St. Louis pizzas I miss
- Fortel’s
(ah, the spicy cheese) we were devastated when the den by our house closed unexpectedly, frozen in our tracks on a Friday night without any recollection of what other pizza existed out there - Imo’s — the square beyond compare — (sometimes referred to as “cracker pizza” and not just because of the extremely thin crust)
- Cecil Whittaker’s (also a provel cheese pizza; an acquired taste. Good salads, too.)
- Shakespeare’s (it’s a short drive from St. Charles!)
So far, I haven’t found a Charlottesville pizza I love. I find this shocking. Shouldn’t a college town have a killer pizza joint? We haven’t found it. And no, I’m not driving to Crozet every time I want good pizza.
December 8th, 2006 at 4:51 am
What have you tried, and how would you outline your criteria for a good pizza?
December 8th, 2006 at 5:03 am
Brick Oven, which is not bad, All Star, Vocelli’s, Christian’s, which I like, but is somewhat inconvenient and of course, Crozet which is pretty good.
St. Louis pizza, particularly Imo’s and CW is a thin crust pizza with a very tomato-y sauce and provel cheese. You can’t find provel outside of St. Louis.
Shakes and Fortel’s are kind of greasy, in a good, goes well with a beer kind of way. They use mozerella or pepper jack upon request. Whole wheat crust is available at Shakes which I think is why I like Crozet.
December 8th, 2006 at 5:07 am
I believe Mellow Mushroom offers a whole wheat crust as well. It’s a chain located on the Corner. They also have one of the area’s best draft beer selections.
What’s provel cheese like?
December 8th, 2006 at 5:12 am
It’s a combination of swiss, cheddar and provolone — think white Velveeta for consistency context. It’s great in ropy shreds on a salad and has a wonderful texture for melting onto a pizza. For years after I moved to St. Louis I didn’t like it, then all of a sudden, one day, I craved it. My son misses it, and Jack in the Box, more than most things about St. Louis.
We’ll have to try Mellow Mushroom.
December 8th, 2006 at 5:34 am
It sounds excellent, and I’ll have to try to find it on my travels. I’ve not had a good pizza in a restaurant for ages. We usually customize whatever restaurant-quality pizza is on special at Food Lion, which work well for our needs.
December 8th, 2006 at 3:31 pm
It’s amazing how many places west of the Chicago/St. Louis vector know little of pizza besides Domino’s and Pizza Hut. I like the “gourmet” brick-oven pizzas fine, but sometimes you just want a spicy, cheesy, garlicky, bad-for-you-good-with-beer pizza with lots of flavor. (Chicken is NOT a pizza topping!) Of course, I’m in the middle of Kansas and lived for years in Texas, neither of which is known for Italian food …
December 10th, 2006 at 1:45 pm
I agree with Sean about Mellow Mushroom; try the house calzone if you’re not ordering a whole pizza. (Some of their specialty pizzas are a bit too much.) I really miss Big Mouth Pizza, which used Albemarle Baking Company crust…
December 26th, 2006 at 8:27 pm
[...] I’ve written often of our adjustment from living in St. Louis to living in Charlottesville. I’ve even written of some of the St. Louis foods I miss. Those of you who have kept up with this journey, or those keeping the faith back in the ‘Lou know of the revered toasted ravioli. Mark and I decided to check out local eatery Ragazzi’s on Hwy. 29 in Charlottesville. We were hoping for a little Italian that would take us back. We weren’t expecting the Hill, mind you, but we wanted a taste of home. Imagine our elation, upon inspection of the menu, when we saw listed, “toasted ravioli.” We welled up as we ordered. [...]