Black and White at Indigo: A Delicious Palette for Your Palate

Twenty-Seventh Stop: Indigo Casual Gourmet Café

Date: March 12, 2013

Location: 2053 Dixie Highway Ft. Mitchell, KY 41011

Ranking:  22

By now, we’ve had a sampling of over half the pizzas on Cincinnati Magazine’s Top 50 Pizzas, in no particular order.   You’d think by now, we’d be hard to impress, what with our developed and refined pizza palates.  Not so, friends!  We happened upon Indigo for the second time (our first try was a bust-they were closed for an unknown reason), and were quite impressed with what we encountered there. 

Great pizza doesn’t have to be experimental.  It doesn’t have to provide street-cred for foodies with contemporary, hip ingredients.  In fact, if you combine fresh ingredients with a good recipe, courteous and knowledgeable staff, and a comfortable atmosphere, you’re bound to stake a claim in local pizzavores’ hearts.  Did we coin a new word here?  Just go with it. 

Anyway, Indigo definitely has the courteous and knowledgeable staff.  We were greeted and seated promptly, and our lovely server answered our questions and offered recommendations.  We arrived at about 6pm on a Tuesday evening, and that place was hopping with guests.  It seems to be a popular spot and, come to find out, for good reason. 

In terms of atmosphere, this place excels.  The building is an old historic Shaker house, and includes the original hardwood flooring from that era.  The large, wood-trimmed bar is set in the dining room, where small tables are cozy, but not crowded.  We hear there is a spacious, shaded patio out back that is quite lovely, if you’re into that outdoor dining sort of thing.  However, outdoor dining wasn’t an option yet at this point in the season, and Robyn was glad about that, because she’d rather eat a Speedway hot dog than eat outside on a patio.   

Now, let’s get down to business - the food.  First up - breadsticks.  It was a hungry night, and we couldn't wait until the main dish to start stuffing our faces.  Several of the starters looked quite tasty but, in the end, we went with an old standard:  breadsticks with marinara.  The little appetizer plate was piled with long and thin, rectangular sticks of soft bread.  They were salted and topped with pretty green specks of herbs.  On top of all that, the accompanying warm marinara sauce was topped with gooey mozzarella cheese.  These breadsticks were a pleasant surprise:  better than expected and a great way to start off our meal at Indigo. 

As far as pizza is concerned, our server offered us some advice and insight on her personal favorites.  She helped to steer us toward the Italian White and Cuban Black Bean pizzas.  Unintentionally, both of these choices were vegetarian selections.  When ordering pizza, you have the option of either a white or wheat crust, and we chose white for the Italian White and wheat for the Cuban Black Bean.  The pizzas offered at Indigo are the single serve, one-plate style, so we decided to order two and share, as we often do when it’s an option.  Indigo offers 5 types of specialty pizzas, along with one “Choose Your Own” option, where you select from their extensive list of stuffings and toppings.  These toppings range from the traditional items such as pepperoni, to the not-so-common accents like garden peas, almonds, and hard salami.      

We each preferred our own selections.  Robyn went with the Italian White.  This one includes Ricotta, Feta, mushrooms, spinach, and Mozzarella, and will set you back $9.99.  This pizza was BY FAR Robyn’s favorite.  It was soft and creamy, without being overly so.  It was akin to neither an alfredo nor a marinara, but fell somewhere in between, in a perfectly lush median of fresh, quality ingredients.  Also, there was an interesting but balanced contrast between the Italian and Greek cheeses.

Courtney opted for the Cuban Black Bean pizza.  This had stood out to us on the menu, but we were hesitant of the "black bean sauce" in the description.  Our server set us straight - she said it was delicious and proclaimed it her favorite.  Ok, then!  The Cuban Black Bean features that house-made black bean sauce (don't be scared), banana peppers, salsa, cheddar and mozzarella cheeses, and a side of sour cream.  Courtney really loved this one, preferring it's zesty and non-traditional toppings, and the dipping aspect provided by the sour cream.  She enjoyed Robyn's Italian White, too, but was glad she had chosen the Cuban Black Bean, and happy that she got to keep both leftover slices of it when doling the leftovers into two carryout containers.  The only problem:  the leftovers kind of sucked.  Somehow the zeal of this pizza vanished when refrigerated.  True, a microwave was involved in its reheating (we know, never a good idea, but options are limited in a workplace kitchen), but the problem was with the flavor, not that it was gooey/mushy/tough-crusted.  It was a sad lunch.  What's the lesson here?  Go to Indigo with an empty tummy and eat all of your pizza in one sitting!                        

