato's, but even so I was quite good.  In the future I would probably order the Margherita over The Good Pie, as I suspect it was the cheese adding the extra wetness.  Although the Funghi needed to be folded up it didn't appear to have the same wetness going on as The Good Pie.  The Funghi with it's extra cheese and roasted mushrooms was very different experience and also very good.  The end crust (cornicione) was excellent all on it's own, so much so that  I wish I had ordered the pizza bianca (fresh bread) to start the meal off, next time.

Although not pictured we did get dessert, an order of salted caramel gelato.  When I ordered it our waitress response was "you know it's salted right?".  That may have been meant to warn us, as it had a lot of salt, really, a lot of salt.  I found it a interesting combination, but one I don't think I would try again.

Over all I had a very positive visit to The Good Pie, the food and service were both very good.  As I wrote this review I kept coming back to the fact that I really don't know much about Neapolitan Pizza and that I really need second point of reference, so I give my recommendation with a little bit of trepidation.  So until I can find a better Neapolitan pizza in St Louis, I Highly Recommend The Good Pie.  If you know of another location for Neapolitan pizza let me know I'm interested.

Highly Recommended.

Chief Pizza Eater.
GAW

12th Anniversary.

Dinner at The Good Pie. More later.

Highly Recommended.

Chief Pizza Eater

GAW

Location : 3139 Olive St, St Louis, MO 63103,

Pizza Files 2010 Summer Binge, Stop Fourteen.

Early in the week I started planning pizza eating for Saturday, I called the Man, who said "Dude... can't make it on Satruday, how about this new place on Friday?".  A new pizza joint, I'm all over that.  That's how St. Louis National Pizza Co. (aka Natty's) became stop fourteen on the 2010 Binge.

We ordered a house salad with the house dressing.  Sorry no photos, the Man and Dude were talking, they forgot.  For pizza we had a 16" New York style with half "the rae-rae" and half Canadian bacon and bacon.  We actually ordered Canadian bacon and pineapple.  We were offered a new pizza, but choose to eat the one we had, it was actually pretty good.  The rae-rae has a four cheese blend, tomato slices, and fresh basil.  Even though there was some Provel cheese in the blend, it was still very good!

The name St Louis National Pizza Co. may make you think it's a chain, but it's not.  The National  comes from the fact that the owner traveled around the nation working at pizza joints learning the trade.
Natty's is defiantly worth a return visit, plus I still have to try their Chicago deep dish pie.


The Chief Pizza Eater.
8/7/10

Pizza Files 2010 Summer Binge, Stop Nine.

It was Friday and it looked like I would be getting out of work on time for a change, so to celebrate I decided pizza for supper.  I also had to do an errand in Brentwood and I wanted to hit someplace new, so after studding my list of Binge 2010 candidates I found what I was looking for.  That's how Pizza A Go Go came to be stop nine of the Binge 2010.

There are some things you should know before you go to Pizza A Go Go, first is that they only have pizza on their menu.  If you want cheese bread, pasta or salad you are not going to be happy.  They only have PIZZA that's it... oh they also have fountain soft drinks, really that's it.  Second they only take cash or checks.  Yep that's right they actually take checks. Third they open at 4 p.m. and are closed on Wednesday.  None of those things mattered to me as I went on Friday evening with a wad of cash in my pocket and I only wanted pizza, so it worked out just fine.

I ordered a large hand tossed pizza (remember pizza, that's all they have) with pepperoni, Canadian bacon, sausage and onions. I'm not one to order sausage often, but they don't have hamburger, so I went with sausage.  I found it to be good, not to herbed up or spicy. 

Pizza A Go Go was a worthy stop on the 2010 Binge, even if they only have pizza and don't take plastic.

The Chief Pizza Eater.
7/17/10

Pizza Files 2010 Summer Binge, Stop Six.

