Pizza Places

Last week there were a couple of days when I was too busy to make dinner, and I had a craving for a calzone. It's been a while since I last had a calzone, so I forgot what my opinions are about local calzones. There are probably dozens of pizza places in Waterbury (we really don't need any more Italian restaurants!), and I can't claim to have tried them all, but here are my thoughts on the ones I have tried (now that my memory has been refreshed).

Dominick & Pia's (on Spring Street, across from UConn-Waterbury) has the best pizza. Their dough is delicious, their sauce is spectacular, and the pizza box is tied shut with string by a little old Italian lady.

Louie's Pizza (on East Main Street, across from UConn-Waterbury) has good chef salads and good pizza, but while I do like their pizza, it's not particularly memorable.

Zachary's (on East Main Street, across from the WAMS magnet school) has the best Greek salads, but I do not like the dough they use for their pizzas and calzones. It seems too processed, almost waxy or spongy. I do like, however, their cheese mix for the calzones--more mozzarella than ricotta.

The calzones from Rocky's (in Bunker Hill) have really good dough, and they're really large, but they use a little too much ricotta for my tastes.

The absolute best calzones I've ever had were at the Pizza Cafe (on West Main Street, near the intersection of Willow and Meadow Streets).

One of my other favorite craving foods is a meatball grinder. I have yet to find a place in Waterbury that makes a really great meatball grinder (although I haven't searched very hard). There's a place in Florence, Massachusetts that I used to eat at thirteen years ago. Their meatball grinders were perfection. The bread was toasted and they added grilled green peppers and onions. Someday I hope to find an equally good meatball grinder in Waterbury.