Frisch's - Caste Village

Caste Village Shopping Center
Baptist and Grove Roads
412-881-6555

One thing I've learned from my "career" as a pizza blogger, is that you can find decent pizza in places where you would never expect it.

We have long been fans of Frisch's awesome chicken and have served it at many family gatherings, but never tried their pizza.  Actually, I didn't even know they made pizza until I took a close look at their menu.  Frisch's was packed after Sunday's Steelers game, so other people had the same idea.

It turned out to be very good.  The crust was thick with crisp edges, and tasted homemade.  The sauce was mild and slightly chunky - all in all, very enjoyable.  The cheese was very thick, very gooey, and tasted fresh.  If you like loads of cheese, you'll definitely like this pizza! 

The only downside was, to me, the cheese - I had asked for "easy on the cheese" because of my ongoing attempt to control my cholesterol, but it came loaded with about a 1/2" thick layer of cheese.  I just pulled it off.  Oh well!

Frisch's has a very extensive menu and I've enjoyed any item of theirs that I have ever tried.  Menu items include fresh soups, many sandwiches, salads - by the pound or prepared, pizza, pizza calzones, wedgies, seafood (fish, shrimp, scallops, and tuna melt), side orders, broasted chicken (again ... awesome!), wings, and desserts.  They also offer value meals, which include buckets and barrels of chicken and a hoagie/pizza combination, and a kid's menu. 

Frisch's also has a large catering menu that includes hoagies and sandwich rings, party trays, homemade pastas, ribs salads, and chicken among many other items ... the perfect thing for a busy Holiday season.

E. M. Pizzeria - Brentwood

4140 Saw Mill Run Blvd. (Rt. 51)
Brentwood
412-884-3034

This review is a testament to the fact that advertising does work!  We must have driven by the E. M. Pizzeria thousands of times but never really noticed it.  This past week, we found a menu tucked into our copy of the either the South Hills Record or the Pennysaver ... and it looked pretty good!  We tried it last night and are glad we did.

The pizza had a very tasty thick and chewy hand tossed crust.  The fresh sauce was thick and flecked with herbs, and the pizza was just the way we like it - extra sauce and light cheese.  (We asked for light cheese on our pizza which is why it looks thin in the photo.)  I read another review that said the sauce is bland - that is not at all how we feel!  We liked the sauce very much, and although it is mild, it is also very flavorful.

E.M. Pizzeria has a very extensive menu with many varieties and combinations of pizza, salads, calzones, wedgies, pasta, specialty pasta, oven-baked hoagies, gourmet hoagies, gyros, wings, appretizers and desserts!  We love the sound of the Chicken Spinach Gourmet Hoagie, the Gyro Hoagie and the Chicken Ranchero sounds awesome - chicken breast, ranch sauce, french fries and provolone.  I can imagine myself stopping back very soon for a yummy Chicken Gyro Platter, Greek Pizza or a Tuscan Chicken Pizza (grilled chicken, tomato sauce, artichoke hearts, roasted red peppers and mozzarella). 

We'll be back!

Giovanni's Pizza - Dormont

3047 West Liberty Avenue

Dormont, PA  15216

412-344-6622

Giovanni's makes an awesome crust - I have to say that it is one of the best crusts I have had in Pittsburgh - tender and flaky, thin yet sturdy, and very flavorful.    We ordered an 8-cut pizza with extra sauce, light cheese, and mushrooms on half.  The sauce is a little sweet for my personal taste, but my co-taster loved it.  I think if I had ordered the regular amount of sauce rather than double sauce, it would have been perfect for me.  (I can't help it - I love pizza sauce.)  The mushrooms were fresh and plentiful, and I enjoyed them - I wished I had also ordered banana pepper rings as a topping, but that I'll try that next time.

We also ordered mozzarella sticks, which were also wonderful - perfectly fried and just the right amount of spice in the coating.  The sauce that came with the sticks was not the same sauce as on the pizza - it was very good marinara sauce.

