Friday Night Slice, Part 22

Nice to see you again, Friday Night Slice.

It's been a while, but you still love pizza and so do we. You were once so committed to finding the best pizza in town and it's not time to give up now. Let's catch up on a few reviews so that we can meet some of Nashville's newer joints this Summer...

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Cool Springs Brewery (formerly Guido's)



Oh Guido's. We all fondly remember the original 21st Avenue location (R.I.P.) with its thin slices of greasy pizza and tiny basement full of our fellow 15 to 17-year-olds in Chuck Taylors and oversized flannel shirts. The all-ages venue was the only place that you could get into and the only place where your friend's new band could plug in. The list of local talent alone that cut their teeth at Guido's is surely an impressive one - but that's another post better suited for this blog's other posters (we're waiting, BP and Andrew J).

My memories of Guido's had everything to do with that venue and nothing to do with their food. I'm certainly not saying that the pizza was bad, it's just that the pizza was never why I (or any of my friends) went there. So I remember being completely surprised when I heard that they were opening a satellite location in a strip mall in Cool Springs sometime around 2004.

When the Mr. and I visited (about a year before I was the Mrs.), it was nothing like the original Guido's. This Guido's had tables and waiters and black cloth napkins. It still claimed to have live music, but now in the form of sleepy jazz. The pizza had tried to go gourmet and they offered a build-your-own bar in the back. I must not have done a very good job building my own as we didn't go back until a new sign appeared on the door: Cool Springs Brewery.

Under new ownership, Cool Springs Brewery opened in late 2009 offering "the finest New York syle Pizzas [sic], Craft Brew and the best Live Music in town." Hmmm. The new name alone was not a good way to start our relationship. How do you present yourself as neighborhood microbrewery when Cool Springs is not really neighborhood? I recall a conversation that I had a few years back with a local hipster who commented on the fact that Cool Springs has Starbucks, McDonalds, Ann Taylor, Borders, GAP, and every other chain store imaginable. It has everything, he noted, except a SOUL (said with emphasis). He was a little overly concerned with the issue, but he was right.

So you bought a "be a microbrewery" kit and kept the little black stage in the corner, but how's the pizza?



In case you've forgotten how I roll, I only order pepperoni and cheese for these reviews.

The wait was a little long, but the pizza was piping hot with bubbly cheese and curling pepperoni cups, served on the traditional raised metal platter. The sauce and ingredients were fresh (as in, fresh from the fridge to the oven) but the taste was pretty typical. The tomato sauce was present but lacked any distinct good or bad flavor and the cheese was the standard, pre-grated, soft mozzarella blend. It was tasty, somewhat greasy, hot and gooey with a reasonable pullaway. The overall taste was pretty good, it just didn't have anything unique or interesting going on. Many of these joints must use the same food supplier.

The crust was not New York thin, but still in the thin family with a crunchy outside and soft interior around the edges. Not the greatest, but not half bad. You can sample the different pizzas at their daily lunch buffet and the menu additionally includes pastas, wings, stuffed mushrooms, subs, calzones, strombolis, salads and desserts (including a chocolate pizza). The Mr. didn't have much to say about the beer either. Ho hum. Maybe we should talk more about the old Guido's instead?


Cool Springs Brewery (formerly Guido's)
600A Frazier Drive, Ste. 135, Franklin, 37067 (map)
dine in and carry out


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BONUS: Lupi's Pizza Pies

FYI. Lupi's Pizza = worth the drive to Chattanooga.





So far on our journey through pizza in Tennessee, MAFIAoZA's, Pizza Perfect, Manny's and Joey's have dominated...but Lupi knocks these kids down with one punch! Oh no! Is there a Nashville contender that can compete? Stay tuned for the upcoming Friday Night Slice installments from the Pizza Buds food truck and City House.





Lupi's Pizza Pies
four locations in Chattanooga and Cleveland, Tennessee
dine in, delivery, carry out, take-and-bake and catering

* * * * *

Cold Pizza:
Friday Night Slice, Part 1: MAFIAoZA's and Joey's House of Pizza
Friday Night Slice, Part 2: Pizza Perfect and Pizza Perfect Kebobs
Friday Night Slice, Part 3: Rudino's Pizza and Grinders
Friday Night Slice, Part 4: Chicago Style Italian Beef
Friday Night Slice, Part 5: Pie In The Sky
Friday Night Slice, Part 6: Castrillo's Pizza
Friday Night Slice, Part 7: California Pizza Kitchen
Friday Night Slice, Part 8: Ahart's Pizza Garden (Murfreesboro)
Friday Night Slice, Part 9: New York Pizza Depot (Clarksville)
Friday Night Slice, Part 10: Matteo's Pizzeria
Friday Night Slice, Part 11: Angelo's Picnic Pizza (Antioch)
Friday Night Slice, Part 12: Manny's House of Pizza
Friday Night Slice, Part 13: Nashville Pizza Co.
Friday Night Slice, Part 14: Brick's Cafe
Friday Night Slice, Part 15: Sal's Pizza (Hermitage)
Friday Night Slice, Part 16: Painturo's (Mt. Juliet)
Friday Night Slice, Part 17: Brothers' Pizza (Franklin)
Friday Night Slice, Part 18: Snappy Tomato, Roma and Jet's
Friday Night Slice, Part 19: Geadello's Pizza
Friday Night Slice, Part 20: Michaelangelo's Pizza
Friday Night Slice, Part 21: Caesar's Ristorante Italiano

Got any suggestions for places that I should cover? Let me know!

Heirloom Tomatoes

Some green sausage, yellow pear, black cherry, and katinka cherry heirloom tomatoes.