We left Indigo very pleased, albeit a little confused.  How can a place like Fratelli’s rank in the top 10 when places like this go above and beyond in almost all of the facets we’ve talked about?  Regardless, we are very likely to make some return trips to Indigo, whether it’s for a casual “girls night” with our friends or a “date night” with our significant others.  There are some other pizzas on that menu that need us to eat them.

New Year, Newport

Twenty- Fourth Stop:  Newport Pizza Company

Date: January 8^th, 2012

Location: 601 Monmouth Street Newport, KY 41071

Ranking:  16

We’re baaaaaaaack!  Pizza lovers of the Tri-State rejoice; we have returned after a short pizza blogging hiatus and are now blazing through the last half of the top 50 Cincinnati pizzas.  However, the first post-hiatus visit was actually not in Cincinnati.  We dropped in to one of our tried and true favorites in Newport, on one of those warm, balmy evenings in January.

Almost everyone that we know loves Newport Pizza Company.  Only one of our friends has been less than impressed, and we’d venture to say that was a fluke.  Here’s why:  Newport Pizza Company has consistently served up unique, fresh, and delicious pizza every time we've gone, and that was no different on this particular visit.

In the spirit of full disclosure, we have to admit that we dined with a friend of ours who is also an employee at Newport Pizza Company.  One could argue that our satisfaction and overall experience is tainted or biased, but based on our past experience as well, we are willing to bet that the experience was a true indicator of the service and food we’d receive on any visit.         

The atmosphere in NPC is cozy, clean, and comfortable.  The service has always been very friendly, and the staff is well-informed and extremely knowledgeable about the menu and bar offerings.  Speaking of the bar--they offer a really great selection of craft and import beers, if that’s what you’re into.  Our fantastic server Krista was attentive to our every need, and made sure that our foray back into pizza blogging was going to be a good one.  And it was.

We started out with some Fried Mozzarella, which are fresh mozzarella chunks, battered and fried into gooey, geometric cubes, with a heavenly crisp on the outside.  The fresh, house made marinara sauce was the perfect compliment to these, although they could probably stand alone just fine.  Courtney had never tried these before, and was definitely in love.  (p.s.  there were two left and, though the server kindly advised that these weren't very good reheated, we found them to be just fine later.  Come on, you can't waste something that good!) 

Between the three of us, we decided to order two 12” pies, each split in halves with different types of pizza on either side.  That was a benefit of knowing an employee - she knew how to get the most bang for our buck and the most tastes out of one visit.  On one of them, we chose the Monmouth and the Meatball Lasagna.  On the other, half  Barbeque Chicken and half Zeus.

We both really loved the meatball lasagna pie, which showcased their homemade sauce and meatballs.  There was a light mix of Ricotta cheese in the sauce, which was a pleasant addition.  Eating this pizza reminded Robyn of our annual T-Givin’ potluck, in which our friends make delicious lasagna the night before Thanksgiving.  Whatever your favorite lasagna is, this pizza will probably remind you of it, which is awesome.  The crust is light and chewy, but not too thin to support the heavy toppings.  This pizza is a different kind of good, and the right choice if you're in the market for a pizza that's not quite pizza.   

Meatball Lasagna on the left, the Monmouth on the right

The Barbeque Chicken pizza was pretty standard for its kind, but was great.  Do not underestimate standard ingredients; it's what they do with them that is important!  We heard this one is pretty popular, and totally see why.  The barbeque sauce was sweet, not vinegary.  There was plenty of the sauce, which was nice.  The onions were a little dry for Robyn’s liking, but they still added good flavor to the pizza overall.     

