Sunday, August 3, 2008

Belleria's Pizzeria (128 Graceland Bl. Columbus, OH, 43214, 435-7500)


Hype: Not much really. We were requested to review this establishment by a Pizza Slayer reader. The fact being that its origins lie in Youngstown was enough to intrigue us.

Scene: Not really scoring any points here. Located in a strip mall in the Graceland shopping center, you can't really get much lamer than that. Upon entering, the atmosphere was extremely clean and full of suburbanite families enjoying a nice weekend dinner, Italian style. No jukebox, funny signs or pinball machines here. A far cry from what we're normally accustomed to. Also, the restroom was freakishly clean. Immaculate, almost to the point of being creepy. They even had an employee checklist up on the wall of who's turn it was to clean. Nothing wrong with being a little on the cleanly side, but this was riduculous.

Pie:
Crust: Chewy and very flavorful. Not too doughy and not burnt in the least. Nice Work!
Sauce: The strongest point of this pizza was the sauce. Not your typical tomato flavor, this sauce had a mixture of green and red peppers thrown into it, giving it a very unique, tart taste. Very refreshing even. Just the right amount of it too. My only gripe with it was that it slid off the slice a little too easily, leaving me with a big pizza stain on my shirt. Oh well, at least it was a black shirt!
Cheese: Not bad at all. Greasy, but not too. It wasn't so filling as to make my stomach feel bloated like a lot of pies out there. Hearty and satisfying. It too slid off the slice too easily, sometimes leaving me with an unhappy, cheeseless slice, but ultimately one of the stronger points of the pizza.
Pep: Can't say I'm a fan of the pepperoni baked underneath the cheese. It detracts from the overall flavor of the pep, leaving you with just a hint of what you could be tasting. Kind of a pep tease if you know what I mean.

Overall: A nice tasting and extremely unique pizza. The pride of Youngstown. This is probably the least punk pizza i've ever tasted, but its a good value if you want something slightly more up- scale. We won't be seeing this one on punker Thursdays, but I would definitely revisit this place once every other month or so. 4 out of 5 pies.


4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Pep under cheese is the worst idea ever.

Anonymous said...

Yeah, pep under cheese is not cool. It's like boobs under a shirt or weiners under a pants.

- The Big A

colouraid said...

"...leaving me with a big pizza stain on my shirt. Oh well, at least it was a black shirt!"

hmm does the pizza stain count as experience?

P.S. pep tease = good

Colleen said...

I read your entire blog just to see if you would ever go to Belleria. Kudos! You should try Wedgewood in Grove City...it's another Youngstown pizza place. I suppose this doesn't fit into your study, but the supreme/everything pizza is really the tits.