Local Pie (8 W. Pennsylvania Ave.)

All of you avid bar-goers may have seen this restaurant just a few buildings down from B Lounge and Charles Village Pub and wondered what it is. Well, I’m here to end the mystery. The Local Pie, Towson’s new artisan pizza restaurant, is the real deal and here to stay.

The restaurant, located at 8 W. Pennsylvania Ave. took the place of the former Cuban restaurant, Havana Road. With an eye for locally sourced products, their menu is constantly changing depending on what’s in season. When I went last week, there were about a dozen different pizza choices and a couple of salad choices, all of which were as interesting and playful as the next.

The restaurant’s décor is clean and refined with white walls and framed pictures placed carefully around the room. Once inside, the menu and cashier are waiting to greet you and take your order. After a long deliberation, I decided I had to try two different pies. I went with the smashed meatball ($14) and the squash and tomato ($13). The smashed meatball pizza featured bison meatballs with house made mozzarella, tomato sauce and hot peppers and was definitely the highlight of the meal.

The Smashed Meatball Pizza. Photo taken by Taylor Seidel/TU Student.

The squash and tomato pizza, which was also good, had delicious oven dried tomatoes and a basil pesto sauce. We were also recommended the duck egg pizza ($13) with a fried egg on top, and a boar and bleu ($14) with braised boar bacon and an onion jam. These pizzas aren’t deep dishes or dough filled. They are thin and crispy 12-inch masterpieces.

The Local Pie is BYOB, so make sure to pick up a bottle of wine before dinner. Lisa Heckman and Peter Wood, former owners of Mt. Vernon’s Iggies, struck gold with this local artisan pizzeria.

Hope you all enjoy, as this new addition to the Towson community has satisfied the cravings of pizza lovers.

Until next time. I wish you GoodEats!

 

 

Edited by Jared Kurlander.

Pizza, Pizza and More Pizza

For this week’s edition of GoodEats, I’m going to do something a little different. Everyone is always asking me about pizza. Where do I find the best slice? What’s the best place In Towson? What toppings are the best? So, for this week I’m going to rattle off some of my favorite pizza joints in Towson.

I have to start off talking about Pasta Mista (822 Dulaney Valley Rd.) located right across from the Towson Town Center in the Dulaney Plaza Shopping Center. This Towson University staple is one of my favorite joints. With over 10 different specialty pizzas and the option to make your own (available by the slice or the whole pizza), Pasta Mista is a go-to for a quick slice. My favorites are: the chicken parmesan, white veggie with fresh veggies and a blend of mozzarella and parmesan cheese, and lastly the spaghetti slice stuffed with pasta, tomato sauce and cheese. If you aren’t in the mood for pizza, Pasta Mista has other options including salads, subs, pasta dishes and calzones.

Chicken Parm Pizza. Photo taken by Taylor Seidel/TU Student.

Next is a restaurant I wrote about not too long ago regarding their Cajun flare. Tooloulou (529 E. Belvedere Ave.) located in Belvedere Square takes a different spin on their pizzas. Pizzas with interesting toppings, pairings and flavor combinations are what you’ll find at Tooloulou. Try the Tooloulou ($14) with a white sauce, crab, Andouille sausage, banana peppers, mozzarella and Old Bay. Another interesting specialty is the smoked duck ($15) with a house smoked duck, caramelized onion, sweet peppers, goat cheese and a balsamic reduction. Pizzas are only sold whole (12 inches). The menu includes specialty pizzas, a daily special and the option to create your own pizza from their fresh ingredients. Tooloulou also features sandwiches, po’boys and salads.

Tooloulou’s Market Pizza. Photo taken from Tooloulou Instagram.

Earth, Wood and Fire (1407 Clarkview Road) is my last suggestion. Earth, Wood and Fire cook all of their pizzas in a wood oven, giving the pizza a distinct charred taste. The wood fire also makes way for some crunchy crust. Give the white pizza ($14) a try, with four different types of cheese, garlic and olive oil. Another one of their specialties is the scampi ($15), which has shrimp, a blend of three different cheeses, garlic and olive oil. Earth, Wood and Fire also features sandwiches, salads and small plates (you have to try the wings as well).