Friday Night Slice, Part 18

While I typically turn my nose in snobbery, I'm dedicating this edition of Friday Night Slice to a few of the express chain pizza options - those second tier pizza delivery conglomerates that attempt to marry the quality and variety of the smaller shops with the prices and portability of Pizza Hut, Domino's and Papa John's.

I've often heard that one of the most appealing aspects of large-scale chain restaurants (in any genre - McDonald's, Olive Garden, Starbucks, etc.) is the concept of reliable consistency. There is something comfortable to a consumer about the fact that anywhere in the world, a Big Mac tastes like a Big Mac and a slice of Papa John's pizza tastes like rubber. It makes them feel a sense of control, perhaps, in this mysteriously chaotic and uncertain world? Anyway, with these less-than-global chains that I've chosen for this week's discussion, that uniformity is missing - which is probably a good thing. I have had different experiences at different locations and even with the same location on different days. So here are my general thoughts. What are yours?


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Snappy Tomato



Snappy Tomato popped up in our area not long after we did (along with their ridiculous snapping tomato logo and some poor soul dressed in a life-sized version of it, standing outside in the hideous August heat). Started in Kentucky over 25 years ago, the franchise now has locations in Ohio, Indiana, Missouri, Florida and Alabama with four locations here in Middle Tennessee.

Snappy Tomato has a variety of carefully crafted (and heavily branded) pizzas from the Snappy Veggie™ to the Snappy Hawaiian™ and a few pizzas that start with alternate sauce bases such as the Buffalo Grilled Chicken Pizza™ and the BBQ Chicken Pizza™ that start with hot wing and BBQ sauce respectively, and the Snappy Ranch Pizza™ (guess what it starts with). Outside of their rectangular deep dish pizza The Beast® (not to be confused with the real The Beast), the standard pizzas are round, triangle-cut hand-tossed pizzas. The basic red sauce is unique with a big dose of sweetness in the tomatoey base. The medium-thin crust is rather sweet as well, pushed out to a thicker edge with a light, puffy roll. The cheese and other toppings are totally ho-hum, dabbling into CiCi's territory with some of the dessert pizzas (here you go, it's a can of chocolate pudding and peanut butter chips melted on top of a pizza crust).

Pricewise, you'd think they'd have a better logo based on how much they charge for their pizzas. They line up alongside the local spots with their cost, but more closely find themselves matching up with the big chains in terms of taste. The only reasonable value is found in the buffet, and you'll need to come hungry to get your money's worth. The restaurant on our side of town (the Nipper's Corner location) has been clean and staffed with friendly folks when I've stopped in, and despite the fears that usually rise inside of me when I hear the word buffet, theirs has been kept neat and freshly stocked on my visits. I think of Snappy Tomato as fast food that's better than most fast food, but fast food really isn't about the food.


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Roma Pizza and Pasta



The locally owned Roma Pizza and Pasta has 19 locations across Middle Tennessee from Bellevue to Bordeaux, Dickson to Donelson and Madison to Murfreesboro. Started in 1999 by a business entrepreneur and an "old country" Italian baker, Roma offers homemade pizzas, calzones, pastas, wings, strombolis and salads - all prepared fresh daily using the freshest herbs, spices, oils, cheeses and other toppings. They prepare pizzas with both the standard toppings and more "gourmet" / offbeat options including a Philly Cheesesteak pizza and a Mexican Feast jalapeno and ground beef pizza. Their delivery prices are set up to seriously compete with the chains and they offer incredibly low take-out specials as well.

Roma's pizza is pretty middle-of-the-road in terms of flavor using a basic tomato-based sauce, a standard mozzarella cheese and the typical pepperoni rounds with minimal spice. I usually find that the sauce is applied somewhat thinly (not necessarily a bad thing) and the cheese pull-away factor is medium to medium-high. The crust is a medium thickness hand-tossed base with a good doughy flavor, but it has the tendency to harden quickly as you're eating.

Roma tends to get mixed reviews from everyone though, myself included. There was a time when I thought that it was pretty darn good and (especially since they delivered and were close) it was a great, cheap and easy Friday night option. Apparently, the quality varies from location to location with certain spots (i.e. the Donelson location) getting the dreaded low health ratings. For any restaurant, you can always check this out yourself, you know.

Of course, it's still better than Domino's.


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Jet's Pizza



Jet's Pizza began as a small, single-location pizzeria in Michigan in the 1970s. Now located in 11 states, Jet's has 10 franchises in the Middle Tennessee area alone. Having never tried Jet's pizza, I was excited when they opened up a location nearby us in The Nip earlier this summer.

While known for their variety of crust flavors (poppy seed, butter, parmesan, garlic and more) and their variety of shapes and folds that create all kinds of crust quantity options, what sets Jet's apart is the incredible Eight Corner Pizza. The rectangular, deep dish pizza measures over an inch in height, cut into eight equal slices that each have their own corner crust.

The buttery crust has a soft, fluffy bottom and middle with a very crisp edge. The sauce ranges from decent to good with a little more spice and flavor than the average chain and small chunks of tomato throughout. The cheese is very good, applied heavily with a very high pull away factor. The pepperoni is very juicy (and pretty oily), but almost always cooked beautifully as each little round begins to turn up on the edges and get slightly crisp.

The prices are decent - comparable to the chains. If you must choose a delivery pizza place, this one gets my recommendation so far.


