Ollie's Bites: A Pizza my Heart in Charlotte

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Benny Pennello's

Photo courtesy of Twitter

If you're in the NoDa neighborhood and craving a late-night slice, Benny Pennello’s is going to be your savior. The slices are beyond huge – it takes two plates just to hold one. The topping options here are not extensive and not customizable, but if you are looking for a simple pepperoni or veggie slice with a beer, Benny’s has you covered. They are open until 3 a.m. on weekends, and they serve local beers (in cans), as well as local favorite King of Pops popsicles in the freezer case.

Photo courtesy of Thrillist

Alino Pizzeria

Although this gem is located about 25 miles away from Downtown Charlotte, it’s well worth the drive. This Mooresville pizzeria imports buffalo mozzarella, “00” flour, and San Marzano tomatoes weekly, and they bake up their pizzas in wood-fired ovens that are custom-made in Naples, Italy. Top off your authentic Italian experience with gelato or a cannoli, both of which are made in-house. The counter service is quick, the employees super friendly, and you can always catch a soccer game on one of their many TVs. Don’t miss the caprese salad –
getting to taste that fresh mozzarella in all its glory is simply divine.

Inizio Pizza

Inizio Pizza has locations in Ballantyne and Dilworth, and they pride themselves on recreating classic Neapolitan-style pizza, which is baked in a wood-fired oven for 90 seconds. This quick cooking time, as well as the imported Italian “00” flour, results in the chewiest and most delicious crust ever. Make sure you order the crowd favorite: Pistacchio Pizza with rosemary, pistachio pesto, and buffalo mozzarella. My personal favorite is the Maria with a variety of mushrooms and truffle crema. Make sure to save room for cannoli or gelato; both are house-made and well worth the splurge. 

Pure Pizza

Photo courtesy of Thrillist

Pure Pizza has locations in Plaza Midwood and in the Seventh Street Public Market in Uptown. Pure has so many creative menu options, particularly their crusts – you can get original, gluten-free, or sprouted ancient grain, which is made with quinoa, amaranth, and buckwheat. Their toppings are no less innovative – try the chorizo pizza, topped with shaved radishes, cilantro, and lime juice, or the smoked salmon with capers, dill créme fråiche, and red onions. Their salad offerings also go far beyond the usual pizza joint house salad and venture into kale and goat cheese territory. 

Photo courtesy of Charlotte Agenda

Hawthorne's Pizza

Photo courtesy of Groupon

For a classic New York-style slice, you can’t go wrong at Hawthorne’s. Their ultimate spinach pizza topped with mozzarella and Gorgonzola is my favorite, and they are well known for their buffalo wing pizza. This pie is not only delicious, but it is called “The Inducer” as it has been known to put many expectant mothers who are past their due dates into labor! Another great option, pregnant or not, is their thick and chewy Sicilian-style pizza. Round out your meal with the garlic knots and a Hawthorne’s salad, made with pepperoncini and tossed in a bleu cheese balsamic dressing. 

Image courtesy of Scoop Charlotte

Your Pie

Background: 
Your Pie was opened in 2008 by Drew French, after he visited his wife's family in a small town outside of Naples, where he fell in love with the simple and delicious art of wood-fired pizza. Today, Your Pie is a franchise with tons of locations across the Southeast and Midwest. Charlotte's very own Your Pie opened in July 2017 in Southend, and we were honored to be included on the invite for their media preview day. There are so many create-your-own pizza places in Charlotte now, but we really felt that Your Pie distinguished itself with its food and service. 

Eat This: 
Obviously, the name of the game is the create-your-own pizza, but if you aren't feeling particularly inspired, Your Pie has created some topping combinations for you. Ankor Patel, the owner of the Southend franchise, recommends the Southern Heat--a blend of buffalo sauce, chicken, red onions, mozzarella, and jalapenos. The pizzas can be made on white or wheat crust, or even a 50/50 blend of white and wheat if you want to go healthy, but you don't want your pizza to taste 100% like cardboard. All of the veggie toppings used at each franchise are locally sourced, and the freshness really comes through in each pie. 

I got the white crust okay JUDGE AWAY

Not feeling pizza? How about a panini, or a salad in bread bowl? Salad in a bread bowl is a game changer for me--like, I want to be healthy and have vegetables and fiber and things, but you know: CARBS. Talk about the best of both worlds. 

The bowl is BREAD/image courtesy of the YourPieClt Instagram page

The best thing we tried, though? Their cheesy bread sticks. These reminded me of eating Papa John's at middle school sleepovers, and I freaking loved it. 

Dessert: 
Part of what makes Your Pie stand out from the other pizza places like it, is their gelato and sorbet offerings. It seems as though most pizza places offer a shrink-wrapped cookie or brownie, and that's it. While Your Pie offers those trusty staples as well, their gelato steals the show. We tried the blood orange sorbet, which was perfect for a sweltering July day. I can't wait to get back and try some of their other flavors soon. 