The Sixth Stop on the 2010 Summer Binge was new to me, I first read about it last fall in the St Louis Post-Dispatch and put it on my to do list at that time.  They also made it in to the St Louis magazine's Best Pizza issue.  I went there last week only to find them closed, not deterred I returned today, and that's how Feraro's Jersey Style Pizza became stop Six on the Pizza Files 2010 Summer Binge.

The Chief Pizza Eater.
6/27/10

It's my birthday and I will eat pizza if I want to.

Today was my XX'nd birthday, and though I didn't go out for pizza I did eat pizza for breakfast.  I ate the last of the leftovers from a small gathering celebrating my birthday this past Saturday.  I have been thinking about where I wanted to eat pizza on birthday for the past several months.  My only criteria was that where ever I went it should be new me.  Near the end there were 3 contenders;  Pi Pizzeria,  The Good Pie and Onesto Pizza & Trattoria.  After much internal debating I finally asked my wife which one she thought would be a good choice, now she's not really a true pizza eater (sushi is another story), but I felt I needed a outside opinion. Saturday morning I decided that Onesto Pizza & Trattoria would be the lucky one and called them to make Reservations for 12 pizza eaters.

Just in case you are wondering starting in the upper left and moving clockwise the pizza's are 1.  Pesto in the House  2.  Pepperoni, Ham, Meatball & Onion  3.  Queen Margherita  4.  Italian Sausage & Mushrooms.

The pizza's were great, the company of pizza eaters was great and it was a great birthday.

GAW

Costco Food Court Pizza Part 2

At about 2p.m. Last Friday, my day off, I found myself at the Costco doing some shopping.  Standing in the check-out line I decided I better get a slice of pizza (a tragic moment of weakness), it had been a couple of weeks since I had last had pizza and I wasn't expecting to get any until my holiday in late February (little did I know).  

So I got a slice of combo and a soda, it cost $2 and some change.  The combo has pepperoni, sausage, red onions, green peppers and black olives.  I'm not big in green peppers but they were pretty much on top of everything and easy to pull off.  So was it worth $2 and change?  Just, see my previous review for more on my thoughts of Costco Food Court Pizza.  If I get pizza at Costco at some point in the future I will probably stick to a pepperoni slice.

On another note, the exit employee (the person who checks your receipt as you leave) said that you didn't need a Costco card to eat at the food court.  If your jones'n for a Costco pizza slice and you don't have a membership I recommend you call ahead so as to avoid disappointment.

YPMV

GAW

The Binge Part 16, unplanned bonus.

The Dude calls the Man and it goes something like this;

Dude: "hey Man, Pizza?"
Man: "Dude, Blackthorn?"
Dude: "Man, Tonight!"

That's more or less how Blackthorn Pub became part 16 of the Pizza Files 2009 Summer Binge.

Today's pizza was a Chicago style deep dish with pepperoni, hamburger and onions. Where's the salad you ask? The Blackthorn has pizza, pizza or pizza, if you want something other than pizza you are in the wrong place.

To call the Blackthorn a dive bar is an under statement, but it does have pretty good pizza. You just got to know how to get served, luckily The Man lives close by and knows the rules. I go into more detail about the Blackthorn in the furture, so check back soon.

GAW

The Binge Part 14, unplanned bonus.

I get a phone call on Thursday night from a co-worker telling me not to bring my lunch the next day, but do bring my camera cause we are going out...

Don't you just love The Pizza Files 2009 Summer Binge? It has truly taken on a life of it's own. Pizza comes to me now.

That's how Nick & Elena's Pizzeria became part 14 of the Pizza Files 2009 Summer Binge.

On the Menu, Nick & Elena's Special Salad with the House (Italian) and ranch dressing. For Pizza it was a large sausage, Canadian bacon and onion thin crust. Look for more details in the near future. GAW

Judah Friedlander doesn't like St Louis Style Pizza.

Actor/comedian Judah Friedlander (of 30 Rock) doesn't like St Louis Style Pizza. You will have to follow the link to see just what he had to say about it in the 3rd paragraph. Don't feel to bad St Louis he thinks Manhattan pizza going down hill also.