White Pizza from Earth Wood & Fire. Photo taken by Taylor Seidel/TU Student.

Other honorable mentions include Fortunado Brothers Pizza (6374 York Road) and Italian Gardens (814 Kenilworth Drive).

 

Hopefully next time you’re looking for a great slice in the area this list can come in handy. Until next time, I wish you GoodEats!

 

 

Edited by Jared Kurlander.

DiPasquale’s Italian Marketplace (3700 Gough Street)

About 100 years ago, a young entrepreneur, Luigi Di Pasquale Sr., opened a corner grocery market in the Highlandtown community. The grocery store specialized in fine Italian and specialty foods.

Fast-forward to today, and the market has become a seasoned restaurant that prospers from using real ingredients and homemade recipes.

This Italian Stallion (sorry, not Rocky Balboa) is tried and true with some amazing Italian specialties. So, my loyal GoodEatsMD followers, I introduce my newest addition to the list: DiPasquales Italian Marketplace.

Not the Dipasquale’s in Towson that recently closed, but nestled in a historic part of Baltimore City, DiPasquale’s blends in with the iconic Baltimore row houses. Keep your eyes peeled as you drive up Gough Street for the 5-foot Italian chef figure situated next to the front door. If that doesn’t catch your eye, just look for the historic brick building with the DiPasquale’s decal plastered on the storefront.

The interior is exactly what I expected: rows of Italian specialties for purchase, with a focal point around a long deli-style counter in the back of the restaurant. The deli counter was flooded with people queuing up to get their hands on tasty Italian treats.

The menu is focused around imported Italian meats and cheeses used to sculpt some of the biggest and most flavorful sandwiches I’ve ever seen. The menu doesn’t stop at just sandwiches.

DiPasquale’s also features Italian favorites including pasta dishes, homemade soups, appetizers, salads and brick oven pizzas cooked right in the dining room.

I was overwhelmed once it was my time to order. You would think standing in line for 10 minutes would give me enough time to think of something for lunch, but nope. The menu was huge and everything just looked amazing.

I had to seek out some guidance from the man taking orders at the counter. He suggested The Real Italian ($8.95), which has everything you could ever want on a sandwich. The sandwich somehow fits salami, pepper ham, mortadella, capicola, provolone and “everything” including olive oil and vinegar, their special blend of grated cheeses and spices, lettuce, tomato, onions and mild hots (I know, that was a mouthful). The kicker has to be the freshly baked Italian loaf the sandwich is served on. With all those meats and toppings, bread has to be sturdy enough to support it. You would think all of the ingredients would just muddle the taste, but each meat and condiment comes through clearly and complimented the next. Ladies and gentlemen, I give this sandwich two thumbs up.

The Real Italian. Photo by Taylor Seidel/TU Student

Being my first time in years enjoying DiPasquale’s, I had to indulge. I ordered the Arancini ($4.95) house-made Sicilian rice balls, stuffed with meat and cheese and smothered in their homemade red sauce.

Meat stuffed rice balls. Photo by Taylor Seidel/TU Student

I told you I was indulging, so this is a judge-free zone. Next, I had to try some of their gnocchi chicken soup ($4.95). The gnocchi (little potato dumplings) were perfectly tender and seasoned.

I know some of you may still be hesitant. So, to help drive this home I’ve enlisted one of my good friends, Guy Fieri (not really my friend at all, but if he did know me, we would be friends I hope). Guy Fieri, Food Network’s host of “Diners, Drive-ins and Dives,” made it a point to visit the storied Italian Marketplace on a trip to Baltimore.  Fieri, an Italian by birth, knows his way around Italian food. His thought on DiPasquales included saying it is, “your place for everything Italian.”

Stop whatever your doing and make the drive to DiPasquale’s Italian Marketplace. Lucky for you all they are open Monday through Saturday from 9 a.m until 6 p.m. So no excuses!

Until next time. I wish you GoodEats.