Drink: 
In addition to soft drinks, Your Pie offers a large selection of wine and beer, and they always offer beers that are local to the franchise area. 

Atmosphere: 
There is ample seating, if you are not taking your pizza to go. A fun local touch? This beautiful green wall created by Torri from The Savage Way

Pizza, love, and hoppiness//image courtesy of the YourPieClt Instagram page

"Make Your Own" Hospitality: 
Sometimes, the service at create-your-own places is lacking, and of course, there is always the completely legitimate concern that the employees are skimping on the topping options. This is not the case at Your Pie--you can rest assured they will load up your pizza with a smile. 

Frankie's Notes: 
Salad in a bread bowl solves the timeless conundrum of: I don't want to die of malnutrition, but I'm freaking starving; Southern Heat is also the name of Frankie's basketball team; Cheesy bread sticks plus John Hughes movies equals pure nostalgic joy; Shrink-wrapped desserts by the register are kind of sad, but it doesn't mean I won't eat them; There is nothing like the stress of watching an employee neglect to put enough cheese on your order. 

 

Disclaimer: This meal was provided free of charge in exchange for an honest and unbiased review. All opinions are our own, and we were not compensated for this review.

Aliño Pizzeria

Background: 
If you read our post on Barcelona Burger Bar, then you already know we are huge fans of Michal Bay's work (not to be confused with Transformers director Michael Bay--we are decidedly not fans of his work). After our awesome experience on the right side of the converted Mooresville mill (AKA the burger side) we were invited to head back on a recent night to check out the left side (AKA the pizza side). Aliño Pizzeria has been serving up authentic Neopolitan-stye pizza since February 2015, and the people are loving it. There are regularly lines out the door, although you won't wait long, as the staff has the process of getting you in and fed down to an art form. 

How authentic is their pie? For starters, every week the restaurant gets shipments from Italy of San Marzano tomatoes, Buffalo Mozzarella, and "00" flour, a designation which means the flour is very finely ground. The pizzas are baked in custom wood-fire ovens for a mere 90 seconds. All of these steps are part of the process of making true Neopolitan pizza that has a signature soft and doughy crust with the perfect amount of chew. The ingredients used are of the highest quality, and it is evident that each pizza is made with a great amount of care. 

Eat This: 
We went with our friends Jess, Andrew, and Lorin, and splitting two pies turned out to be the perfect amount of food. 

Bellucci

Cremini mushrooms, caramelized Cipolline onion, fresh garlic, truffle oil (no sauce)

Sorrento

Pepperoni, San Marzano tomato sauce, fresh buffalo mozzarella, fresh basil, fresh garlic

The pizzas were incredible. The crust is like nothing else I've ever had, and the toppings were all flavorful and oh so savory. 

We also tried a caprese salad, and we were so glad we did. I have never tasted Buffalo mozzarella as fresh as this. The spicy greens and the late summer tomatoes drizzled with some high quality olive oil--ugh. I was just in heaven eating this salad. Which is really saying something when the pizza was so delicious. The caprese was the perfect accompaniment to our meal.

Caprese Salad

Fresh, ripe tomatoes, buffalo mozzarella, fresh basil, extra virgin olive oil

One of my favorite parts about Aliño was their sauce and condiment bar. As a gal who likes a lot of red sauce for dipping, this allowed me to get as many servings as I wanted without feeling embarrassed. Hooray!

Dessert: 
As we mentioned on the Barcelona post, all of the gelato and the cannoli are made in house. There is also a wide variety of cakes from a local bakery, so no matter what you are craving at the end of your meal, Aliño has you covered. 

Chocolate raspberry Cake

cannoli

Chocolate chip & pistachio

gelato

Drink: 
Like its sister restaurant Barcelona Burger, Alino has a large assortment of wine and beer, and the ever-popular freestyle Coke machine. 

Atmosphere: 
Whether you want to sit outside in Alino's covered patio area, or inside in the spacious dining area, you will be comfy and cozy. 

Napoletano Hospitality: 
Everyone at Alino is so friendly, and everyone always seems to be in a good mood. The folks at the counter who take the order are knowledgeable and efficient and the food runners are fast--seriously, the last time we were here our pizzas beat us to the table because we took so much time playing with the Freestyle Coke machine. 

Frankie's Notes: 
If they can make mozzarella from buffalo milk, imagine what they could make from pug milk; We covered Alino and Barcelona on episode one of the podcast, and you should definitely give it a listen here; Jason plus a Freestyle Coke machine = unbridled joy; If there is a condiment, sauce, or salsa bar, you can rest assured that I will come back with seven to nine varieties just for me; Don't touch my sauce. 

Disclaimer: This meal was provided free of charge in exchange for an honest and unbiased review. All opinions are our own, and we were not compensated for this review.