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Cold Pizza:
Friday Night Slice, Part 1: MAFIAoZA's and Joey's House of Pizza
Friday Night Slice, Part 2: Pizza Perfect and Pizza Perfect Kebobs
Friday Night Slice, Part 3: Rudino's Pizza and Grinders
Friday Night Slice, Part 4: Chicago Style Italian Beef
Friday Night Slice, Part 5: Pie In The Sky
Friday Night Slice, Part 6: Castrillo's Pizza
Friday Night Slice, Part 7: California Pizza Kitchen
Friday Night Slice, Part 8: Ahart's Pizza Garden (Murfreesboro)
Friday Night Slice, Part 9: New York Pizza Depot (Clarksville)
Friday Night Slice, Part 10: Matteo's Pizzeria
Friday Night Slice, Part 11: Angelo's Picnic Pizza (Antioch)
Friday Night Slice, Part 12: Manny's House of Pizza
Friday Night Slice, Part 13: Nashville Pizza Co.
Friday Night Slice, Part 14: Brick's Cafe
Friday Night Slice, Part 15: Sal's Pizza (Hermitage)
Friday Night Slice, Part 16: Painturo's (Mt. Juliet)
Friday Night Slice, Part 17: Brothers' Pizza (Franklin)

Got any suggestions for places that I should cover? Let me know!

Friday Night Slice, Part 17

Brothers' Pizza Company

Every pizza place you'll visit strives to have the best pizza in town, but Brothers' Pizza Company has a different mission: they serve "pizza with a purpose." Brothers' Pizza pledges to donate 100% of their proceeds to faith-based organizations.

Founder Devin Cundall had enjoyed a successful run in the internet industry as CIO of local real estate database powerhouse RealTracs. He decided to take a few years off and spend time with his family doing missions work around the world, visiting countries such as Sri Lanka and India. When they returned, they decided to open a new kind of businesstry (business + ministry) - "creating business to help fund community outreach and development." Choosing the name based on the concept of all men being brothers in Christ, Cundall and his family opened Brothers' Pizza Company, supporting such organizations as Against the Grain, Franktown Open Hearts, Compassion International and locally-based African Leadership. Photos of their travels are displayed in the restaurant:



So, how is the pizza?

Brothers' Pizza Company serves New York-style, hand tossed pizzas using a homemade sauce and fresh cut ingredients. Each pizza is made to order and ours arrived piping hot (seriously, straight out of the oven hot) at our table.



The basic tomato sauce had a good flavor: it was a rich, sweeter sauce with tasty tangy pops in places. The crust was thicker than most New York pies, but it was wonderfully dense to the edge then rolled under, creating a few little air pockets. The taste was excellent with a good crunchy bite on the bottom.

They weren't overly generous on the cheese, leaving just a medium pull-away. It was a good, solid cheese that certainly beats the chains but it wasn't anything spectacular. The pepperoni fell into the same ho-hum category, predictably tasting like the pepperoni slices I've had all over town.



At first, I would have given the pie an average review, noting the highlights of the sauce and crust. But with each bite I took, I found myself liking the pizza more and more. Hmmm. The restaurant itself was very clean with a friendly, helpful staff. I'll definitely visit again and certainly recommend that you give it a try as well.

Brothers' Pizza Company
1441 New Hwy 96 W, Franklin, TN 37064 (map)
Dine In, Delivery, Carry Out and Catering



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Cold Pizza:
Friday Night Slice, Part 1: MAFIAoZA's and Joey's House of Pizza
Friday Night Slice, Part 2: Pizza Perfect and Pizza Perfect Kebobs
Friday Night Slice, Part 3: Rudino's Pizza and Grinders
Friday Night Slice, Part 4: Chicago Style Italian Beef
Friday Night Slice, Part 5: Pie In The Sky
Friday Night Slice, Part 6: Castrillo's Pizza
Friday Night Slice, Part 7: California Pizza Kitchen
Friday Night Slice, Part 8: Ahart's Pizza Garden (Murfreesboro)
Friday Night Slice, Part 9: New York Pizza Depot (Clarksville)
Friday Night Slice, Part 10: Matteo's Pizzeria
Friday Night Slice, Part 11: Angelo's Picnic Pizza (Antioch)
Friday Night Slice, Part 12: Manny's House of Pizza
Friday Night Slice, Part 13: Nashville Pizza Co.
Friday Night Slice, Part 14: Brick's Cafe
Friday Night Slice, Part 15: Sal's Pizza (Hermitage)
Friday Night Slice, Part 16: Painturo's (Mt. Juliet)


Got any suggestions for places that I should cover? Let me know!

Friday NIght Slice, Part 16

Painturo's



Painturo's is local-grown Italian restaurant started by brothers Nick and Chad Painter and Nick's wife, Lisa. They first opened for business in their Lebanon location in 2000 (for reader's outside of the Middle Tennessee area, here that's pronounced Leb'nun), expanding to Gallatin in 2006 and Goodlettsville in 2008. They've won awards across surrounding counties, winning "Best Pizza in Sumner County" and "Best Pizza in Wilson County" just months after opening locations in each. In our quest for the best pizza in Middle Tennessee, we headed to the newest location: Mt. Juliet. Without my camera. Oops.

I don't usually mention the dining experience before the pizza, but as I walked through the door (a door that was held open for me by a staff member), I was immediately impressed. Painturo's is an order-and-sit, full service / fast food hybrid restaurant - and these types of restaurants typically lean towards the fast food column in the areas of service, cleanliness, lighting and decor. Painturo's, however, was pleasantly opposite as the staff was very friendly, the restaurant was extremely clean and the service was prompt. The interior dining room imitated an outdoor alley cafe with wooden shutters and string lights.

Now onto the pizza. Painturo's offers "Everyday Pizzas" (cleverly named classics such as the Cumberland Calamity and D's Delight) as well as "Exclusive Pizzas" - pizzas that are described as "edible works of art" and include more non-traditional, California-esque toppings. In addition to the pastas, calzones, sandwiches, salads and desserts, you can design your own pizza; ours was a small pepperoni and cheese.

The medium/thin crust pizza arrived piping hot. The modified St. Louis-style pie was divided with a diagonal party cut leaving diamond shaped "slices" to share. While unique, this cut makes it hard for crust lovers to find a good piece and there are plenty of odd, one-inch bits left around the edges.