Barbeque Chicken on the left, Zeus on the right

The Zeus was the first NPC pizza that Courtney ever tried, awhile back, and remains probably her favorite.  This one offers fresh spinach, Roma tomatoes, garlic, feta, asiago, and an olive oil base.  It is seriously the melt-in-your-mouth kind of good, actually just as good (if not better) than Courtney remembered.  This one is definitely the right choice if you want something with a different kind of taste, or maybe something a little lighter.   Also, if you love Asiago.  OMG Asiago.

The Monmouth is the NPC house specialty, basically a high-end deluxe pizza.  This guy features the usual suspects for a deluxe.  The meat:  pepperoni, awesome Italian sausage, and bacon.  The veggies: bright green peppers, onions, and mushrooms.  The cheese:  mozzarella, provolone, and Parmesan.  These ingredients are piled super high, so we recommend attacking this one with a fork.  A classic done right.

We know what you're thinking:  "of course you're going to give it a grand review, your friend works there!".  Believe us, though - we are not exaggerating.  Newport Pizza Company is good stuff.  Skip Dewey's the next time you head towards the Levee, and drive a few blocks up to NPC instead.  Maybe try the Pizza of the Month, where the NPC team tries out some creative blends and thematic pies (it's Caribbean Jerk now, but we heard the Greek they had recently was one of their best).  And, if it's your birthday and you are an extremely lucky person, their delivery driver will sing Happy Birthday to you in a full-on operatic voice.  You are not misreading this - it's one of our new favorite memories.  

Pricy Pepperoni

Eighteenth Stop: Raniero’s

Date: June 13, 2012

Location: 28 Martha Layne Collins Boulevard, Cold Spring, KY

Ranking: 48

We had kind of been avoiding Raniero’s for awhile, and for various reasons.  The day that we finally planned to cross it off of the list, it looked like our dinner may not come to fruition.  Courtney was stuck in horrible traffic from Mason to Raniero’s Cold Spring location, not far past NKU.  Of course, she had also left her cell phone at home that day, so therefore could not communicate this delay to Robyn.  She ended up being almost a full half hour late.  Being the awesome, patient friend that she is, Robyn waited.  By the time we were both there, our stomachs were growling.  This day surely warranted an appetizer.

We walked right in and were given our choice of seats.  We selected a high top table, ordered our drinks, and promptly perused the starter selections.  When we looked at the menu, it stated that they served Pepsi products.  We wanted Cokes, but both ordered Mountain Dew instead.  When we told our server this, she surprised us by saying that even though the menu says otherwise, they only serve Coke products.  Score!

There were a few things that stood out:  the standard yet typically delicious Garlic Knots, the Bosco Sticks (cheese-filled breadsticks), and the Luigi Snackers (kind of like a pizza hot pocket).  However, what really caught our eye were the Queso Cheez Stix, which promised to give us crunchy tortilla snackers filled with warm queso.  Our waitress fully endorsed this selection, so we decided to give it a go, turning a blind eye to its ridiculous spelling.  Pizza-wise, we decided to go simple this round, and selected Zia’s Pepperoni Pie.  This pizza promised to bring us pepperoni “stacked high and side-to-side”.  Sometimes, that is all a pair of girls need. 

Apparently we ate three of these before remembering to take a picture. 

 Honest reaction:  the Queso Cheez Stix (ok, that is impossible to write without cringing) were good enough for a seemingly frozen appetizer.  We were hungry, so not all that picky, and we had no problem splitting these up and finishing them off.  However, we realize that it was not the most delicious of appetizers.  These surely are not fresh; we both believe that they originally hailed from the freezer section.  Accompanying six of these deep-fried treats was a little cup of salsa, likely of the Pace or Kroger brand variety.  We’re really not complaining about these – they were completely edible, and we were so hungry that we did not care.  However, it is something to note if you are in the market for a unique, homemade appetizer.  In that case, this is not the appetizer for you.  It’s also not for you if you hate purposeful misspellings (Cheez.  Stix.  Ugh). 

