I had made up my mind that I wasn't posting again until we went to Pizza Bella. I had my heart set on it, much like a petulant child gets their heart set on a new toy. I've had plenty of yawningly average meals that I could've posted about, but I was uninspired, uninterested, and unmotivated. I was on strike until I could get my butt down to 18th and Baltimore.Today, I am happy to report, was an inspiring day. Pizza Bella is beautiful and the food is worth the raves I've been hearing. El Dorado architects did a lovely job with the space - it feels modern inside without being alienatingly modern. It exudes a certain warmth that isn't just radiating from the wood-fired ovens, which are churning out delicious crusts beneath inventive topping combinations. I used to belong to the school of thought that held that no pizza should have more than three toppings - more than that and the crusts can be overwhelmed, the balance can be easily lost. But there are deft hands behind the counter putting these pizzas together, and there is just enough of everything on pizzas that could be overdone by the overzealous.
Let me just say, in case you need to direct your browser elsewhere: YUM. That is the long and the short of it.We started with a crispy brussel sprout antipasta, which was perfectly dressed with a pancetta vinaigrette, hazelnuts, dried cherries, and pecorino romano cheese. We shared two pizzas - the sausage (made with delicious fennel sausage) and the potato (with a perfect balance of creamy gorgonzola cheese and bitter radicchio). The crust was exceptional. It had the perfect smoky flavor from the wood, and the texture was incredible. It held up well against the toppings but was delicious all by itself. A little rye flour in the dough made for a pleasantly complex flavor.
The Crossroads is turning out delicious food these days. It makes me excited for what downtown is on the cusp of becoming.
Pizza Bella
1810 Baltimore Ave
816*471*PZZA
Sun-Thurs 11am - 10pm
Fri & Sat 11am - 12am
9 comments:
I never knew that existed. Thanks for the info.
oh my gosh--last time i was in the area they were still working on construction! i'm so glad to know they're finished--on my way over :)
i want to hear what you think about it! i gushed a bit, i know.
Hi Sara. Great to have found a fellow Kansas City food blogger. Come visit me at the ulterior epicure (http://www.ulteriorepicure.wordpress.com). I need to get to pizzabella soon. Thanks for the write-up.
Ciao!
u.e.
I'm in complete agreement with you. I ate at Pizza Bella the other night and LOVED it! The atmosphere is simple and refreshing - and for that matter, so was the pizza! I'm anxious to go back - especially after your glowing review. That potato pizza is calling my name. If you ask me, downtown just gets better every minute! Have you tried Souperman?
hi emily!
i'm a big fan of the whole souperman/pizza bella/1924 main enterprise! if they needed groupies, i'd find some free time...
i wrote about souperman in march (http://noodletown.blogspot.com/search?q=souperman) and we get soup to go from them fairly often.
glad to hear what you thought!
Mmmmmm....you're making me hungry!
I highly recommend the salami pie as well. Very tasty.
Sara--went to Pizza Bella:
Swoon.
good review. just there for lunch. the excellent food is a given, and the decor, yes...very nice. i was also impressed with the employees. they were calm and cool and took time with us during a crazy lunch rush.
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