The crust had a soft base with a crisper, no-rise edge and a light dusting of cornmeal. It's a wonder that it held up with all of the mounds of gooey, hot cheese draped on top of this pizza. This is some of the highest quantity of cheese I've seen on a pizza with a subsequent pull away factor that was very high. The flavor was mild and unexciting - a simple mozzarella blend - but the sheer amount was incredible. It clung to itself and was almost chewy. On top of the cheese were small, square chunks of reasonably spiced pepperoni that were wading in their tiny pools of grease.

The most notable element of the pizza was the sauce - though for me, that wasn't such a good thing. The sauce was slightly grainy with a bit of grittiness from the fresh spices. It was somewhat spicy, increasing in heat with each bite, but nothing could escape the overwhelming taste of fennel. Over the top on the fennel. Maybe you like fennel. Painturo's loves it. The spice was overpowered, the heavy presence of onion powder was overpowered, even the tomatoes were overpowered by the heavily aromatic FENNEL.

So, the dominant sauce flavor killed it for me. But that shouldn't stop you. Give it a try and tell me what you like. I would certainly go again and try a different pizza.



Painturo's
Lebanon, Goodlettsville, Gallatin and Mt. Juliet
All Locations Open Monday - Saturday
Dine In, Carry Out and Catering

* * * * *

Cold Pizza:
Friday Night Slice, Part 1: MAFIAoZA's and Joey's House of Pizza
Friday Night Slice, Part 2: Pizza Perfect and Pizza Perfect Kebobs
Friday Night Slice, Part 3: Rudino's Pizza and Grinders
Friday Night Slice, Part 4: Chicago Style Italian Beef
Friday Night Slice, Part 5: Pie In The Sky
Friday Night Slice, Part 6: Castrillo's Pizza
Friday Night Slice, Part 7: California Pizza Kitchen
Friday Night Slice, Part 8: Ahart's Pizza Garden (Murfreesboro)
Friday Night Slice, Part 9: New York Pizza Depot (Clarksville)
Friday Night Slice, Part 10: Matteo's Pizzeria
Friday Night Slice, Part 11: Angelo's Picnic Pizza (Antioch)
Friday Night Slice, Part 12: Manny's House of Pizza
Friday Night Slice, Part 13: Nashville Pizza Co.
Friday Night Slice, Part 14: Brick's Cafe
Friday Night Slice, Part 15: Sal's Pizza (Hermitage)

Got any suggestions for places that I should cover? Let me know!

Friday Night Slice, Part 15

Sal's Pizza



I had only heard of Sal's Pizza and was directed to try it by one of our blog readers (thanks, Milner). According to that ever-reliable fountainhead of knowledge that is the internet, Sal's was originally opened by THE Sal - the Sal who opened the original Picnic Pizza in the Stones River area, which then moved to Antioch and became Angelo's Picnic Pizza to be run by his brother, Angelo, and now Nick, Angelo's son. You with me? Unfortunately, I cannot reliably give credit to or debunk that legend at this time (though I'll keep on it) as the Sal's we know today is under new, unrelated ownership.

While we're certainly interested in the history, we're here for the pizza. Sal's is the favorite pizza spot for many of our East side neighbors (Donelson / Hermitage was "East Nashville" before "East Nashville" was cool), and when I mentioned my mini road trip to Sal's to some family and friends living nearby, they all came to meet me.



Sal's offers both delivery and dining-in with an amazingly low-priced lunch buffet (all you "care to" eat, $6.99). And this is no phone-it-in buffet as hot, fresh pies with a variety of toppings are always rotating in and out of the bar. The buffet includes salads, pastas, meatballs, bread sticks, potato cakes and more...but I won't mention the other buffet menu items that I tried. I certainly won't mention the meatballs. But at the front of the line is the freshly sliced pepperoni pizza...



Sal's starts with a medium-thin crust that is dense with a little interior fluff and a very mild buttery taste. It is slightly thicker than some of the other thin crusts we've tried and leaning more towards the chewy side than the cracker crispy side. It's covered in a heavy, chunky tomato sauce that is clearly house-made with visible spices and bits of tomato. The sauce is warm and tasty with a somewhat sweet introduction and a delicate amount of heat that lingers and builds with each bite. The pepperoni has a bit of the spice as well, topping the pie in thin-cut and very juicy slices.

The build up is good, but the cheese is our winner today. It is an absolutely delicious milky mozzarella that is thick and globby with a high pull away. As I tried different slices from different pies (even with other topping combinations) it was always tasty and surprisingly good in the various quantities and pairings. The cheese alone is worth the drive.



the dining experience:

There is ample seating room in the dining area where you can gaze around the room and be certain that you are NOT in Italy with the gold-framed photos of famous Italian (pronounced eye-tal-yun) landmarks, actors and mob movies. There is a noted "grapevine" theme carried from the wallpaper boarder to the coated tablecloths.

Now here's the part that I don't like. Please note that this is ONE person's experience on ONE afternoon, but I might have been slightly turned off by the lack of cleanliness in the dining room. And I'm not just talking about previous patrons who didn't put away their trays. I'd start with some mid-shift basic mopping and table wiping. Perhaps it was just one busy afternoon, but I've got to give you my honest opinion.

Overall though, the pizza was hot, fresh and tasty, the meal is very competitively priced and the service is not overly friendly but also not shouting at each other. I definitely recommend a visit.

