Don't Back Down

Though situated in a smallish shopping center, it's not quite what I'd classify as a part of a strip mall since this restaurant occupies a unit in a freestanding building that's well away from the main "strip" portion. Still, for those of you that avoid the strip mall as a place to eat, you'll likely want to avoid this as well, because it is in fact pretty much the same as a strip mall - it's just out in front a bit.

That said, if you do decide to skip it because it's located in a strip mall, you're probably missing out. While the place just opened, and there are some growing pains, it shows promise.

The night that we visited, they were absolutely packed. This is probably because there isn't really any decent Italian that's quite as well located as they are. Sure, you have a couple choices if you decide to go all the way to Matthews, and another if you go into Mint Hill, and still others if you want to go into Charlotte. But at this midway point? Let's face it - there isn't much of anything, and if the crowd is any indication, they are clamoring for something decent.

Service was good, an impressive indication for a new business. Though the restaurant is smallish, it was well-staffed, so even the large crowd didn't seem to intimidate them, and we felt comfortable without having to wait - even though we dropped in on a spur of the moment in a bit of a rush. Service was quick and friendly. The only downside was a bit of an inconsistency.

One server would bring your drink with a lemon, one without. Some tables would have bread plates, some would not (we did not). Places were set with silverware - generally. Our glasses were usually kept full. The bread we received was good, but it was heated unevenly. All in all it was an impressive opening weekend from a service perspective.

The menu appears solid, but we came for the pizza, and from what we observed, so did everyone else. There were a few folks who had pasta, but a large percentage of the tables had pizza. Even the people who had pasta had pizza as well. This could be a good sign or a bad one - if they opened hoping for larger tickets it might be a disappointment to them (this could be the case, it's a bit nicer than your average pizza joint).

As to the pizza itself: It was good. The ingredients were tasty. I personally don't like my crust as thick, but the crust was good. It wasn't a deep dish by any means, but it was thicker than I like. And it wasn't heavy by any stretch of the imagination. It just wasn't my favorite. But it wasn't bad either. We may have to stop back in after they've been running for a few days or weeks to see how things shape up.