 

Please take a moment and vote for my blog in  The Baltimore Sun’s “Best New Blog” category in their 6th annual Mobbies competition.

 

 

Edited by Jared Kurlander.

Earth, Wood & Fire (1407 Clarkview Road)

The next restaurant I had the pleasure of enjoying was Earth, Wood & Fire. Located on a side street right off of Falls Road in Towson, it’s hard to miss it. Just look for the Princeton Sports Store and you’ll find the restaurant across the street.

The décor is extremely chic, filled with high ceilings and wooden tables throughout the space, with a open kitchen in front. The restaurant is perfumed with the rustic smell of wood burning from the open flame in the kitchen.

The menu is pretty extensive for a pizza shop, but everything is exceptional. Try the wings, a buffalo-esque dry rubbed order cooked in the open fire. They were suggested to me by my waitress and were delicious. The burgers, hand-packed and cooked to perfection, were surprisingly good as well.

But let’s cut to the main deal though: the pizza. You start with your choice of crust, either whole wheat or plain. The hard part comes when selecting toppings. Their specialty and suggested pizzas all sound amazing. I had to go with one of my personal favorites, the infamous white pizza. A traditional olive oil and garlic base, topped with mozzarella, provolone cheese and dollops of ricotta. It was scrumptious, all starting with the crispy thin crust and accented by a smoky coal-fired cooking process. The Pesto pizza was also scarfed down, featuring pesto sauce, garlic chicken and fresh mozzarella cheese.

Earth, Wood & Fire was delicious and a true GoodEat. I hope you all enjoy.

Pizza prices were between $11 and $18 depending on topics and size (10’’ or 14,’’ respecitvely)

Sandwiches and Burgers were no more than $15.

If you love Goodeats, please follow my Twitter and Instagram accounts at GoodEatsMD.

Until next time. I wish you GoodEats!

White Pizza

Edited by Jared Kurlander.

Chiapperelli’s (237 S. High Street)

Little Italy is an area located in Baltimore, just east of the harbor, bustling with some of the best Italian restaurants this town has to offer. Atop my list is Chiapperelli’s. This ‘Italian Stallion’ is next on the list of GoodEats.

Located smack dab in the middle of Little Italy off High Street, the simple blue awning and stone-front of the restaurant blends right in with the rustic atmosphere of the area. Once inside, the brick walls and friendly wait staff create a pleasant atmosphere.

I consider myself quite the Italian food connoisseur, and Chiapperelli’s surpassed all expectations.

I went with a small party of guys who were hungry and craving some good Italian food.

We started off with an order of mussels served with a garlic and white wine sauce, and crispy garlic bread to mop up some of the juices. We also got an order of sausage and peppers, featuring local sausages served with a homemade marinara sauce. Both of the appetizers were quite good. The waitress recommended the calamari, which I caught a glance of as it left the kitchen, and it looked amazing. Next time I’ll have to get it.

The famed Chiapperelli’s salad came next, served with homemade, crispy white loaves of bread. The salad is a spectacle in itself. It’s huge salad served with an amazing garlicky dressing and topped with spicy pepperoncini’s. As long as you get an entrée, you will get to indulge in this specialty.

The main course was the hardest to decide on, so. The majority of my party ordered Chicken Parmesan, so I knew I had to be different. I went with a house specialty, Vitello Leo, which is breaded veal cutlet, tomato, prosciutto, provolone & mushrooms, in a rich Marsala sauce. It was great. I tried the chicken parmesan as well and it was exceptional.

Chiapperelli’s is relatively cheap for all the food you get. An average meal is between $19 and $25 dollars, and that includes bread, a salad and an entrée.

Whatever Italian specialty you decide on will be great, so be adventurous. Try something a little different.

If you’re in the mood for good Italian food and don’t mind a short drive downtown, please give Chiapperelli’s a try.

Until next time. I wish you GoodEats.

Mussels served with a white wine and garlic sauce.

Vitello Leo – veal cutlets, with prosciutto, tomatoes, cheese and mushrooms.

