Quickie: Tuscany Pizzaria

So far we’ve been spending most of our time at restaurants on the northwest side of the city, and we know that we’re missing out on a lot of good pizza as a result that fact. Partly this has to do with where we are based out of (New World Comics, located between 50th and 63rd on N. Meridian), and partly it has to do with our busy schedules and not having the time to make it down to the south side. But rest assured we are trying to fix that.

So, tonight we found ourselves down south, visiting our brothers from another mother, we suggested we grab some of the local pizza for dinner. Our good friend/brother Adam suggested we try Tuscany Pizzaria, located on SW 104th and S. Penn.

Should he have been trusted?

Since half of the New World Pizza crew was busy playing soccer and there were several more mouths to feed, we decided to forgo the standardized testing model and instead ordered the All Meat, the Supreme, the Hawaiian, and the Cheese pizzas. They all came on the standard Tuscany Pizzaria crust, which was thin and tasted more like Italian bread or breadsticks than a typical crust. This was especially noticeable on the Hawaiian pizza, which was brushed with a garlic glaze. The sauce was thin and smooth, but surprisingly savory. This fact, combined with the breadsticky crust, made for a pizza that tasted hardier than it actually was. The cheese was abundant and flavorful, without overwhelming the other elements. But as the connective tissue of the pizza, the cheese had some minor issues. Too often we’d lose a fair amount of the generous toppings due to cohesion problems. Other than that, the toppings at Tuscany Pizzaria are one of its high points. All the vegetables on the Supreme were fantastic (and, thankfully, olives are not a standard supreme topping here). The huge slices of Roma tomato were a great touch, as were the fresh mushrooms. The ham that came on all three on the non-cheese pizzas was in thick cut cube form, instead of those tiny slivers you find at most places. As a bonus, we managed to walk out of the restaurant with four large pizzas for less than $40.

As far as initial impressions go, we couldn’t be more pleased. We look forward to giving Tuscany Pizzaria the standard New World Pizza treatment, although we might have to avoid some of the more adventurous fair they offer (such as the hamburger pizza topped with both ketchup and mustard instead of tomato sauce).