Blue Grotto Pizza - South Side

1610 East Carson Street
412-904-3277

I have never seen such an enormous pizza!  At 20" square, it was even difficult to get me and the box through the front door at the same time.   For reference, that's a dinner plate in the photo - the slice is so big that it looks like a saucer!

The Blue Grotto is one of the two pizzas I had lined up to try in April - the other is Fratello's in Peters Township.  We've had a hard time getting to Fratello's - the first time we tried, a huge thunderstorm blew up, and this time the car transmission seemed to be acting up (it turned out to be okay) so we decided to stick a little closer to home and headed for the Blue Grotto.

I love the name - Blue Grotto Pizza is named, I am sure, for the beautiful sea cave in Capri.  Before I even tried the pizza, the name appealed to me, as does their motto:  "Peace Love and Pizza".  (As I also love "Peace Love and Little Doughnuts" in the Strip, makers of the world's best doughnuts.) 

The Blue Grotto menu is very limited, but what reason really is there to have more menu options?  They make five types of pizza:  Neapolitan, Margherita, Bianca, Sicilian and Marinara.  Each is available by the slice or whole pie.  They also have Pizza Rolls, Sandwiches (Italiano, Chicken Parmesan, Chicken Prosciutto, Cheeseteak, Meatball or Eggplant Parmesan), homemade soup, salad, and beverages. 

We ordered a Neapolitan pizza, with no additional toppings.  The sauce is very sweet and tasty, with bursts of oregano flavor.  We usually ask for extra sauce - we didn't this time, but wish we had.  The crust was thicker than I expected, and very chewy, with a pleasantly charred bottom and a very bready rim.   I'm not sure if it's in our "Top Ten" favorites, but we did enjoy the Blue Grotto pizza ... and will continue to enjoy it for a few days, as there are plenty of leftovers.

If we had a Top Ten list for salads, though, the Blue Grotto salad will be at Number One.  I ordered a small, which was surprisingly normal size - I say "surprisingly", because the pizza was so much bigger than I expected that it seems like everything would be supersized.  The salad was a step up from any other take out salad I've had, and was full of mixed greens, toasted sunflower seeds, chick peas, carrot, olives and crumbled blue cheese - close to my idea of a perfect salad. 

Next time we go to the Blue Grotto, I'd like to try some of their other pizzas, and will add a topping or two.  But next time, I'll definitely order a single slice!

Luigi's Pizzeria & Ristorante - Bellevue, PA

531 Lincoln Avenue
Pittsburgh, PA  15202
(412) 734-0980

Hats off to Chef Jim at Luigi's for making a great pizza pie!

We dropped off donations today at our favorite charity thrift shop - Family Heirlooms in Bellevue - and asked for suggestions for local pizzerias.   After some discussion, we settled on Luigi's and were glad we did ... it was outstanding!

Luigi's has been in business for 34 years, and when you taste their pizza you can understand why.  Luigi's pizza rocks with flavor!  The hand tossed Neapolitan style crust had excellent flavor and was just right - a crisp, snappy exterior with the perfect amount of chewiness on the interior.  The tomato sauce had a wonderful fresh tomato flavor, with just hints of garlic and spice - it was refreshing to find a sauce that wasn't heavily overloaded with the spices.   What's even better was that the pizza was not at all greasy and there was no grease residue on the box.
We also tried the Provolone Sticks and they were also very good, with a coating that tasted fresh and not pre-packaged.  They were accompanied by a generous take out cup of a very good marinara sauce. 

The extensive menu includes quite a few menu items that you don't normally find in a pizzeria - like the Mussels a la Luigi listed in the Appetizers section.  (Not to mention breaded cauliflower - you don't find that everywhere, either).   One of the Sides offered is "Sunny Slaw", "A unique blend of slaw, sunflower seeds, and noodles in a tangy sauce."  Also unique is the Spaghetti a la Luigi - which has a tomato sauce containing raisins, pine nuts and black olives.   I was very interested in the Desserts - Cannoli, Cheesecake, Tiramisu, Apple Pie a la Mode, Pecan Ball, and Cinnamon Dippers with Ice Cream.  Wow!!!