Sal's Pizza and Restaurant
710 Stewarts Ferry Pike. Hermitage, Tennessee (map)
Open Daily 10am - 10pm, Lunch Buffet 11am - 2pm, Delivery until Midnight
Dine In, Carry Out, Delivery and Catering

* * * * *

Cold Pizza:
Friday Night Slice, Part 1: MAFIAoZA's and Joey's House of Pizza
Friday Night Slice, Part 2: Pizza Perfect and Pizza Perfect Kebobs
Friday Night Slice, Part 3: Rudino's Pizza and Grinders
Friday Night Slice, Part 4: Chicago Style Italian Beef
Friday Night Slice, Part 5: Pie In The Sky
Friday Night Slice, Part 6: Castrillo's Pizza
Friday Night Slice, Part 7: California Pizza Kitchen
Friday Night Slice, Part 8: Ahart's Pizza Garden (Murfreesboro)
Friday Night Slice, Part 9: New York Pizza Depot (Clarksville)
Friday Night Slice, Part 10: Matteo's Pizzeria
Friday Night Slice, Part 11: Angelo's Picnic Pizza
Friday Night Slice, Part 12: Manny's House of Pizza
Friday Night Slice, Part 13: Nashville Pizza Co.
Friday Night Slice, Part 14: Brick's Cafe

Got any suggestions for places that I should cover? Let me know!

Friday Night Slice, Part 14

Brick's Cafe



Brick's Cafe is one of the relatively newer joints in town, opened in 2003 in its Franklin (Fieldstone Farms) spot. The locally owned and operated restaurant now has three locations across town, taking a spot in the recently renovated Brentwood Place Shopping Center (next to Five Guys) and taking over the space formerly occupied by Uncle Gio's Pizza (R.I.P.) on Nolensville Road in the South Nashville Cane Ridge area.

A friend of mine has been recommending Brick's for a few weeks now and she was kind enough to join me at the Brentwood location to split a pepperoni and cheese pizza for this week's installment of Friday Night Slice.

Side note about aforementioned friend: She used to be a vegetarian. She is currently married to a butcher / meat manager. *Used to* be a vegetarian.

Brick's touts itself as a causal restaurant that specializes in brick oven pizzas. Unlike other places I've visited, there was no denying the authenticity here as a huge, open face, fiery brick oven overlooks the dining room. The place was much jazzier than I was expecting with skinny beverage glasses and swanky black linens, and the menu was far more expansive than I had anticipated as well. Brick's offers soups, salads, sandwiches and pastas along with a large, inventive pizza menu including a Crawfish and Hot Sausage pie.



Our pepperoni and cheese pizza arrived piping hot. Steam escaped as we removed the first triangular-cut slice to reveal a heavy, high pull-away factor cheese that was immediately promising. The cheese and the sauce equally vie for attention in the first bite as both are unique and delicious. The sauce is thick and sweet with small tomato chunks and fresh spices that step out of the standard Italian comfort zone. The cheese is a tangy mozzarella with a smoked provolone that is thick, smooth and absolutely amazing. The crust was distinct and surprising as well - a thin crust with a soft, flexible base, fluffy interior and cracker-crisp outside edge. The pepperoni was rather mild, but fresh, tasty and a perfect complement to the sauce.



Everything about Brick's was a pleasant, welcome surprise. We've all had the ho hum wood fired pizzas in "regular restaurants" where chefs attempt to cover a multitude of sins with a heavy sprinkling of random spices (I'm pointing to you, Bosco's), but Brick's appropriately marries unique flavors and offers a great pizza that is different than what you'll find in most places around middle Tennessee. I'll definitely be back to explore the menu more. Thanks, Rachel!

Brick's Cafe
3 Locations: Nashville, Brentwood and Franklin
Sun-Thur 11am-9pm, Fri-Sat 11am-10pm
Dine In and Take Out

* * * * *

Cold Pizza:
Friday Night Slice, Part 1: MAFIAoZA's and Joey's House of Pizza
Friday Night Slice, Part 2: Pizza Perfect and Pizza Perfect Kebobs
Friday Night Slice, Part 3: Rudino's Pizza and Grinders
Friday Night Slice, Part 4: Chicago Style Italian Beef
Friday Night Slice, Part 5: Pie In The Sky
Friday Night Slice, Part 6: Castrillo's Pizza
Friday Night Slice, Part 7: California Pizza Kitchen
Friday Night Slice, Part 8: Ahart's Pizza Garden (Murfreesboro)
Friday Night Slice, Part 9: New York Pizza Depot (Clarksville)
Friday Night Slice, Part 10: Matteo's Pizzeria
Friday Night Slice, Part 11: Angelo's Picnic Pizza
Friday Night Slice, Part 12: Manny's House of Pizza
Friday Night Slice, Part 13: Nashville Pizza Co.

Got any suggestions for places that I should cover? Let me know!

Friday Night Slice, Part 13

Nashville Pizza Company



"The Holy Roman Empire was neither holy nor Roman nor an empire. Discuss." - Linda Richman

With two locations in Franklin, the Nashville Pizza Company is a locally owned business that's been serving thin-crust pies since 1997 - "locally" owned by two native Arkansans (hence the smoked ham Razorback pizza on the menu) who moved here specifically to set up shop and dominate the pizza market with fresh ingredients and a unique crust.

Pizza by the slice is available during lunch hours, but every other pizza is made fresh to order with your choice of standard or exotic ingredients. NPC additionally offers Specialty (and Super Specialty) pizzas including Harvey's Special (smoked turkey, jalapenos, mozzarella and cheddar) and The Florentine (olive oil, mozzarella, parmesan, pepper jack, garlic, Alfredo sauce, spinach, onions, mushrooms, bacon, artichoke hearts and tomatoes). But you know what we ordered.



The NPC crust is the thinnest of the thin as it is folded, pressed, rolled flat and brushed lightly with water on the base before baking. It's brittle and cracker-thin all the way to the curved edge, similar to the thin crust Chicago-style or St. Louis-style pies but without the square party cut. The flavor is (intentionally) minimal but the crunch is great.



