City: Rapid City, SD

Category: Restaurants

Telephone: (605) 341-6941

Address: 3618 Canyon Lake Dr.

Insider Pick:

Description: Don’t be fooled by the amusing play on paesano, the Italian word for “countryman.” Piesano’s takes pacchia—Italian for feast—very seriously. Everything is homemade. Piesano’s attracts a loyal clientele with scrumptious gourmet pizzas—sweet-and-sour cashew chicken is popular, but you can also order chicken Bar-B-Q, healthful vegetable, Happy Hawaiian, and more conventional varieties including primo, with the works. New combinations appear from time to time. Pizzas are created on hand-tossed dough made fresh daily, and we’re told that the owners are so fussy they follow the wheat crop to make sure they get top-quality flour. Pizzas come in four sizes, including an 8-inch noon special; other choices include sub sandwiches, salads (with hand-torn lettuce), and special meals such as calzones on Tuesday and Friday, lasagna on Wednesday, prime rib subs on Thursday and Saturday, and Italian chicken breast subs for Wednesday lunch. And for dessert there’s cheesecake. It was no surprise to learn that the Black Hills Restaurant Guide named Piesano’s the best local pizza establishment several years in a row. You can have a bottled beer with your meal, but not a smoke. New offerings include a wine list and outdoor patior seating, and an updated decor featuring gold, green, and maroon colors with an Italian flare. There’s plenty of parking right out front.