My friends and I enjoying good food and each others company.

 

 

Edited by Jared Kurlander.

Pizza John’s (113 Back River Neck Road)

Recently, a friend and I were in the Essex area running errands, when I remembered a restaurant recommended to me not to long ago. Pizza John’s was that restaurants name and it was my next restaurant on GoodEats.

Located just a few minutes from Eastern Avenue, it’ll be tough to miss the gigantic pizza-man structure located in front of the restaurant. This Italian restaurant powerhouse has been family owned since 1966.

Once inside the recently expanded golden restaurant, you approach one of the several registers on the counter to place an order. Everything on the menu is fresh and most of the menu is made in house.

Atop the list of food to try has to be one of their homemade pizzas. You start with fresh dough topped with homemade sauce and fresh grated cheese, along with your choice of any of the ten extra pizza toppings. I recommend trying the sausage pizza with butcher-cut ground nuggets of deliciousness.

Another menu item worth a try is the Italian cheesesteak, which blends a fresh, crunchy submarine roll with ground butcher grade beef and your cheese of choice. This was quite the enjoyable cheesesteak.

A landmark of Baltimore and a favorite of the Essex community, this is a fantastic Italian restaurant.

Please Enjoy!

Until next time. I wish you GoodEats

Cheese steak sub on house made sub roll.

Homemade cheese pizza topped with ground sausage.

 

Edited by Jared Kurlander.

Matthew’s Pizza (3131 Eastern Avenue)

Let me start off by saying this was by far my favorite restaurant I have enjoyed thus far.  Located right off of Eastern Avenue in Baltimore City, trust me when I say if you blink you’ll miss this pizza lovers Mecca.

Tucked away in a residential area, Matthew’s is the epitome of a quirky dive restaurant.  The restaurant is painted bright green with a huge white fluorescent sign spanning the entire storefront stating “Matthew’s Pizzeria”. Once inside I can almost promise you a moderate wait, but please know its worth every minute you are standing in line.  The restaurant is nothing big; 10 small tables and a kitchen in the back is all that comprises this Baltimore landmark.

After your wait you get a table and are immediately greeted by a member of the very friendly staff.  I highly recommend one of the several salads that are big enough to share, all of which are made with fresh ingredients and topped with their unbelievable house dressing.  The appetizers are also to die for.  All are made in house and trust me, all are outstanding, especially the crab topped bruschetta.

Hopefully by now your salivating from the aromas escaping the kitchen.

All of the pizza’s are unreal.  Small and Large are the only two options but both are big enough to share.  WARNING: this description will make you hungry and will make you crave a Matthew’s Pizza.

I have never been so excited to enjoy a pizza more than when this delectable cheese pizza was placed in front of me.  The crust was the perfect combination of buttery, crispy and doughy.  Next comes the cheese to sauce ratio, which was unreal.  A perfect 10!  The sauce had a delectable balance of tanginess and spiciness attoped by freshly grated mozzarella cheese, which was truly a match made in heaven.  This pizza will keep you wanting more and more and trust me, it won’t disappoint.

Now if pizza isn’t  your cup of tea, the other italian food is just as amazing.  The pasta is unreal, accompanied with homemade meatballs  or sausage.  Another option is one of my favorites, a chicken parmesan sub.  Now you may be thinking chicken parmesan is something every italian restaurants does, well frankly, they don’t do it as well as Matthew’s.  It’s made with fresh baked bread, huge pieces of breaded chicken and topped with their sinful sauce and a monstrous helping of melted cheese.

Trust me when I say you can die happy after having a meal from Matthew’s Pizza regardless of what you get.

Matthew’s kitchen staff is strictly older Italian women whipping up family favorite recipes, all with fresh ingredients and a countless amount of love.  If you still aren’t convinced just look at the numerous Zagat, Urbanspoon and Baltimore Magazine rewards.

Please do enjoy responsibly, this restaurant is literally to die for.

Until next time.  I wish you GoodEats!

House Salad served with an amazing house dressing.

Chicken Parmesan Sub.

Famous Matthew’s cheese pizza.