nypd pizza

it so happens that if i call brian when i hit kings island on the way home from chillicothe, it is perfect timing for ordering pizza. most recently nypd pizza delivered to our door just as i was pulling in the driveway.

we usually stick to the same medley of menu selections - the available breadstick and plain old cheese pizza. some would say we're boring, but i feel there is a certain elegance in simplicity. if we're feeling really crazy, we might add pepperoni. (this does not apply at places such as dewey's when the toppings are quality and do not include mushrooms from a can)

the breadsticks at nypd were basically pizza crust with cheese, cut in strips instead of wedges. call me crazy, but i generally like my breadsticks to be made of a different dough than the pizza. i appreciate a variety of textures in my meal. the breadsticks were actually much better reheated the next day.on to the main event. the pizza in general was fairly nondescript - mozarella, provolone, pedestrian sauce. the unusual part was the crust. the only way i can think to describe it is pillowy. it was kind of the jay leno of pizza crust - puffy and not a lot of flavor. definitely not something i would stay up late night for, either. i think we'll stick with noce's from now on...unless someone else has an excellent pizza suggestion that will deliver on the westside!

pizza worthy of the gods

after reading veggie option's mouth-watering review of newport pizza co, i had to give it a go. (since i started this post before i went on vacation, wine me, dine me and the food hussy have also reviewed it) several of my high school girlfriends have migrated to kentucky, so newport and covington tend to be regular dinner destinations. i don't want to commit to driving all the way down to florence (not to mention my distrust of urban sprawl), and the girls now like to stick to their own side of the river.

the place is pretty tiny and there was one lone server running around doing everything. she did call me "ma'am", but she was very sweet, so i let it slide. a sheryl crow concert was on the flatscreen, which was fine, but there was a malignant droning underneath that once noticed was impossible to ignore. when i asked the server what it was, she said it was "something in the kitchen". hmm.

but the important part of the evening - the food. jessie and i split the zeus. it was so simple (tomatoes, feta and asiago, basil, garlic) and so good. i loved the crust; just the right thickness and crispness. i am also a sucker for any mythological reference. this goes back to my first dog.

zeus, our newfoundland of 15 years. appropriately named in terms of grandeur, although being neutered, not much of a womanizer like his nameseake.

the zeus, extremely tasty pizza pie. appropriate level of grandeur. no comment on the womanizing.

stephanie had the bbq chicken. looked really good, and she seemed to enjoy it.

i think newport pizza co could become a regular stop on the south side of the river.

guest post: josh riffs on larosa's

by means of introduction: i've pseudo-known josh for a long time. we go way back. back to grade school, in fact, like most westsiders. there exists a video starring us and other similarly rhythm-impaired pre-adolescents rapping about cincinnati; fortunately it is locked inside the bicentennial time capsule. needless to say, i have to stay on his good side in case a copy resurfaces, so i invited him to blog on one of our favorite topics - larosa's. his thoughts follow.

There’s a stereotype of Cincinnatians in general (and westsiders in particular) that we are born here, raised here, get married here and die here. I’m not ashamed to admit that I’m one of those stereotypical Cincinnatians. I grew up in Bridgetown on the west side and now I live in Delhi. For a brief time during college (at UC), I worked at my dream job in Houston. But, I decided I didn’t like it there, came back and changed my major. Soon after, I remember seeing a LaRosa’s billboard on I-74 declaring, “It’s good here.” And that’s how I felt. I liked the people here, the values, and the local food.

We used to pick up Skyline for dinner after every vacation. My grandma used to live across from the original LaRosa’s on Boudinot. We’d go over there many Sundays to visit and she’d take us across the street to the Pizzeria or if we were lucky, maybe to the Wine Cellar! I loved it. The pizza was always hot and delicious; with the sauce has that distinctive sweet taste you can only get there. I spent many a late night at that same Boudinot LaRosa’s after football games or a movie.

But lately, LaRosa’s has just not been very good. There was a recent post on Slice. The author, Daniel Zemans (who is from Chicago), had some very disparaging things to say about LaRosa’s. At first, I was a little offended. Who was this guy to be knocking our city’s pizza?! Then, I realized that for the most part I had to agree with him. It’s just not very good anymore.