They might as well call them Kaysoh Cheez Stix.

Then came our pizza.  And folks, this is really the first time that we disagreed on a pizza.  Courtney liked it fine.  It was just a good, standard pepperoni pizza.  It had a good, greasy flavor that you expect from this classic pie.  The pepperoni itself was zesty, just as the menu promised.  Robyn, on the other hand, did not care for this pizza at all.  She ate it – just as with the Queso Stix, it was edible – but she really didn’t enjoy it.  Nothing about the pizza stood out or even hit the spot, and she was disappointed in pretty much every aspect of the pizza, which bummed her out.  While Robyn is the deeply in love with some greasy kinds of pizza (see: Jet’s), she did not like the amount or flavor of grease that seemed to be pooling all over the plate and seeping through the crust alarmingly.      

The whole shabang.

Ewwwwwwww

After Robyn sopped up excess grease with a napkin.

Now, back to agreeing.  We both agree that this pizza was a rip-off.  As aforementioned, this pizza description promised this specialty option to be “stacked high and side-to-side with zesty pepperoni”.  Only the zesty part of this description is correct; the pepperoni was not that prevalent.  There was really just a normal amount on it, which kind of pisses us off.  Our 12-inch pizza was $13.95.  Before seeing this pizza, Courtney had placed a to-go order for a large, 16-inch of the same variety.  This one was $19.95.  Twenty dollars for a pepperoni pizza?  It just seems like a bit much.  In drafting this post, Courtney checked out their menu again and saw that you can order a 16” “Pizza by the Pie” with one topping (example: pepperoni) for $16.50.  We are willing to bet that the difference in the amount of pepperoni between that and the Zia’s specialty kind is minimal.  Keep this in mind and save yourself some money if you’re ever in the mood for a simple pepperoni pizza from Raniero’s. The Zia is not worth it!  It is worth noting, however, that they seem to have good combo deals (under $5) if you’re looking for just a plain slice or two and a drink.   

  

Does ANYONE think this pepperoni is stacked "high and side-to-side"?

I suppose Raniero’s could have been a better experience; perhaps we just didn’t order the right things.  We’ve both heard good things from many different people (we actually ran into two different couples that we know just in our quick visit), so the place must be doing something right.  We understand that other appetizers choices are decent.  In fact, when we ran into our friend Jeff there that evening, he provided us with this quote:  “Who needs Mario when you’ve got Luigi Snackers?” The service was quality, and the atmosphere (an old Blockbuster) is nice for a pizza parlor/bar.  It is also worth noting that Raniero’s offers a 24” Pizza Challenge in which two collaborating contestants struggle to consume a 24” cheese pizza in less than 10 minutes.  If they finish within the allotted time, their pizza is on the house; if not, they must fork up the dough.  From the looks of their site, it looks like they are trying to petition this contest for Man v. Food.  Courtney’s brother has actually championed this feat, and has his picture framed on the Raniero’s wall.  Her family is very proud.

Here’s our biggest takeaway from our Raniero’s experience:  it’s expensive.  We’ve not had any complaints, really, about pizza pricing until this point.  Some places are more than others, but some are also better than others, or perhaps provide more quality ingredients (some of which are very noticeable).  At Raniero’s, we went about as simple as we could, but that wasn’t reflected in the price, and unfortunately the price wasn’t balanced with the quality. If you have $20 to spend on a pepperoni pizza, you’re probably better off going somewhere that offers you either better pizza, or the ability to add side items for that amount.

Grandview Tavern & Grille

Thirteenth Stop: Grandview Tavern & Grille

Date: April 11^th, 2012

Location: 2220 Grandview Drive Fort Mitchell, KY 41017

Ranking: 34

Shhhhhh.  Half price pizza on Wednesdays.  Don’t Tell. 

So, this particular week, Wednesday was the only evening that worked for us to get together for a pizza treat.  We wanted somewhere close to one of our houses, so when Courtney checked our master tracking spreadsheet and saw that Grandview Tavern & Grille was in Fort Mitchell, that seemed like the place to go.  As luck would have it, upon visiting their website, she found that Wednesday is half price pizza night.  Score.

