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Just about everyone everywhere likes the scrumptious Italian pie on a plate known as pizza. I took a companion to go check on a pizza place that has been rumored to be fantastic. South Avenue pizza is located downtown on the street that shares its name. This restaurant gives patrons a wide variety of choices of everyone's favorite food. Featuring all kinds of Italian staples, South Avenue Pizza provides a relaxing atmosphere to enjoy some delicious cuisine.
The food
Obviously, South Avenue Pizza serves, um, pizza. But there is so much more to South Avenue than just its tasty pies. If you don't want pizza for the third time this week, you will be pleasantly surprised, as I was, to find a menu that included other Italian staples: sandwiches, calzones and stromboli. For those of you unfamiliar with stromboli, imagine a loaf of Italian bread stuffed to the gills with sauce, cheese and toppings. Don't ask me how it's made; it's the bakers secret. Speaking of South Avenue's bread, all the dough is made fresh daily in house, so you know it's going to be delicious. When our anticipated hummus appetizer came to the table, expectations and appetites were high. The hummus itself was just OK, but the garlic bread that came with it sure was tasty. I chose the wild mushroom calzone as an entree. It was covered in fresh green pesto and was a great choice. My companion dove into the pizza named after the restaurant, The South Avenue, which boasts an excessive amount of pepperoni and cheese — and delivered on it. The pizza was good, but my calzone was better!
The drinks
What is the best friend of pizza, besides dipping sauces? Why beer, of course. Some might argue that the combination is one of the best around. Located in the heart of downtown, South Avenue Pizza is a great place to sit down and share a pint. It is right next to Finnegan's Wake and both have been managed together since December. What does this mean for patrons? After the kitchen in the restaurant closes at 9 p.m., late-night pub-goers in Finnegan's can buy the rest of South Avenue's pizza by the slice to accompany rounds of beers and games of darts. Taking our extremely knowledgeable server Amy's advice, I ordered Killian's Irish Red beer. It was perfectly smooth and freezing cold from the tap, just one of 18 draft beers to enjoy. If you are not a huge fan of beer, Finnegan's also has a small selection of wines.
The atmosphere
Walking into South Avenue Pizza, the decor reminded me of an old saloon with the thick wooden tables, overturned barrels and wooden floors. The walls are lined with old photographs and bright neon signs. The flaring trumpets and honking clarinets of 1940's big band-era music float across the room, greeting customers and giving the restaurant a casual, family-owned feeling. It gives the impression of a pub transformed into a family pizzeria, and when I visited, there were several families sharing a pie.
The bottom line
If you want some good pizza at decent prices downtown, then South Avenue Pizza is the place to be. There is a wide variety of pies, sandwiches and calzones that you can eat in the restaurant, or order ahead of time and take away. My companion and I decided that we probably could split an appetizer and a small pizza and still have to take home a few slices. To save some dough (I couldn't resist), stop by the weekday lunch buffet for all-you-can-eat salad bar and pizza goodness for only $6.95. Let the freshly made pizza lure you in, and the cold beer make you stay.
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