Classy Pizza Review: Some Guys Pizza, Pasta, Grill

Most of the time when I have pizza it's something so quick, cheap, and dirty it almost feels like a Secret Service outing in South America.  It's true and I'm not going to act like I'm ashamed of it.  The siren call of $5 Little Caesars is hard to resist, and lately I've been wondering if maybe I've lost my ability to appreciate pizza that you can't buy with just the change you dug from your couch cushions.  A couple of weekends ago I decided to test myself with some pizza that has a better than average reputation. The Girlfriend and I decided to try Some Guys.

Located in an older strip mall at the corner of 62nd and Allisonville (other location 126th and Gray Rd.) Some Guys definitely doesn't look like much at all. In fact, unless you knew about it in advance or saw it while you were spending quality time at the discount tabacco shop you may not even have known it was there at all.  When I first drove by it some time ago it looked so small from the outside I thought it was takeout only.  However, when you finally walk in you're in for a pleasant surprise.  The atmosphere is bistroesque with deep warm colors, and while the seating area is small (protip: go early) its bigger than you would think. 

After we walked in we were seated promptly and began to look at the menu. We decided to start off with a classic appetizer of garlic bread with cheese.  While such a choice may seem pretty boring at first I have to say I'm a fan and I don't care...especially when it's done the way Some Guys does it. The bread was a crusty but soft sliced Italian roll and the garlic flavor was perfectly subtle. The cheese on top was melted without being burnt or crusty.  The app was good, but the pizza is the reason to stay.

While the Some Guys menu is varied in terms of entrees and toppings we knew we were going with a pizza and desired a classic combination with a dressed up twist.  The House Pepperoni with hand sliced pepperoni, ricotta cheese, and fresh basil was the perfect choice. It was the first time I had experienced any of those ingredients on a pizza and I was honestly blown away.  The hand sliced artisan pepperoni was thick and crisp on the edges with the ideal hint of heat.  I believe it may have ruined regular pepperoni pizza for me forever.  The ricotta added a nice creamy element that was a great complement to the spice of the pepperoni. The fresh basil had been added before baking, which I thought was an interesting choice, but the basil and tomato sauce combination is always a winner. And speaking of the sauce, it was quite good but I suspect that a good number of you might say there wasn't enough on the pizza.  I don't consider that a problem because I think of the sauce almost a condiment that adds flavor almost without being noticed. Just a personal preference.  Also, I found the crust extremely appealing in that it was thin without being either too doughy or cracker-like which I consider the death knell of an otherwise great pizza.



Taste 10/10 I'm still yet to make it to the much vaunted Pizzology, but as of right now Some Guys makes the top of my list of pizza available in Indianapolis or surrounding areas.  No complaints.  Zero. Even our service was exceptional.

Value 10/10 A double perfect score and well worth it. We ordered garlic bread with cheese, 2 drinks, and a medium pizza for under 25 dollars.  Considering that neither one of us went away hungry and the high quality of the food and service this is an absolute steal.

Review: Greek Tony's Pizza and Sub Shop

I love pizza.  I know that sounds like the typical answer any 10 year old would give you if you asked them their favorite food, but dammit it's true.  Some people might be particular in what style of crust or toppings they prefer or where they order it from to the degree that once they've found a favorite they'll eschew looking elsewhere for good 'za pizza (Sorry it was too douchey even done tongue in cheek). That's not me.  Sure I have my preferences, but pizza for me is graded on a heavy curve.  Even the worst pizza I've had wasn't that bad.  As a result I'm never afraid to try new varieties and new restaurants.  Recently I grabbed lunch at Greek Tony's Pizza and Sub Shop in Carmel, and let me tell you there will be no need to grade on a curve here.