Thanks to Slice for the tip.

GAW

Imo's Pizza

If you are a native St Louisan I'm sure you know all about Imo's already, and you needn't read any further. For everybody else, if you have lived here (St Louis) for more than a day or two you have probably eaten Imo's Pizza, or at the very least have had someone (almost always a native) tell you how great Imo's Pizza is. Imo's web-site state's that Ed and Marge Imo opened the first one in 1964 at the corner of Thurman and Shaw in south St Louis. At the time you could get your pizza to go or delivered (possibly the first delivery joint in the U.S.). They credit the square cut pie to Ed being a tile setter prior to becoming a pizza maker. Today Imo's is a regional pizza chain with just under 100 locations, most of which are in the St Louis Metro area. They provide dine in, carry out and delivery, including delivery of all menu items. They have a full menu including salads, appetizers, pasta, sandwiches and desserts, not to mention pizza. The menu indicates that all pizzas are St Louis style thin crust topped with "REAL" Provel cheese and fresh (not frozen) meats and vegetables. They do have a "Thicker Crust" available, but no other information is provided in the menu I have.

The pizza reviewed came from the Imo's Pizza located in Wildwood, MO, it was a 12" with Canadian Bacon, hamburger and onions. Normally I always get pepperoni on my pizza, but I didn't actually order this pie, more on that later. I also received a small house salad (iceberg lettuce & Provel cheese) with the House dressing (sweet creamy Italian). As is typical of St Louis style the crust is of a very uniform thickness edge to edge. Also the sauce covers the crust completely leaving no place for the cheese/topping matrix to anchor it's self, leading to topping slide. If you look closely at the whole pie photo above you will notice that sometime after cutting the pie all of the cheese and toppings moved toward the 1'o'clock position. The crust was crispy and was able to support the toppings without help, as far as St Louis style goes it was adequate. I found the sauce a bit bland, not much else to say about it. The Canadian bacon, hamburger and onions were of fine quality, but could have benefited from some pepperoni. The "Real Provel" cheese is well, real processed cheese. The pizza overall was lacking, pepperoni's would have added some much needed flavor and in my personal opinion the mozzarella cheese would be alot better.

The small house salad is just fresh iceberg lettuce, shredded provel cheese and your choose of dressing. I chose the house dressing (sweet creamy Italian). Here comes the weird part... I really like Imo's salad, their house dressing is very good, and the provel cheese is great.

As I've stated in a previous post, St Louis style pizza doesn't pass the "Would I pay for it" test, and if I would have had to pay for this pizza you wouldn't be reading this. As it turned out a family member who like's to eat a Imo's new I was home alone and without any dinner, so bought me the pizza and salad unsolicited. If you are a fan of Imo's Pizza you are going to eat it whether I tell you to or not. If you have never had Imo's and somebody else is paying by all means try it. Imo's Pizza is located at 16447 Village Plaza View Rd. in Wildwood, MO. You can reach them at (636)458-9000, for more information check out their web-site (click on the title link).

Would I eat at Imo's Pizza again? Sure, but on somebody elses dime. Shoot I might even pay for the salad.

GAW

Cecil Whittaker's Pizzeria / Stumpy's House of Bar-B-Que.

Cecil Whittaker's Pizzeria is a regional chain with 25 locations (3 corporate owned with the rest split among 15 franchise owners) that first opened in 1983 in south St Louis County. My pie came from the St Peters restaurant. Their menu includes salads, appetizers sandwiches, pasta, and pizza. Cecil Whittaker's Pizzeria serves St Louis style, which means very thin crust and provel cheese. They also have mozzarella cheese available upon request, and a thicker crust ($1 extra) for their medium and xtra large pies. The location I ordered from is one of four very unique locations that in addition to the expected pizza joint fare, has the "Smokehouse Menu". The franchise owners also own Stumpy's House of BBQ, and offer a full BBQ menu at their 4 Cecil Whittaker's Pizzeria's.