Although we ordered our pizza to go, Giovanni's has plenty of seating if you'd like your meal fresh from the oven.   In addition to the traditional pizza that we ordered, Giovanni's has 19 gourmet pizzas on their menu - the most unusual gourmet pizza is the new "Crab Trap" - it is topped with shrimp, scallops, crabmeat and spinach in a homemade lobster sauce and sprinkled with Old Bay Seasoning.  All of Giovanni's pizzas and bread twists are also available for Take-N-Bake.

Giovanni's has plenty more options if you don't feel like pizza - 14 Appetizers, 7 Bread Twists, Jumbo Buffalo Wings with your choose of sauces, Soups and Salad, Gyros, Wedgies and Calzones, Hoagies and Wraps, Pasta dishesm, and 24 House Specialties.  Wow!  The newest House Specialties are Pasta Picasso, Penne ala Vodka with Chicken, Pasta Primavera and Lasagna.  Some of the entrees are even available gluten free - Chicken Parmesan, Chicken Spinach, Mediterranean Pasta, Italian Dinner, and Baked Ziti. 

And, if that's not enough, Giovanni's offers five desserts - Homemade Cheesecake, Tiramisu, Cannoli, Sweet Twists, and Homemade Doughnut Puffs that are dusted with cinnamon and powdered sugar and served with a chocolate dipping sauce.

Pizza Warehouse at Kennywood

It wouldn't be summer without a trip to Kennywood!  We made our annual visit earlier this week.  It was late when we arrived, so we went with the less expensive "Nightrider" ticket option.  Since it was late, we were also pretty hungry,  we walked past the new Sky Rocket roller coaster (I miss the Turnpike!) and headed straight for the first pizza that we found.  That happened to be the Pizza Warehouse, which is located near the Ferris Wheel.   I have to admit that I wasn't expecting very much from the pizza, but as it turns out, I liked it!  The pizzas are already made, so we weren't able to ask for our usual extra sauce and light cheese - as you can see, our pizza arrived covered in thick, luscious cheese that turned out to be quite tasty.  The crust was decent, and I especially liked the edges, which were a crisp and had a good flavor.

We thought we'd try some of the other pizzas at Kennywood, but didn't taste any others that night.  The personal pizzas at Lost Kennywood looked especially good and we'll try one next time ... maybe for a Fright Night visit? 

We also stood in line for over half an hour at the Potato Patch and the line hardly moved.  A gorgeous woman in front of us kept stalking off and returning impatiently to the line.  She finally turned to her boyfriend and said "I am just not getting what I want."  (Whenever I have my own diva moments, I just think to myself , "I am just not getting what I want" and laugh.)   On the other hand, I was just not getting what I wanted either!  When half an hour stretched into 45 minutes and the line wasn't getting much shorter, we left and went to the food pavilion and ordered french fries with cheese.  And you know what?  They were awesome! 

But back to pizza!  Was the Pizza Warehouse pizza as good as our favorite handmade pizzeria pizzas?  No, but for a sweet summer night, it was just perfect.

Foli's Place - Braddock Hills, PA

Foli's Place
1050 Brinton Rd
Pittsburgh, PA 15221
(412) 241-8840

Foli's is a popular local favorite, tucked away in a tiny strip mall near where Braddock Hills, Forest Hills, Edgewood and Wilkinsburg meet. It had been way too long since we'd eaten there, so decided to head over the hill and pick up a pizza!

We weren't disappointed. We ordered a small, which was a 12" 6-cut traditional Pittsburgh-style pizza. The crust was very good, with a light and airy interior and nice chewiness, and a crisp exterior. The chunky tomato sauce had a freshly made flavor, and it had a good proportion of sauce to cheese.

We also ordered a side of cheese sticks - they were perfectly fried, and had just the right amount of spice for our taste. The accompanying sauce was delicious.

Everyone we talked to in Foli's was very friendly and welcoming, from the nice woman who answered the phone, to the restaurant staff and the fellow customers. I have to admit I forgot to pick up a take out menu and am not sure what else Foli's has to offer. The pizza was so tasty, that I would expect nothing but good things from their other menu items!

Donte's Pizzaria - South Park, PA

We found a comment the other day on our Fiori's Pizza review suggesting we try Donte's Pizzaria and thought, "why not"! We often take our dog to South Park and have passed Donte's a zillion times. To be honest, we never even noticed it, and were happy for the suggestion. We found Donte's in a little strip mall near the Brownsville Road entrance to the park.

