Local Pizza Thread 2012 (Joe's, Pie, Tortoras, Venice) (Florence, Madison: buying, store)

[FTG-05]

Originally Posted by Dirt Grinder

You answered your own questions.

Thanks,

[deesonic]

Had PITS today for lunch. Looks like they are getting kinks worked out. No more than 20 minute wait from order to pizza in front of me. And quite delicious with a Blue Pants Corduroy Rye IPA as well.

[Sarges Dad]

Gonna try Pie in the sky today....Will report back.

[Sarges Dad]

Originally Posted by Sarges Dad

Gonna try Pie in the sky today....Will report back.

It was very good....Service was great....Still looking for that Chicago style pizza. Terry's is still the closest I have found.

[FCEddie]

Originally Posted by Sarges Dad

It was very good....Service was great....Still looking for that Chicago style pizza. Terry's is still the closest I have found.

Tortuga's in B'ham. That's the place. You will thank me and want to bring me one back its so good.

[lizinva]

My husband and I were going to try PITS yesterday. We arrived aroun 2:00 p.m and we were told it would be a 35 minute wait even though there were plenty of tables outside. There were some inside. I opted to go to Which Wich instead.

My husband and think they may not have had enough servers? Why would you turn away customers when you have tables? Several other people turned around and left as well.

[bmrisko]

Originally Posted by lizinva

My husband and I were going to try PITS yesterday. We arrived aroun 2:00 p.m and we were told it would be a 35 minute wait even though there were plenty of tables outside. There were some inside. I opted to go to Which Wich instead.

My husband and think they may not have had enough servers? Why would you turn away customers when you have tables? Several other people turned around and left as well.

They probably didn't have enough servers which is why they were not seating all tables. I'm sure over time they will learn the correct amount of servers to have on hand, but this is only their 2nd week or so of being open . 2pm isn't really a peak time. Instead of seating you at a table and giving you slow service, they told you an approximate wait time for on of the open sections (meaning a server was available to work the section). This is pretty common in restaurants, especially during off-peak times.

[FiveDime]

Our family at at Famous Joe's for the first time tonight....loved it!

Background: I prefer NY style pizza, grew up in South Florida eating pizza made by real ex-NY Italians. Was shocked when we moved up here a few years back and found a dearth of both good pizza places and real Italian restaurants. Luckily things are improving, on both fronts. Big Ed's: sauce is way too sweet, I mean stupid sweet. Couldn't even eat plain cheese pizza (and that's the benchmark for me, everything else builds on a cheese pizza that is good enough to eat on its own); topping it with green olives made it pretty decent. Terry's: not a bad pizza, but not great either. Varies by night...on a good night, prepared right (and with neither of the most common mistakes...wrong toppings or burnt crust) it is a perfectly serviceable pizza, but never rises above that. Was happy as a clam when Mellow Mushroom opened in Providence...but the service has always infuriated me. It flat-out sucked for the first few months, got better once they got past the "Everyone eats at the new restaurant in Huntsville for the first 2 or 3 months" phase it evened out, but still has occasional "events" that have destroyed my faith in the place (called in an order for lunch, went to pick it up at the indicated time, and not only was it not ready but they hadn't even put the order in yet...while lying to me saying it was "in the oven" [never heard of a pizza taking 29 1/2 minutes to cook], among others). I just can't take the crappy service and hippie attitude any more, which is a shame since some stellar pizzas can be built there, once you dial in the ingredients you prefer. Still need to try the Jones Valley location to see if they at least act like it's a *business.* Latest "discoveries" have been Tommy's and Venice...I like Tommy's a lot, it is a good pizza, just feels a little too fast-foodish, hard to put my finger on exactly what it is but it tastes great. Venice feels a little more "real", and tastes almost as good. So, based on that, our visit to Famous Joe's tonight...

We were really more interest in pasta and entrees, since I still find Huntsville lacking for good, real family-style Italian restaurants. FJ's seemed just a little more gourmet than your true family-style place (smaller portions but higher-quality food), but the prices are reasonable for what you get. The food was insane...must have been there on a good night! Daughter had lasagna, wife chicken Marsala, and I did a build-your-own pasta with pesto sauce and green olives, smoked gouda, and sauteed onions. We also had several appetizers, and desserts (it was a celebration so we went a little overboard). Everyone seemed to enjoy their meal, a LOT, and personally I thought the marinara sauce that came with one of the appetizers was the best I have ever tasted...while my pesto was among the best I've had (although I will chalk some of that up to the onions' and gouda's influences). The cannoli made me think I had died and gone to heaven. Oh yeah, I also got a slice of cheese pizza as one of the appetizers...wanted to try their pizza even though we had other entrees in mind. Wife thought it was outstanding, but I was a little less impressed. To my mind, it didn't have enough sauce. I am willing to try the pizza again another time for several reasons...by-the-slice is often just not made as well as whole pie orders; one of our favorite places to get pizza down in Florida varied widely by the day of the week...if one guy was there he didn't put enough sauce on (I see a theme), but the Saturday dude got it perfect; and the list of ingredients has good stuff that makes me think I can put something really yummy together.

We'll have to give Pie In The Sky a shot one of these days...

[33458]

The flavor of the crust was not up to my PBG Carmine's Ultradeluxe Gourmet Deli standard, but I thought it was delicious. It was a fine bread, and really GOOD sauce. Somebody there cares, and I thank them.
Not only the typical mozzarella topping, but a hint of fresh Parmesan and what we guessed might be white cheddar.
The slice was a touch dry, but I wasn't bothered by this, where I normally would be.

The Marsala was divine.

Daughter's lasagna (she had the adult offering) was the best I've ever tasted. I'm not one to select lasagna if there is something else to be had, but this made me consider ordering it next time. The meated sauce was...wow.

Oh, yeah...our waiter was exceptional, too. What was his name? As a younger employed me, I've done everything from family casual to white-glove fine dining and it's getting harder, as an observer, to find someone who knows how to make an experience complete. His friendly but professional demeanor was exactly right, and so was his tip.
I need to compliment him on their FB page.

[SarahBellum]

We finally made it back to Pie in the Sky for a "second chance" meal last Saturday afternoon about 2. I'm happy to say it was a much better experience than our first. We were told the wait would be about 20 minutes but we were seated within 10. We would have probably waited a little longer if we had insisted on an indoor table but it was nice out so we took patio seating.

Our waiter was very attentive and made sure to explain things on the menu. We had the chips with marinara and goat cheese (delicious!) as an appetizer. My husband had the small southwestern chicken salad and I had the small salad with citrus goodies on it (forgot the name) and it both were very, very good. I'm going to have to try to find that citrus dressing recipe! Our son ordered a thin crust pepperoni and thoroughly enjoyed it although the sauce was a bit sweeter than what we normally like. Our waiter kept our drinks filled and checked on us just enough without being intrusive.

There were two mix up's at the table next two us but the staff handled it well. I think that family took home about 3 boxes of complimentary pizza.

My only complaint at all was nothing to do with the restaurant itself but rather with the people letting their little kids use the dining area as their playground....and loudly. But that's a whine for another thread on another day.... ;-)