The full and slightly spicy sauce was outstanding. It was gently thick with a bit of graininess from the tiny bits of tomato and spice, nicely covering the crust interior. The flavor went well with the thin sliced pepperoni rounds that also held a bit of spice. The cheese, unfortunately, was the biggest disappointment. The quantity was average and the pull-away was fair, but the quality and flavor that you expect from the non-chains was wholly absent. You could tell it was fresh cheese (a basic mozzarella) and it was there for you in every bite, but it never asked you to notice it.

The underwhelming cheese made the whole pie fall into the mediocre "eh, it was pretty good" category, but then we looked down:



No leftovers. EVERY piece had been eaten. Hmm. It was certainly good enough to finish. The Mr. attributes it to the thin crust. He says that this crust doesn't give you that "false fullness" that you get with other crusts and other foods (like pasta). Perhaps I need to recommend this pizza more than I thought I would? The must-try crust and excellent sauce are worth the trip, but for now, I don't think that Nashville's best pizza is in Franklin.

Nashville Pizza Company
Hillsboro Road and Watson Glen
Mon-Thur: 11am-9pm; Fri-Sat: 11am-10pm; Sun: 12pm-8pm
Dine In and Carry Out

* * * * *

Cold Pizza:
Friday Night Slice, Part 1: MAFIAoZA's and Joey's House of Pizza
Friday Night Slice, Part 2: Pizza Perfect and Pizza Perfect Kebobs
Friday Night Slice, Part 3: Rudino's Pizza and Grinders
Friday Night Slice, Part 4: Chicago Style Italian Beef
Friday Night Slice, Part 5: Pie In The Sky
Friday Night Slice, Part 6: Castrillo's Pizza
Friday Night Slice, Part 7: California Pizza Kitchen
Friday Night Slice, Part 8: Ahart's Pizza Garden (Murfreesboro)
Friday Night Slice, Part 9: New York Pizza Depot (Clarksville)
Friday Night Slice, Part 10: Matteo's Pizzeria
Friday Night Slice, Part 11: Angelo's Picnic Pizza
Friday Night Slice, Part 12: Manny's House of Pizza

Got any suggestions for places that I should cover? Let me know!

Friday Night Slice, Part 12

Manny's House of Pizza



Nashville's first shopping center was born in 1902, constructed in an alley located between Fourth and Fifth Avenue downtown. Modeled after the "arcade" Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II in Milan, Italy, it is one of the few standing examples in the United States built in this covered archway style with Italian Palladian facades flanking both entrances. The architecture has helped make the Nashville Arcade a mysterious sort of time capsule...you can even find a few of the original tenants still keeping shop inside, including the famous Nashville Nut Peanut Shop and Tony's Shoe Shine. (I love that one. I hardly know any men who shine their shoes at all anymore, let alone visit an outside establishment to have a special shining.)



But since 1984, one of the Arcade's most popular tenants has been Manny Macca. Brooklyn raised and Brooklyn pizza trained, Manny moved to Nashville and opened Manny's House of Pizza to bring the real deal New York-style pies to the Southland. You may also know his little brother, Joey, who set up shop in Brentwood and Spring Hill.



We've been to Joey's, now let's talk Manny's. Of course, I ordered a large, triangular slice of New York-style pepperoni and cheese pizza.



The crust is outstanding. It doesn't have any dazzling, exotic flavors: it knows its role and plays it beautifully with perfect texture and crunch. The base is paper thin with a light dusting of flour while the edges are soft inside and very crisp on the outside. A lesser crust couldn't hold Manny's sauce as it is thick, chunky and all over the place. I mean it - get at least five napkins. I usually don't like sauces applied this heavily, but this sauce was pretty tasty. There was a small hint of sweetness amidst the thickset tomatoes with a little bit of heat left behind. The pepperoni had a pleasantly surprising kick of heat as well in its big, juicy rounds...but the cheese is the highlight of the pie. This cheese is just out of control. It's a parmesan and mozzarella blend that is gooey, creamy, juicy and delicious with some of the highest pull away I've encountered. Mmmmm. And I can't believe I'm saying this, but the top was gently sprinkled (take note, Joey) with an Oregano-heavy Italian spice blend that was a welcome finish. At the end of the day, this was one outstanding slice of pizza (and just $4.35 with a large fountain drink).

Maybe if I lived in New York and could get pizza like this around every corner I'd quit my gushing already - but this is Nashville, and Manny's serves it like it's New York. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

the dining experience:

When you walk in the front door at House of Pizza, you're already in line. You can order your slice to eat in or take out with seating available inside the surprisingly large dining room area with a few outdoor chairs and table in the arcade alleyway. Good luck getting one of those at lunchtime downtown. We arrived after the lunch rush however, so we had our choice of the "outdoor" arcade seating where we could dine alongside a few pigeons, a few crazy people, the custodial crew and some cops.

And when you're carrying a huge New York slice in one hand and a 25-pound 11-month-old in the other, having someone come get the door for you and help you to your seat outside is awfully nice. Thank you, Manny.



Manny's House of Pizza
15 Arcade Building, Nashville, TN 37219 (map)
Mon-Fri: 10am-6pm, Sat: 11am-5pm, Sun: Closed
Dine In, Carry Out, Delivery and Catering

* * * * *

Cold Pizza:
Friday Night Slice, Part 1: MAFIAoZA's and Joey's House of Pizza
Friday Night Slice, Part 2: Pizza Perfect and Pizza Perfect Kebobs
Friday Night Slice, Part 3: Rudino's Pizza and Grinders
Friday Night Slice, Part 4: Chicago Style Italian Beef
Friday Night Slice, Part 5: Pie In The Sky
Friday Night Slice, Part 6: Castrillo's Pizza
Friday Night Slice, Part 7: California Pizza Kitchen
Friday Night Slice, Part 8: Ahart's Pizza Garden (Murfreesboro)
Friday Night Slice, Part 9: New York Pizza Depot (Clarksville)
Friday Night Slice, Part 10: Matteo's Pizzeria
Friday Night Slice, Part 11: Angelo's Picnic Pizza

Got any suggestions for places that I should cover? Let me know!