Hours are Monday - Thursday 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., Friday and Saturday 11 a.m. to 11 p.m., and Sunday noon to 10 p.m.    We ordered our pizza and provolone sticks to go, but Luigi's does have a small restaurant area.  It has a nice family atmosphere with old world style and plenty of room to move.  The next time we're in the area we plan to sit down, relax and enjoy some of their other offerings.

And ... Luigi's is a new addition to our top Pittsburgh favorites!

Pasta Too Family Italian Restaurant - Bethel Park, PA

5260 Library Road
Bethel Park, PA
412-831-3400

Last Christmas, Sharon and John gave us a gift certificate for dinner at Pasta Too. We really appreciated it, but the time was just never right to use it - either we were in the area, but didn't have the coupon with us, or we had the coupon, but it was a weird time for dinner ... you know what I mean.

Last night all the stars aligned and it was perfect timing to use our Christmas gift. We called in for take out and ordered a feast to eat while watching Monday Night Football - pizza, wedding soup, Italian salad and provolone sticks.

The Pasta Too offers two styles of pizza - Napolitano (thin crust) or Siciliano (thick crust). We ordered the Napolitano with extra sauce and light cheese. The sauce was deep red and loaded with Italian herbs and spices, and we liked the thin, foldable crust.

The "provolone stick expert" said they were very good, and my "small" salad was HUGE and included lots of goodies, including my favorite - artichoke hearts. We enjoyed the wedding soup, which was full of veggies and shredded chicken along with the tiny meatballs.

The restaurant has a full Italian style menu, serves generous portions, and is very popular - the restaurant was full on a Monday night! On another visit I think we'll try the Chicken or Eggplant Parmigiana - they both looked wonderful.

Thank you, Sharon and John!!!!

Rosa Pizza - South Side

2767 East Carson Street

Pittsburgh, PA 15203

412-431-7672

Don't let the construction on East Carson Street discourage you from trying Rosa Pizza - it is well worth the visit!

Rosa Pizza is a Neapolitan style round pizza with a thin crust - crisp, yet foldable. The dough is made fresh every evening and allowed to rest overnight to be freshly hand tossed to order. It has the wonderful flavor of fresh bread.

When we called to order our typical medium pizza, we were happy to be told of that day's special - an extra large with one topping for $9.95 - less expensive than the medium would have been. We took advantage of the special and ordered the extra large with extra sauce and light cheese, with a topping of sliced banana peppers.

The pizza was just the way we like it, with the perfect amount of sauce and cheese for our personal taste. The sauce is made daily, and it is a light and fresh tasting tomato sauce, with delicate flavoring and flecks of oregano. The sauce was mildly sweet and not at all salty. The sliced banana peppers added a nice piquant touch and were a good topping choice.

In addition to the traditional Neapolitan pizza, Rosa Pizza offers white pizza, Sicilian pizza and a Chicago-style deep dish pizza. They make ten varieties of gourmet pizza, including a Brooklyn Pizza (roasted peppers, hot sausage and mozzarella), the 4 Seasons Pizza (prosciutto, artichokes, mushrooms, tomatoes and mozzarella) and the Rosa Supreme (pepperoni, sausage, mushrooms, black olives, onions and green peppers).

Also on the menu are salads,wings, calzones, strombolis, hot subs and cold subs. The Pollo Balsamico sounds especially good to me - it's filled with grilled chicken, pesto, bruschetta, tomatoes and fresh mozzarella. Rosa offers six sides - french fries, cheese fries, mozzarella sticks, garlic bread, cheese bread, and fried dough with sugar. They make eight types of pasta dishes, including Spaghetti Bolognese, Eggplant Parmesan, and Chicken Marsala.

Rosa Pizza also has an extensive catering menu with some tantalizing menu options that are available with 24 hour notice.