Pie

1/27/13:

Stars: 5 out of 5

Pros: SERVICE, Food

Cons:

     "Can you help me put a couch together?" This is the request that MC made. She then followed it up with "There will be beer..." Well, I mean, it would be rude not to help, right? So, that's how I found myself on Grove Ave. sitting on a new IKEA couch with a beer in my hand on a Sunday night feeling a bit peckish. What to do about this dinner situation? Then MC suggested Pie (Pie) over on North Lombardy Street. Beer and pizza sounds great and it was a new place to review? I was in.

     Pie has a very assuming storefront. Couple of painted chairs out front, a purple door and an overhang with their name on it. I almost feel like if you weren't paying attention, you would walk right by. You enter into the downstairs bar area. There are a bunch of chairs at the bar and 4 booths along one wall. It's a nice dining area with adequate lighting. Perfect place to chill out and have a beer with friends. There is also an upstairs, which I did not see. That is where they hold comedy night on Saturdays (I'll have to look into that).

     Our waiter handed us menus and took our drink orders. I settled in to look at the menu and was pleased with what I saw. Once again I found myself appreciating the one-sided menu. It means that Pie keeps it simple. As I've said before, I'm a big fan of that. Pie has just a few appetizers, some salads, 3 calzones and lots of 12" pizzas with a variety of toppings. I was of course here for the pizza, so that's where I focused my attention. The toppings varied from your basic Italian sausage and bacon to your slighty different things, like artichoke hearts and red stag onions. But I was drawn to the Hyman Roth (named after the Jewish partner in The Godfather). This pizza had mozzarella cheese, marinara sauce, mushrooms and 3 sunny-side up eggs. That's right, eggs! It sounded perfect. MC ordered the Barzini which had mozzarella, marinara, spinach, mushrooms, garlic, basil and crushed red pepper. AJ also went with us and he ordered the Tattaglia. That had mozzarella, marinara, ricotta, pepperoni and red stag onions. All these sounded good and sitting back to wait was the hardest part.

     After some deep conversation the waiter appeared with the Barzini and the Tattaglia pizzas in hand. As he puts these down he looks at me and says, "They dropped your pizza in the back so they are remaking it now." I looked at him, waiting for him to say "Just kidding," but that never happened. Instead he said, "Would you like a beer on the house while you wait?" So, he was serious... ok sir, I accept your beer. The others started eating their delicious looking pizzas and each offered me a slice. I'm not one to say no to trying new things, so I gladly took one of each. Both pizzas were very good. They were thin crust, which I truly love. The flavors of each were bold and well balanced. I enjoyed them very much, but I was looking forward to my eggs. My pizza came out about 10 minutes later. Let me say this, it was worth the wait. The eggs were cooked to over-medium by the pizza oven so there wasn't a ton of yolk leakage. The mushrooms were cut fairly thick and were fresh. There was plenty of cheese and it helped bind it all together. So very tasty.

     When the bills came and we got ready to go, I got my last taste of Pie's excellent service. My pizza was 1/2 off. So, not only did I get a free beer I also got my food reduced. I appreciate that the server addressed the issue promptly at the table with the beer. I would have been very pleased had that been the whole solution. But the staff decided to ensure my return by also discounting my food. Well done to the team there. Your willingness to correct a negative situation means I will certainly be back. Add your excellent food to the mix and you have a must try at Pie. I suggest you give it a whirl.