Friday Night Slice, Part 11

Angelo's Picnic Pizza

The story of Angelo's begins with two brothers - Sal and Angelo - living in Brooklyn, New York. In the early 1990s, Sal took a nice long road trip from New York to Florida, sneaking west a little to drive through Tennessee. While heading up I-24, his car broke down around the Hickory Hollow mall exit just outside of Nashville.

Circa 1993, there are many things that one might notice should they stumble upon L.A. (you know it, lower Antioch). Spenser's Gifts sure does think Beavis and Butthead is funny. That would be true. There are more car dealerships here than people. It seems that way. Yes! They have Crystal Pepsi in the food court. That's the subject of another post, another day. Nice bangs, Misty. You too, Shane.

But when Sal stopped in, his first thought was pizza...or lack thereof. He immediately called his brother, Angelo, and decided that they needed to set up shop and bring Brooklyn-style pizza to Antioch.

Sixteen years later, Nick LaMattina (Sal's nephew and Angelo's son) and his wife, Marcella, moved down from Brooklyn to take over the transplanted family business that now operates out of two locations - Antioch and Murfreesboro. The family tradition is maintained with slow-cooked tomato sauce, hand-tossed dough and fresh toppings sliced daily. The restaurants offer pastas, calzones, subs and salads as well, but the pizza is what we're here for and certainly what they're best known for. I first learned of Picnic Pizza from an enthusiastic recommendation on the A Man's Gotta Eat blog last year.

Angelo's Picnic Pizza offers the truest-to-form “New York style” pizza slice that I've found thus far in my searching. The hand-rolled dough is pressed out into a very thin, but still flexible form, then cut in large, wide triangular slices. Its crunchy on the bottom and edges with a slightly gooey, gummy base that just screams New York. The flavor in the crust is minimal - good without trying to be jazzy - which is echoed in the sauce. Its clear that fresh ingredients are used, but they stick to the basics, laying the foundation with simple flavors. The soft mozzarella cheese is bubbly and delicious with a medium-high pull away factor. The pepperoni is, well, just decent. It has great texture, but only a hint of spice. (For my comparative reviews, I'm still rolling with the pepperoni and cheese - but next I'll be trying that double-crust, stuffed pizza.)

All said, Angelo's serves a pretty great slice of pizza. Its very authentic to its declared style and puts up a pretty serious fight against Joey's House of Pizza. The service isn't nearly as "entertaining" at Angelo's, but skipping that last unnecessary dousing of oregano* that Joey's all-too-often abuses might just edge them ahead.



*Note: For the record, my husband, wrong as I feel he is, thinks that the reckless and haphazard sprinkling of oregano at Joey's is perfect. He has witnessed it being placed on the pizza and swears that it is applied with special care and attention.

Angelo's Picnic Pizza
Murfreesboro Road (Antioch) and S. Church Street (Murfreesboro)
M-Th 10:30am - 9:30pm; Fr-Sat 10:30am - 10:30pm; Sun 4:30pm - 8:30pm
Dine In and Carry Out

* * * * *

Cold Pizza:
Friday Night Slice, Part 1: MAFIAoZA's and Joey's House of Pizza
Friday Night Slice, Part 2: Pizza Perfect and Pizza Perfect Kebobs
Friday Night Slice, Part 3: Rudino's Pizza and Grinders
Friday Night Slice, Part 4: Chicago Style Italian Beef
Friday Night Slice, Part 5: Pie In The Sky
Friday Night Slice, Part 6: Castrillo's Pizza
Friday Night Slice, Part 7: California Pizza Kitchen
Friday Night Slice, Part 8: Ahart's Pizza Garden (Murfreesboro)
Friday Night Slice, Part 9: New York Pizza Depot (Clarksville)
Friday Night Slice, Part 10: Matteo's Pizzeria

Got any suggestions for places that I should cover? Let me know!

Friday Night Slice, Part 10

Matteo's Pizzeria



Old Franklin faithful know the name Matteo's Pizza from its original location inside The Factory where this locally owned restaurant (and catering outfit) established itself as an outstanding place to get fresh, specialty pizzas. A local favorite, of course, is the Rocky Top pizza (Red Sauce, Mozzarella Cheese, Italian Sausage, Pepperoni, Bacon, Mushroom, Onion and Black Olives), named for our state song and university anthem. Now in its tenth year, Matteo's serves pizza out of Cool Springs using pure Italian olive oil for their hand-made pizza dough, made on-site daily. They pride themselves on not cutting any corners, offering the finest quality and freshest cheeses, meats and vegetables.

But more than offering a tasty pizza, Matteo's strives to offer healthy pizza that is sensitive to the dietary needs of some of their patrons. A few years into the business, manager Peter Spellman decided to hone in on a market segment left mostly unserved in middle Tennessee: the gluten-free community. Individuals with wheat allergies and celiac disease often adhere to a gluten-free diet that excludes wheat, barley, rye and even some oats. Individuals following this diet steer clear of the direct gluten-based food items (such as grains, cereals, pastas and typical pizza dough), but they must avoid products that include gluten and even products processed on shared equipment as well.

Matteo's has undertaken the meticulous, precise process required to ensure that their pizzas are gluten-free. They have a separate gluten-free prep room with separate tools and sinks where they build pizzas that are completely free of fillers and additives. Seeing themselves as part of the middle Tennessee community, they wish to offer a tasty option for gluten-free dieters and a healthier option for all pizza lovers.

