Editorial
Front Page - Friday, November 19, 2010
River City Roundabout
Pizza-capades II
Erica Tuggle
Hill City Pizza is a new pizza parlor in town that offers their pies piled high and has a variety of sides, salads, wraps and burgers for whatever mood your stomach is in. The Barnyard Pizza includes five different kinds of meat along with an asagio cheese topping, for a meal that will be filling and delicious.
- Erica Tuggle
This is part II of II in the Pizza-capades series.
What distinguishes a good pizza from a great pizza? There are several components that can be argued as the “heart” of a pizza, an essential quality that brings the eater and the pizza closer together.
There is no arguing that cheese is one of these many essentials. A pizza without cheese is not really a pizza at all, but rather sauce-slathered flatbread. With all the new trends in gluten-free dough, spring water dough and even wheat dough to make a pizza, the palette for creating the perfect pizza is now customizable as well.
Probably the most fun type of pizza variation, though, is the topping choices. There are even personality tests that will analyze you based on your choice of pizza topping! It is the variety and amount of toppings on the pizzas from Hill City Pizza that sets them apart in pizza standards as the pizza parlor in town with the heaviest topping load per slice.
Hill City Pizza has set up shop in the old Mudpie Café location on Frasier Avenue next to the Northshore Grille that is also owned by one of the co-owners of Hill City Pizza. Although we mourn the loss of the Mudpie, it’s nice to have new blood in the North Shore dining scene and to see the amazing remodeling work that has been done to the building to give the new eatery a classy, modern look.
Hill City Pizza has done a good job of piquing local interest with their mysterious and sudden move-in and their bright fire engine colored sign announcing their arrival. The relatively small space that Hill City Pizza occupies was full of lunching families and groups trying out the “new kid in town” and what pizza specialties he had to offer.
Hill City has all the standard cheeses including feta, cheddar, blue cheese, Parmesan, mozzarella and asiago. The meats and veggies are all accounted for, too ,with toppings like BBQ chicken, Italian sausage and ground sausage, sun dried tomatoes, artichoke hearts, banana peppers and pineapple. Any of these can be placed on the pizza by the slice that already includes one of the delicious cheeses and only charges $0.35 for each additional topping.
The specialty pizzas are something to get excited about as well. There is the BBQ Pizza with sauce, chicken or pork, red onion and mozzarella, or the Pesto Garden Supreme with red onion, green bell pepper, spinach, roasted red pepper, green olives, black olives and sun dried tomato. You could mix cultures together with a Taco Pizza that includes enchilada sauce, seasoned beef, cheddar cheese and crumbled tortilla chips, lettuce, sour cream and salsa. And of course you can always build your own pizza as well. All pizzas are 14 inches, homemade and hand tossed.
The pizza that really knocked my socks off was “The Barnyard.” This pizza has Italian sausage, bacon, ground beef, ground sausage, Canadian bacon and is topped with asiago cheese. The toppings alone were piled so high they could have been a meal of their own, but when on top of a thin and crispy crust, it was a great example of the potential of a pizza. The asiago cheese especially gave the pizza a different kind of taste that was so good. The slices were so large that eating just two would be more than enough for anymore. This means I was able to try the Barnyard as leftovers the next day, and revisit the delicious experience all over again.
If you are craving pizza and your friend is looking for something lighter, you can both go have lunch together at Hill City. This primary pizza maker also has wraps and burritos like the turkey, bacon and avocado wrap; the tropical chicken salad wrap; a Santa Fe burrito; or a prime rib wrap. They serve slow-roasted whole rotisserie chicken by the plate as well that comes with sauce, a muffin and a side.
Salads and home-cooking sides are good additions to any of the meals including the vegetarian alternative Boca Burger or the Hill City Burger, made with lean ground beef and cooked the way you want it.
Don’t forget to try an appetizer. There are many to choose from and the garlic cheese sticks are not to be missed. This bread stick like dish is filled with cheese, has the most amazing fresh tasting dough and comes with sweet and salty marinara sauce.
Although, Hill City defines itself in pizza, there is much more to try when visiting this modernly updated and family friendly venue. They also have a smoke-free pool hall upstairs, bringing a place for billiards, darts, dining and drinks to the North Shore at last. I’m sure I won’t be the first to welcome Hill City’s presence in town with open arms.
Email Erica Tuggle at reporter@hamiltoncountyherald.com.
|
|