Anyone that regularly reads this site can tell that there are some key themes that are continually repeated -- food, London. Maybe that is it. Just food and London. Not necessarily in that order and definitely not food in London or London food. I'd be quite hungry all the time and have little to write if it was all about food in London. But if you ever do find yourself in London make sure that you stop at Pret A Manger to eat. They are hard to miss and definitely worth a visit, I'll add a separate entry for that later.
But today, the focus is pizza. A while back my brother and I went to a place here in Salt Lake called ESTE pizza and were impressed with its offering in the universe of Utah pizza.
At the time we went there on the recommendation of one my co-workers who is native of New York and he thought it was one of the better attempts by places here in Utah to recreate a NY-style pizza. After I went there, the same co-worked said that Big Apple was the other place that he and his wife frequented to get their NY pizza fix between visits home.
So off we went again to visit Big Apple Pizza. The environment is totally utilitarian, with rows of booths along both walls and a few tables down the middle. The ordering counter is at the back and the kitchen behind it. It also had the requisite black and white shots of famous places in NY both current and historical.
The food. We ordered our standard test pizza. Half pepperoni and half cheese. I am the one who always insists on a part of the pizza being cheese only, especially on a first visit. I always assume that if a pizza place cannot produce a good cheese pizza then it's unlikely they will be able to produce any other variation of note. If you don't have a good foundation (crust, sauce, cheese), everything else is for naught. Big Apple also offered up garlic knots as one of their specialties so we got an order of those.
The knots came first and were good. Totally as expected. Knots of dough with a strong douse of garlic-y, cheese-y sauce and a ramekin of pizza sauce to dip them in. The pizza followed shortly and was good solid entry in the pizza available in the greater Salt Lake area. It had all that it needed to stand up with anything we have tried thus far.
There was nothing that made it stand out though. I would go there again without hesitation. And would definitely pick it over any regional or national chain given a choice. But it doesn't engender any cult-like feelings for me. So its on the list of places to get good pizza. But I am still in hunt of the elusive place that makes me want to drive out of my way to eat their pizza.
I'm looking forward to another visit so I can try a calzone and one of their Bender sandwiches.
Big Apple Pizzeria
2939 East 3300 South
Salt Lake City, UT
801-485-4534
7206 South 900 East
Salt Lake City, UT
801-568-9095
Comments (2)
We tried this one last night. So far this is the best flavored cheese pizza we've eaten in the valley. We will try Este next. Thanks for the reviews. I think you should start reviewing all sorts of restaurants!
Posted by: Liz | February 23, 2007 11:47 AM
Posted on: February 23, 2007 11:47
Glad you liked it. I do have other review in queue, but finding the time to type them out...
Posted by: Sam | February 23, 2007 1:35 PM
Posted on: February 23, 2007 13:35