First of all to give you a little background about what some of my preferences are.  First of all I prefer meat toppings full of porky goodness just the way God and Ron Swanson intended. Second, I tend to like thinner more traditional crust pizza over deep dish. Third, and here's where the Greek Tony's lunch experience comes into play, I almost never get pizza by the slice.  In the past I've felt unsatisfied by just having 1 slice of pizza even if it was large in size.  Pizza is an addiction for me and I can't eat just one.  So when I walked into Greek Tony's and ordered the single slice of pepperoni I had my doubts about whether it could fill me up. That worry was assuaged quickly as soon as my slice arrived in front of me.

Good lawd this slice of pep was huge. You can get some idea of scale by comparing it to my knife and fork in the picture. I knew I wasn't going away hungry.  Better than the portion size though was the taste.  I love pizza when it's done like they do at Greek Tony's.  The crust was the perfect combination of crusty on the very bottom yet soft and chewy when you bite in all the way.  Also, I couldn't get over how plentiful the cheese was here. It was as much mozzarella piled on a pie as I've ever seen.  The amount of pepperoni was adequate.  The only drawback I would say was the sauce.  There was so little of it in comparison to the cheese and pep that it was a little hard to even taste. I'm usually not a "there needs to be more sauce" guy, but here it is undeniable.  I think it should only be considered a small glitch in otherwise pretty awesome slice.

I also wanted to say a few words about Greek Tony's itself.  I absolutely love places that are throwbacks to an earlier age, and Greek Tony's looks like a place that hasn't changed in quite some time.  When so much of Carmel looks new and fancy it's refreshing to see a place that doesn't fit that meme.  They are located in an older building, they have years of collected hockey memorabilia on one wall and games for kids on the other like a truly old school pizza parlor.  Hand written specials are on a white board behind the counter where orders are taken by an employee with a friendly face.  I'm looking forward to a return trip, and If I can get myself away from the pizza  I might have to try their Italian Beef.

Taste 9/10 I enjoyed this pizza by the slice as much or more than any I've had.
Value 9/10 A slice and a medium drink was just over 5 bucks. Considering  the size of the slice and the quality of the product I'd call that pretty darn good. 

Ale Emporium Revisit Review

The last time I wrote about the Ale Emporium on this blog I  was forced to take one of my favorite bar/eateries to task for a pulled pork sandwich that was an embarrassment to everything that real BBQ is about.  As we were looking for a place to have some food and drink one night I thought it would be a good idea to give the food at the Ale Emporium another chance.  I determined that this time I would order something more in their wheelhouse.  I was not disappointed.

Making a choice of what to order was more than a little difficult.  I've heard a lot of good things about the wings at the Ale Emporium and the Hermanaki wings in particular.  However, I remembered one of my friends trying their pan pizza a while back and being extremely jealous when it came to the table.  Relying on those memories The Girlfriend and I decided to split a 14" pan pizza with sausage and bacon.  It would be a mistake to call this a "Chicago style" or "deep dish" as I understand it.  That style is generally seen as having the toppings and cheese underneath and the sauce (a lot of it) on top.  That's not the case here.  This is very thick Midwest style pan pizza.  The toppings were plentiful and the amount of cheese was insane in a totally fantastic way.  I'm telling you there were so much cheese here someone who was lactose intolerant would have a hard time even looking at it.  The sausage tasted fresh, and the bacon definitely brought a nice smoky flavor although it wasn't terribly crisp.  The sauce was there, but it almost seemed like an afterthought compared to the mozzarella.  Maybe this style of pizza wouldn't be everybody's preference, but I absolutely freakin loved it.  Bars usually come nowhere close to putting out something like that.  It's to be commended in a big way.  One last note:  The 14" pan pizza here is enormous.  It would easily serve 4 or 5 people.  I was thinking more Pizza King 14" when I ordered this I guess.  We had leftover pizza for days.


Taste: 9/10  If the bacon was a little crispier and with a little more sauce this would be a 10
Value: 7/10  This is not a cheap pizza.  This is pizza with substance, and you can expect the price to match that accordingly.  On the bright side it will feed several people.