When we pulled into the parking lot, Robyn remembered family dinner there a few years prior.  It had been for a special occasion, such as an anniversary, that warranted a “fancy” dinner.  And, as we eyeballed the storefront, we started to second-guess whether or not we were dressed appropriately.  Everyone seemed to be dressed in suits and dresses.  Apparently this place is a big happy hour hot spot for the corporate folk.  We’re not fancy ladies, especially on weeknights when the plan is to stuff our faces with delicious pizza goodness.  Also, we are so used to little parlors and holes in the wall that this place immediately struck us as stuffy.  However, as soon as we approached the hostess station, we realized we had worried for no reason.  While the overall atmosphere was a bit more formal than to which we are accustomed, there were plenty of other people in casual attire around the bar and in booths along the walk to our table.  Once we saw the lady in the crummy old hoodie, we felt much better.

We were seated in a room adjacent to the bar area, where the clientele seemed to be mainly the upper crust of the white middle class baby boomers.  Our hostess seated us in a booth table covered in white linen, a glass tabletop, and adorned with candle lighting.  Despite the candles and time of day, the room was very dim, which made photos difficult when coupled with our amateur skills and tools. 

The pizzas come in one size:  the perfect size for one hungry adult.  We like this setup, as it allows us to try two kinds of pizza pie.  Our final picks were the Sicilian ($12 regular price) and the Wild Mushroom ($12 regular price).  The Sicilian was topped with “homemade zesty tomato sauce, Italian sausage, pepperoni, capicola, fresh basil, and oregano.”  The Wild Mushroom came with roasted and sautéed mushrooms, olive oil, garlic, and smoked Gouda.   There are many other tasty-looking choices available, and it took us a few moments to narrow down our selections.

For both pizzas, the shining element was the crust.  The dough is enhanced with a top-secret blend of herbs and spices, making it unlike any other crust we’ve consumed thus far.  It was soft, yet crisp in all the right places, and has a show of green that tells us its herb components are fresh.  When we commented to our server about how much we liked the crust, he agreed that it was delicious but then quickly said “he cannot tell a soul” its recipe.  No worries – we have no intention of actually trying to recreate these pizzas.  We just want to eat them.

Robyn really liked the cheese on the Wild Mushroom pizza, along with the juicy flavor and texture that the mushrooms provided.  Its smoked Gouda was melt-y and delicious, really all you can ask for.  The mushrooms (we think Cremini) were whole and had a slightly sweet flavor.  Odd for mushrooms, we suppose, but somehow it worked. 

Robyn wasn’t keen on the Italian sausage on the Sicilian, but mostly because it’s not one of her favorite toppings in general.  Courtney was happy with this one, and especially liked the fresh basil that topped it all.  It was a great touch to the sausage and pepperoni, providing an overall cooling effect to those spicy meats.  This pizza was nice and crispy at the edges, giving a nice crunch to your bites. 

As aforementioned, Courtney had discovered that Grandview hosts a ½ prize pizza deal on Wednesdays.  Our server didn’t mention this when we ordered, but neither did we.  No big deal, since we already knew about the deal, and would have gotten pizza regardless.  However, when he did eventually slip a hint at ½ priced Wednesdays, it was rather uncomfortable.  He handed us each a check (we go dutch), smiled, and said that the pizza tastes “so much better on Wednesdays.”  We didn’t know what to say.  As far as he knew, neither of us even knew about the promotion.  It almost seemed like he was calling us out as cheapskates, which we didn’t really like.  Though he was very nice and attentive throughout our visit, this moment is the one that sticks with us. 

In the grand scheme of things, sure, we liked Grandview’s pizza.  Most notably, the crust was a small work of art.  There was that odd moment with our server near the end but, overall, considering his otherwise friendly service and their tasty pizza, it was a pleasant dining experience.  You can tell that they take special care in making each guest’s personal pizza, and pride themselves in their array of fresh ingredients.  We just don’t think we’ll be dreaming about this pizza every night (we’re looking at you, Giuseppe’s!).