It’s really hard to put a finger on what changed. For the past several years, whenever I’ve had LaRosa’s, it seems that if I’m LUCKY, the food is “just ok.” But, mostly it’s just not tasty. Everything seems mass-produced. The pizza just seems to sit like a brick in your stomach. Half the time, the cheese has slid off the pizza or the crust isn’t quite cooked all the way. With all the nostalgia and loyalty I had, it’s hard to admit that it’s just not good anymore. AND, the price has gone up significantly. They haven’t really introduced many new items, and when they have, they’ve mostly been mediocre at best (Montgomery Inn pizza? Little It’ly pizza?).

I dunno…maybe it’s me. My kids still seem to like it. But, to me, when the quality goes up and the price goes down, I’m going to head somewhere else for my pizza fix. For us, lately that’s been Trotta’s or Noce’s. And, that’s hard to stomach (pun intended) for a born and bred westsider like myself.

stupid gps

monday night i met some friends up in norwood for dinner. yes, even i can manage to find my way to and from norwood. no thanks to my not-so-trusty gps. more on that later.

i got to betta's italian oven just fine. it's a jolly place with wood-fired pizzas and basic italian kitchen dishes. they are no longer byob, so it was good i forgot the bottle of wine i had set out otherwise it might have been awkward.

we shared a carafe (or two) of a house red. i think it was called will's red. it was an acceptable table wine, although it tasted downright terrible after eating my salad with sweet 'n' sour garlic dressing. the dressing was so acidic it burned my chapped lips and didn't really tickle my taste buds too much.i opted for the four seasons pizza, a pie divided in sections (um, 4) with different toppings on each - kalamata olives (whole! pitted!), basil, tomatoes, and prosciutto. it wasn't exactly what i expected because due to my poor reading comprehension skills, i thought all 4 toppings were on the whole pizza. but whatever. the crispy crust was great. the sauce and cheese were just ok.


















mark got the diavolo sauce and i really liked its spiciness in contrast to my rather bland red sauce.

the calzones looked pretty yummy, big and gooey. although, there was a lack of presentation detracted from its appeal.my favorite part of the meal was my dessert (dessert is the whole point of the meal, after all). all the desserts were good and generous portions, but mine was exceptional. the amaretto cake was moist and almond-y without the limp handshake feel some alcohol soaked desserts have. the wine was also not so good after eating the cake.
word is, betta's will soon be expanding with a full bar and coffee counter with pastries for those early norwood mornings. not something i am likely to enjoy, as my stupid gps cannot get my ass home. it kept trying to put me on the highway by the frisch's, where there IS NO LONGER AN ENTRANCE. i circumnavigated dark norwood streets with the white witch who lives in my gps intoning "calculating route" with each corner i circled. finally, i decided to just take montgomery until i reached something i recognized and came home through clifton. technology frequently does not improve my quality of life. (ok, i know the gps has to be updated, but it's so frustrating!)

new york style pizza on the westside

on a tip from another loyal westside foodie (thanks, john!), brian and i went to check out noce's pizzeria on north bend road. i've been wanting to try it since i first saw the sign go up. i was not disappointed.

the place is tiny and clean and friendly. the kitchen is open and you can watch as they hand toss the dough and spread on the toppings and cheese.

we carried out, but you can eat in or get delivery.

right off the bat, noce's gets major points because the sauce for dipping the garlic knots is warm. nothing pisses me off more than ordering breadsticks or cheese sticks and having some nasty cold sauce that was in the fridge 15 seconds before it was on my plate. and the garlic knots are good, not drenched in butter or salt.

now, the main event. we asked the guy tossing the dough what his favorite is. he said plain cheese is the most perfect way to eat pizza, but if he's getting toppings, he likes the noce pizza. the noce pie is topped with sausage, onions, banana peppers, sprinkled parmesan, oregano and black pepper. i am not the biggest banana pepper fan, so we ordered it with light peppers.

all i can say is, that pizza oven at noce produces some pretty fabulous crispy crust. it is easily some of the best crust i have ever had. if you're looking for super thick and doughy and chewy, this isn't it, but i think this crust will win you over cause it's that good.

i have to admit i wasn't entirely sold on the sauce at first, but by my second piece i had decided i definitely liked it. it's subtle and flavorful, not sweet. a good complement to the crust and toppings.

there was a distinct lack of grease on both the garlic knots and the pizza. a plus, in my mind. i hate feeling like i need to sop up puddles of fat from my pizza before i can eat it (pizza hut).

so, two thumbs up for new york style, westside location. brian gave it a garbled "really good", his mouth being full. they also offer calzones, subs, ziti and stromboli, and they sell pizza by the slice. i look forward to trying them all. although i do have to agree with the pizza guy, i think my favorite is plain cheese. i'm a simple girl, really.