Category Archives: Italian (and Pizza)

From Napa to Osteria: Italian seafood in Westport Village

By Robin Garr
LouisvilleHotBytes.com

Napa River Grill enjoyed a very good run before it renovated and rebranded as Osteria Italian Seafood last month.

Its name recently foreshortened to just-plain Napa, the upscale Northern California-style eatery had endured for 24 years, a long life for a restaurant.

Continue reading From Napa to Osteria: Italian seafood in Westport Village

We pick a plate of pickle pizza at Craft House

By Robin Garr
LouisvilleHotBytes.com

I’m sure I’ve confessed this before: I’m a pizza snob. I learned pizza in New. York City, with graduate studies in Italy, and I want my pizza authentic, artisanal, and made according to tradition. Pineapple pizza? Harrumph! I’m not even comfortable with jalapeños or broccoli on my pie.

But then I spotted a pickle pizza with Pop’s Pepper Patch Spicy Habagardil pickles on top. Hey, now! A strange yet irresistible call lured me out to Craft House Pizza’s new shop on Hurstbourne Parkway. I need this in my life! Continue reading We pick a plate of pickle pizza at Craft House

Lupo’s pizza is tops … and that’s not all

By Robin Garr
LouisvilleHotBytes.com

I did a quick double-take when I heard that Pizza Lupo had won “Best Pizza” honors in LEO Weekly’s Reader’s Choice awards.

Not that it isn’t worthy. Lupo’s wood-fired, leopard-spotted pies with their quality toppings are a go-to for me whenever I have pizza in mind. After all, “Pizza” is the restaurant’s first name. Continue reading Lupo’s pizza is tops … and that’s not all

MozzaPi’s pizza remains near and dear to my heart

By Robin Garr
LouisvilleHotBytes.com

I’m pretty sure I’ve told you before that pizza is one of my favorite foods. I can’t think of a one of Louisville’s 60-some pizzerias that I would flatly reject. Well, possibly some of the national chains, unless I was really hungry.

I mean, what’s not to like about pizza? It’s relatively healthy, a thin base of bread that, excepting the occasional deep-dish pie, imparts barely enough carbs to bother anyone. A layer of delicious tomato sauce, a layer of delicious cheese, some tasty meats or veggies of your liking on top … why, you’ve got all of the food groups on your plate! Continue reading MozzaPi’s pizza remains near and dear to my heart

Goodfellas makes us an offer we can’t refuse

By Robin Garr
LouisvilleHotBytes.com

Let’s welcome Goodfellas Pizzeria to Louisville! The first local outlet of a small but quickly growing Lexington-based chain, this corner spot in the Baxter Apartments at Bardstown Road and Baxter Avenue joins sibling eateries in Indianapolis and the Cincinnati area.

The pizza is good, the meatballs impressive, and the scene looks like a spot in New York City’s Little Italy. Well, a little bit, anyway. Continue reading Goodfellas makes us an offer we can’t refuse

Derby City Pizza scores with pizza and pasta

By Robin Garr
LouisvilleHotBytes.com

Everybody knows that I’m a huge fan of pizza, but I have my standards! I like pizza best the way they make it in New York City, or even Italy: It’s good bread, flatbread, with toppings added proportionately, not overloaded.

You want a thin but substantive crust, and you want a puffy browned edge – the “bones” – dotted with plenty of browned leopard spots.

Or that’s what I thought until I picked up a pizza to go from Derby City Pizza in Clifton the other day. Continue reading Derby City Pizza scores with pizza and pasta

Faces wins with creative food and drink

By Robin Garr
LouisvilleHotBytes.com

When Chef Eric Morris opens a restaurant, I pay attention. I loved his Hull and Highwater and Gospel Bird eateries in New Albany, and I loved his citizen journalism and photography during the Breonna Taylor demonstrations (#SayHerName), although that’s another story.

So when Morris opened his eclectic new spot Faces Bar/Bistro in Louisville’s Highlands last year, I was eager to check it out. Continue reading Faces wins with creative food and drink

Old School NY Pizza adds authenticity to Norton Commons

By Robin Garr
LouisvilleHotBytes.com

If you can’t make it to Southern Italy to indulge in traditional Neapolitan-style pizza at the source, New York City’s take on pizza is arguably second-best: And you won’t find a better slice in Louisville than at Old School NY Pizza.

A round of thin, crisp crust bearing portions of spicy sauce, melty cheese, and topping toppings discreetly applied so all remains in balance, fired in a high-temperature gas or wood oven until the cheese bubbles: That’s the recipe for Gotham’s finest, and Old School does it right. Continue reading Old School NY Pizza adds authenticity to Norton Commons

Hog Father Pizza Shop brings pizza back to Butchertown

When one door closes, another opens, the sages say. And this simple wisdom appears to be true, at least insofar as the city’s pizza scene goes.

It was sad news for local pizza lovers when Butchertown Pizza, one of the city’s best, closed its doors in September 2019. Then more bad dining news struck when Couvillion restaurant shut its doors last November.

But then those fabled doors started opening. The space that had housed Butchertown Pizza, nicely renovated, became home to Hog Father Pizza Shop last month. Better still, WLKY-32 reported on its opening day, Couvillion’s head chef Crosby Reasor came on as Hog Father’s top chef, and brought many of the Couvillion crew along. Continue reading Hog Father Pizza Shop brings pizza back to Butchertown

Make Sal’s your go-to for Lenten fried fish

I realized the other day that Ash Wednesday and Lent are coming up, so this is the season when Louisville food writers are supposed to talk about fried fish … and all the Friday fish fries at Catholic (and a few Episcopal) churches around town.

Wednesday was also National Pizza Day!

This was a challenge. Like just about everyone in Louisville, I love fried fish. But I love pizza too. Could I do both?

Luckily, one of my favorite neighborhood pubs, Sal’s Pizza Pub in Lyndon, has both good old-school pizza and one of the best fried-cod sandwiches around. Continue reading Make Sal’s your go-to for Lenten fried fish