I'm not a fan of true St Louis style pizza for one key reason, Provel cheese and won't knowingly spend my money on it. My order for this review was a small (9") pepperoni, Canadian bacon, hamburger and onion with mozzarella cheese of course (my standard variation). I also ordered a Smokehouse salad with pulled pork, with ranch dressing and sweet & smokey BBQ sauce. The crust is a uniform thickness all the way across and is nearly a perfect circle, it is perfectly able to support toppings with out any help. The bottom is golden brown and when you bite into it, it's both crispy and chewy. The sauce is a just a little sweet and spicy, and the amount of sauce is just bordering on to much for my taste, especially on this thin a crust. The toppings are all fresh and have good flavor. I do have a few small complaints about the toppings. First is that they used red onions on their salads, so why not on their pies? Second, I got that big giant hunk of onion with out a whole in it, and I really don't like it as it never gets cooked all the way through. Not so much a complaint, but you will notice in the photo above that the sauce covers the entire top of the crust, it goes all the way to the edge which leads to topping slide when the pizza is fresh and hot. If you don't sandwich a couple of pieces or at least keep one finger planted in the toppings it all comes off with the first bite. Leftovers the next day don't suffer the same fate, as the sauce thickens and keeps it all together.

The Smoke House salad (Stumpys salad) is a meal in it's self and can certainly stand on it's own. The lettuce and red onions were fresh, there was a generous amount of pulled pork and cheddar cheese. The dressing comes on the side so that you can add to your own taste. I got both ranch and sweet & spicy BBQ sauce, mixing in equal parts. The pork was very good, but may have been just a touch dry (maybe due to the car ride back to work), not a deal ender by any means.

St Louis style doesn't pass the "I'd pay for it" test, oh I'll eat it just not pay for it with my hard earned cash. Remember I'm a pizza slut, I haven't met a pizza that I wouldn't eat, but have met a few that I wouldn't pay for. Luckily Cecil Whittaker's Pizzeria offers the St Louis Style sort of (mozzarella in stead of provel) pizza. I do like Cecil's pizza as long as it comes with mozzarella cheese, but the kicker is being able to get an order of BBQ with your pizza, and at $12.50 plus tax and delivery for both the pizza (9") and salad it's a good value. Cecil Whittaker's Pizzeria (with Smokehouse Menu) is located at 620 Jungermann Rd. in St Peters, MO. You can reach them at (636)926-8121, for more information check out their web-site (click on the title link).

Recommended (if you go with the mozzarella cheese)

GAW

Racanelli's New York Style Pizzeria

It's my birthday and I will eat pizza if I want to. Ok so it's not my birthday today, but it was yesterday and believe it or not I was forced to eat Steak... but my co-workers came through big time with pizza today.

Racanelli's New York Style Pizzeria is a family owned local chain that first opened in University City in 1994, now they have 6 locations including St Peters, the source of pizza for this review. Their menu includes salads, appetizers, sandwiches, Stromboli, calzone and of course pizza. Aside from the hand tossed crust you can also get their version of the pan pizza called the Sicilian. The standard cheese is mozzarella, but you can also get feta, ricotta and cheddar cheese on your pie.

It was my birthday so they ordered my standard: pepperoni, ham (Canadian bacon is not offered), meatballs and onions. The pizza was a large (18in), and cut into 8 slices, so they required some support for the first few bites. The edge of the crust is a bit chewy but quite good. The sauce was evenly spred in the proper amount, not to much not to little. The ingredients were all good. The meatballs were very good, but I would have liked to have seen a few more on the pizza as there were a couple of slices with only one meatball. We also got a half meatball parmigianna (meatballs with mozzarella and ricotta cheese), half Veggie, both of which are on Racanelli's specialty pizza list. It too was a large (18in) and could have used a few more meatballs. Although I didn't sample the veggie portion of the pie I did try the meatball parmigianna. The ricotta cheese adds a whole new texture to the pizza. The ricotta doesn't really melt in the same way as the mozzarella, so they remain separate. I probably wouldn't order it myself but I wouldn't turn my nose up at it if somebody else was flipping the bill. (It should be noted that I found both pizza's to be as good if not better the next day after about 45 sec in the microwave. I much prefer to use a toaster oven for left over pizza, but at work it is a microwave on nothing)