Our first impression was that Donte's smells great! The wonderful aroma coming from the little restaurant was inviting, and the atmosphere was clean, bright and welcoming. The staff was very friendly, too, both on the phone when we ordered and in person. There are about 10-15 tables inside and two video games to keep you or the kids occupied while you wait.

We ordered a traditional, Pittsburgh style, pizza and enjoyed it very much. The dough is made fresh daily, as is the sauce, and the pizza crust is hand tossed to order. The result was a charmingly uneven crust with a light, airy interior and crisp edges. The bright, fresh red sauce was slightly sweet and dusted with Italian spices.

We like that Donte's offers slices for those days when we are hungry from a hike in the park and need something good in a hurry!

Would we go back again? Yes, we would. We think that it's not in our top favorites, but it was good ... and it's the perfect spot for an after park snack and we're happy to have found it.

Giuseppi's Pizza - Hilton Head Island, SC

Shelter Cove Plaza
Highway 278
Mid-Island, Hilton Head Island
843-785-4144

When we heard that Giuseppi's Pizza in Hilton Head was founded by a Pittsburgher, we knew we had to try it.

When in Hilton Head, we always make a stop or two at New York City Pizza and recently fell in love with the innovative Pizza Cone at Pino Gelato ... but Giuseppi's pizza tastes like home. Actually, it tastes like a really, really good version of pizza from home!

First of all, Giuseppi's sauce rocks. It is thick and rich with a hint of sweetness, slightly chunky, and fragrant with Italian herbs and spices. (We ordered our pizza with extra sauce and light on the cheese.) The crust is medium thickness; it has the perfect chewiness, with crisp, cheesy edges. The menu describes the pizza: "We start with our homemade hand tossed dough, ladle on our special recipe tomato sauce, add a generous portion of specially blended provolone and mozzarella cheese, then bake it in our stone hearth oven."

Nine varieties of pizzas are on the menu - the Big Cheese, Giuseppi's Special Pizza, Giuseppi's Veggie Pizza, Giuseppi's Mega Meaty, Chicken Alfredo, Jimmy the Greek, Giuseppi';s White Pizza, Shrimp Scampi, and Giuseppi's Ultimate White Pizza. Individual slices of the Big Cheese, Special, Veggie, Mega Meaty and White Pizza are available if you can't manage an entire 12" or 16" pizza. Or, for $2 more, they will make it a stuffed pizza by adding a top crust layer, baste with olive oil and Parmesan cheese, and baking.

If you'd like something other than pizza, Giuseppi's has a huge menu including seven pastas and four baked pastas, eight varieties of hoagies, seven types of wraps, five flavors of Philly Cheesesteaks and four different Parmesan Hoagies. Two Giuseppi's specialties are Weggies(r) and Boli's. Weggies basically folded and stuffed pizza dough, topped with lettuce and tomato, onion and ranch dressing - they are available in 11 flavors, including the Original (ham and pepperoni), Weggiedilla (marinated chicken, cheddar & jack cheese, bacon, onion and BBQ sauce) and a Greek Weggie (chicken, feta, kalamata olives, banana peppers, romaine, tomato and Greek vinaigrette).

The Boli is similar to a calzone - pizza dough filled with toppings along with ricotta and cheeses, then folded and baked, and served with a side of their wonderful marinara sauce. Giuseppi's Boli's are available in Carboli (pepperoni, sausage and ham), Macaboli (mushrooms, onions, green peppers and black olives), Cheeseburgerboli (ground beef, American cheese, bacon, mustard and ketchup) and the Create-a-Boli (you choose!).

Nine salads are on the menu, as well as another Pittsburgh staple - Italian Wedding Soup, available by the cup or bowl. In addition, you can choose from 14 appetizers and extras - Spinach Dip, Stuffed Chili Peppers, Shrimp Basket, Buffalo Shrimp, Onion Rings, Mozzarella Cheese Stix, Chicken Fingers, Buffalo Chicken Fingers, Garlic Toast, Cheese Garlic Toast, Garlic Tomato Cheese Toast, Fries, side of Marinara Sauce, and Meatball Sliders.

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