*NOTE: You can order either "regular" or gluten-free pizzas. Not ALL pizzas served at Matteo's are gluten-free.

It's an interesting niche market and one that continues to rise in popularity. While only 1% of Americans have celiac disease, using a gluten-free diet to treat self-diagnosed stomach ailments has become almost something of a fad. As in, gluten is the new carb, maybe? (read more about it here)

But enough about that...how did it taste?



We chose to "create our own" half-and-half thin crust pizza with, of course, pepperoni and cheese on one side, adding sausage and black olives on the other. Matteo's offers a true, traditional thin crust that is hard, flaky and very crispy to the edge. The pie was cut into party squares which surely measured no more than 1/2-inch in total thickness. The sauce was applied very, very thinly and from the small amount left to taste, it was light and tomato-ey with a tiny tinge of sweetness. It was a good sauce with noticeable but not overwhelming flavor. A thin coat of cheese covered nearly every inch of the pie. There was very little pull-away, but the cheese was distinct and delicious, thick and somewhat creamy. The pepperoni was good, just good, safe and predictably un-spicy. With pepperoni, most places stick to simple flavors that appeal to the masses.



Overall, Matteo's is a friendly, local establishment that serves a pretty good pizza at prices typically a buck or so lower than the monster chains. They're haunted by the many naysayers who claim that the quality declined with the move out of The Factory, but their newer gluten-free fans might be heard a little louder.


Matteo's Pizza
1800 Carothers Parkway, Brentwood, TN 37207 (map)
Mon - Thurs 11:00am - 8:30pm; Fri - Sat 11:00am - 9:00pm; closed Sun
Dine In, Carry Out, Order Online

* * * * *

Cold Pizza:
Friday Night Slice, Part 1: MAFIAoZA's and Joey's House of Pizza
Friday Night Slice, Part 2: Pizza Perfect and Pizza Perfect Kebobs
Friday Night Slice, Part 3: Rudino's Pizza and Grinders
Friday Night Slice, Part 4: Chicago Style Italian Beef
Friday Night Slice, Part 5: Pie In The Sky
Friday Night Slice, Part 6: Castrillo's Pizza
Friday Night Slice, Part 7: California Pizza Kitchen
Friday Night Slice, Part 8: Ahart's Pizza Garden (Murfreesboro)
Friday Night Slice, Part 9: New York Pizza Depot (Clarksville)

Got any suggestions for places that I should cover? Let me know!

Friday Night Slice, Part 8

Ahart's Pizza Garden

This week, we're traveling Southeast on I-24 to Ahart's Pizza Garden in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. We first learned about Ahart's a few years back when the Mr. was in school in Murfreesboro. One of his professors recommended the new local pizza spot opened in 2003 by his neighbors, Mr. and Mrs. Ahart.



Ahart's offers fresh, handmade thin crust pizzas. You can design your own pizza with either traditional or gourmet toppings (including the likes of albacore tuna, almonds, capers, or a dollop of sour cream?) or choose from the 22 signature styles ranging from the 'Boro Pizza (fresh basil, sun dried tomato, garlic and feta cheese) to the Bony Marony (no sauce, broccoli, mushrooms, fajita chicken, tomato, garlic, parmesan and roasted red pepper). We, of course, ordered the regular 10" thin crust pizza with cheese and pepperoni.



Ahart's crust is very thin, dense and crunchy. It's certainly not intended to be the highlight of the pizza as it has a very plain flavor with little happening beyond the standard ingredients. The sauce is middle-of-the-road as well - a basic tomato sauce that is spread evenly and thinly without any lingering chunks. The cheese is a creamy and tasty blended mozzarella and mild provolone which decreases the pull-away, but adds a slight smoky flavor. The pepperoni slices were typical of what you'll find in most pizza places: pretty good and pretty juicy, but with an uneventful amount of spice of flavor. I think that I could have done without that dousing of oregano on top though - it seemed a little heavier than usual.



We've visited Ahart's a number of times over the years and it has always been great. It became a staple of our visits to the 'Boro. Unfortunately, on the evening that we dined-in for this review, the pizza was not quite as good as I remembered. Maybe it was just an off night. I'll certainly keep going back.

...and for those of you who save room for dessert, you'll certainly want to take a peek at the dessert tray, featuring the homemade cheesecakes and pies of Mrs. Bonita Ahart. Mrs. Ahart was in the restaurant on the evening of our visit and we sampled a slice of her thick, gooey and delicious Oreo pie. Mmmm.



the dining experience:

Ahart's has a family-owned, local feel, offering a cozy medium-sized dining room with booths, tables, televisions and a couple of arcade games. On Friday nights and game nights, the restaurant is more crowded, but its the never loud, bustling room that you'll find at MAFIAoZA's or Pizza Perfect. With pizzas made to order, it isn't the fastest place that you could go, but the service is always friendly.



Ahart's Pizza Garden
476 Old Fort Pkwy. Murfreesboro, TN 37128 (map)
Sun - Thur: 11:00am - 9:00pm, Fri - Sat: 11:00am - 10:00pm
Dine In and Carry Out


* * * * *

Cold Pizza:
Friday Night Slice, Part 1: MAFIAoZA's and Joey's House of Pizza
Friday Night Slice, Part 2: Pizza Perfect and Pizza Perfect Kebobs
Friday Night Slice, Part 3: Rudino's Pizza and Grinders
Friday Night Slice, Part 4: Chicago Style
Friday Night Slice, Part 5: Pie In The Sky
Friday Night Slice, Part 6: Castrillo's Pizza
Friday Night Slice, Part 7: California Pizza Kitchen


Got any suggestions for places that I should cover? Let me know!