The pizza was good and my standard pass's the "Would I pay for it again" test. As stated above I would like to see a little bit more toppings on the pizza's (my standard in a large runs almost $25). Racanelli's New York Style Pizzaeria is located at 3945 Mid Rivers Mall Dr. in St Peters, MO. You can reach them at (636) 447-1999, for more information check out their web-site(click on the title link).

Recommended.

GAW

East Coast Pizza

East Coast Pizza located in Chesterfield Valley has been around for several years. It is a family owned and operated pizza joint. Their Menu states they are from Philly and New York and that they lived in New Jersey for years. The Philly influence is seen in their menu with items like TastyKake's for dessert and Amoroso Bakery rolls for their sandwiches, both famous Philadelphia landmarks.

East Coast Pizza is what I would call a full service pizza joint. They have everything; soups, salads, appetizers, pizza, calzone - stromboli, hot & cold sandwiches, dinners and desserts. You can get your pizza by the slice or whole pie. They have hand tossed and Chicago style crust with homemade red sauce, you can also get both crust as White Pizza (mozzarella cheese, garlic, olive oil and parmesan cheese).

For me it was the usual hand tossed crust with pepperoni, meatballs, ham and onions. Leena my reviewing apprentice ordered a slice of cheese pizza. First thing you notice is the crust is a bit thinner and crispier than what you might find at other New York style pizzerias in the area. The crust still needs support when hot though. Next is that the meatballs are no longer in the form of meatballs, but more of a seasoned finely ground beef. The pepperonis were not overly spicy, the ham was thinly slice and the onion's were chopped. The cheese is of course Mozzarella. The toppings were all fresh with good taste. The sauce was a bit on the mild side. The cheese pizza could have used a little more cheese in my book (yes I was allowed one small bite), but was well liked by my 5 year old apprentice.

Overall the pizza was quite good. Not necessarily at the top of my list, but it passes the "Would I pay for it again" test. In fact East Coast Pizza is on my list for a few return visits as I need to try the White Pizza, the Philly Cheese Steak (their from Philly so it's got to be good right?) and I have yet to sample the TastyKake's. East Coast Pizza is located at 17304 Chesterfield Airport Rd at Boone's Crossing in the Vally. You can reach them at (636) 536-7888, for more information check out their web-site(click on the title link).

Recommended.

GAW

Dewey's Pizza

Dewey's Pizza has been in St Louis for a few years and more specifically in Kirkwood since 2005. Dewey's Pizza is a small chain (16 locations) that was started in Cincinnati in the spring of 1998. My first taste of Dewey's Pizza was a year or two ago in Kirkwood, since that time I have made a few visits. Today was a Family gathering of 9 people, so I did the half & half routine. We went to the Ellisville location, arriving around 5:30 and had to wait 30-40 minutes. It was a packed house.

I started off the meal with a Peppercorn Ranch salad, it and the Caesar salad are the only 2 salads that don't start with the words "field greens". All of the salads come dressed and mine was no exception, the romaine lettuce had a light coating of peppercorn ranch dressing, just enough shaved Parmesan, and plenty of fresh tomatoes and red onions, not to mention the bacon.

