Mellow Mushroom, Charlottesville

Address: 1321 West Main Street, on the Corner
Purchase: 14" pesto swirl & tomato pizza, pitcher of Rogue Dead Guy Ale, (and a half avocado sub!)
Price: $35 including tip
Payment: Cards accepted
Pizza Rating:


Mellow Mushroom has always been a favorite of ours, despite the cheesy psychedelic theme, and sometimes annoying underage-UVa student clientele. It's a southern-based, college-town, franchise with a tie-dyed mushroom as a mascot... you can pass your own judgements. But the draft beer list is always great (seriously, the best in Cville), and the pizza has a really delicious wheat crust (perfect for dipping in honey), lots of parmesan cheese, and a very addictive pesto swirl topping. The pesto-swirl gives the pizza a lot more oil, but it's worth it. They also happen to have my very favorite sandwich, the avocado sub, which I couldn't resist ordering a half of, despite our blog-review mission. Yum!








We're in town over NYU's spring break, so Margaret graciously puppy-sat Bruno at her lawn room while AJ and I ate.

New York's $1000 Pizza

This is a slice of city I don't think we'll be trying. With six types of caviar, shaved fresh lobster, and creme fraiche, New York Magazine reports that it tastes a lot like a bagel with lox and cream cheese. Hmm. Find it at Nino's Bellissima Pizza on Second Avenue and 47th Street. If you haven't already seen the video on every news channel, you can watch it here. Nino must have an awesome publicist.

Sam's Restaurant

Address: 238 Court Street at Baltic, Cobble Hill
Purchase: One large regular, plus drinks, antipasti plate, and dessert
Price: The meal was on Charlie (Thanks, Chas!)
Payment: Cash only
Pizza Rating:


This old-school Italian restaurant and pizzeria had a lot of things going for it when we went with my godfather Chas and his niece Cyndy last month.* First of all, great atmosphere--charming decor, my favorite pizzeria-checkered table cloths, etc. Second of all, a ten-year-old was having a surprise party in the back room, which added a lot to the place's friendly mood. And third, the pizza was delicious! Fresh, hot, flavorful, thin but not too thin crust... Sam's is great. It's been on our list for a while, so I'm glad Cyndy, (who lives in Prospect Heights--and knows what's up with Brooklyn pizza!) recomended it for Charlie's visit from Cary, NC. It ended up being one of my very favorite pizzas yet. Plus the homemade Italian cheesecake was a tasty bonus. I can't wait to go back.


The pizza looked so good we forgot to get a picture before we started chowing down.




Chas and Cyndy


I'll take it!


I got this storefront photo off flickr. Don't know much about the steaks and chops... maybe it's best stick to the pizza. However, Sam's has been on Court Street since the 1930s, so they've probably got it all down.

*Thanks to Chas for the great pictures... better late than never!