We ordered 5 types of pizza, but I was only able to try 3 of them. Starting with mine and Akiko's, we ordered Half "Socrates Revenge" which included olive oil, minced garlic, mozzarella-fontina blend, spinach, black olives, green olives, feta cheese, red onions, and tomatoes. I had one piece and it wasn't bad, due to all of the olives it was a bit salty, but hay I've had worse. It falls under the if somebody else is paying I'd eat it. My half was... you guessed it, pepperoni, Canadian bacon, red onions and meat balls. As with the meat ball pizza I have had else where they are cooked and sliced prior to hitting the pizza. Starting at the bottom, the hand tossed crust is probably the best I've ever had, it's a bit on the soft side so you have to use 2 hands for that first bite or two, after that it holds up well. the edged of the crust looks like it has had a stick of butter rubbed across it once the pizza came out of the oven, and it tastes even better than it looks. Moving up one level, the sauce has a spicy bite to it and the very young may not like it. I could do with just a tad less sauce myself, not because of the spiciness, I just like my pie a bit dry. The toppings are all excellent, especially the meatballs. The flavors just melt in your mouth. A most excellent Pizza.

We all so had a Cheese pizza for the younger members of the group, and yes it had the same spicy red sauce as mentioned above, and yes the youngest member complained. There was a "Edgar Allan Poe" on the table as well it includes olive oil, mozzarella-fontina blend, mushrooms, roasted garlic (large whole cloves), kalamata olives and goat cheese, with fresh tomatoes and parsley after the bake. I was unable to sample the Edgar, but Akiko said it was a bit on the garlicky side.

Lastly we had a sausage, meatball and mushroom pizza. I did get a chance to sample it and it was very good. The sausage was very good, it was of the link variety and had been sliced prior to going on the pizza. The mushrooms were fresh, not a topping I would order my self as I'm a canned mushroom kind of person.

Dewey's Pizza leans towards the High Class sort of pizza joint that I'm not really into, but as I said in the beginning they have some of the BEST pizza around. I personal prefer to get it to go so that I don't have the long wait on a table and it lets the pizza attain the ideal eating temperature on the ride home. In the end you really can't go wrong with a Dewey's Pizza. Check out their web site for a location near you (click on the title above).

Highly Recommended.

GAW

Pizzarelli's Pizzeria

As I sit at the kitchen table and put my thoughts to words, I'm enjoying my Pizzarelli pizza for the 4th time. The first was Sunday evening, then Monday and Tuesday morning for breakfast and finely Tuesday night for supper.
Because the whole family is home I don't get to order pizza very often and must make the most of it when I do, hence the multiply feasting on a single pizza.

Pizzarelli's Pizzeria located at 15858 Manchester Road in Ellisville is locally owned and operated and is what I would call my local favorite. It's only 3 stop lights east on Manchester from home. It is by far the best pizza that close to home. They offer the big 3 Dine-in, Carry-out, and Delivery. The dine-in option is limited, and I would suggest you carry out or have you pie delivered. The dine-in ambiance is that of a busy take-out and delivery pizza joint, seating is limited and there is not a lot of time spent in the upkeep of the dining area, as they are all busy making pizza's for carry out and delivery.

The Pizza, you have three choices, New York Style (round hand toss), Chicago Style (thin & crispy) and Deep Dish. Before we go any further I have to discuss the "Chicago Style", living in St Louis for the past 20 plus years I know that "Chicago Style" is not thin and crispy as their menus states but that St Louis Style is thin and crispy, but it's not my pizza joint and they can call it what ever they like. I'm a New York Style Pizza kinda of person anyway so the semantics's don't really matter to me.

For me it's my current favorite, New York crust with pepperoni, Canadian bacon, meat balls, and onions. If I was feeling my oats I would have them put some anchovies on half, but not this time. As far as the toppings go the only thing I would like to see different is Red Onions as an option. By the time I get home (just three stop lights) the pizza has cooled off just a little and is the perfect temperature ( the cheese will stretch a bit but you can bite it in two). There is just the right amount of pepperonis, the sliced meatballs are seasoned just right, the Canadian bacon is the real thing (at least real for those of us south of the border), and the small slice to big hunk of onion. I can't forget to mention the generous helping of mozzarella cheese. The pizza just melt in your mouth, If I was home alone I probably wouldn't stop eating until the whole pizza was gone it's that good in my book. If you are in the neighborhood you ought to give them a try, call ahead @ (636) 394-0094.

Highly Recommended!

The pizza is now all gone so I guess it's time to shut up. GAW