The Ever Changing Tarrantino's

Friday usually means waking up late for work because you’ve already treated Thursday night like Friday night.  It also means knocking off work early and saving space in your stomach for a pizza fix later that night.

This is exactly what I did today.  A friend and I went up to Tarrantino’s, part of Tarrant’s cafe, only to find that they are expanding the restaurant into their old pizza parlor space.  We had to make do with standing in the way of dining patrons while we waited for our pizza.

After Andy’s pleasant experience at with their pizza, I decided to give it another go around.  Half cheese, half pepperoni.

Thin crust?  Since when was this stuff thin crust?  Surely I didn’t specify thin crust when I ordered.  I asked my friend and server, is this stuff thin now?  She told me the cook likes to pound his dough a little more than the others.

Oh the unpredictability of this place.  I have once held this place in the highest regard as my favorite pizza place in Richmond.  Absolutely perfect and slightly unique New York style pizza at one point, only to be shamed by the carelessness of several pizza chefs who don’t seem to ever want to cook their product to completion.  Even after all the disappointment, I still held Tarrantino’s in high esteem, never forgetting the one or two very much perfect pizza pie’s I once chowed down on.

Now I get a thin crust.  I don’t hate thin crust.  It’s good.  It’s very much its own thing for sure, but I went out in search of some awesome New York style slices.  Thicker, juicier, sloppier.  And I get a thin crust.

Its…awesome.

We sat there at the waiting table on a couple of stools that are probably reserved for guests waiting to be seated, simultaneously chewing, swallowing and trying to take in a little extra cool air so we didn’t completely burn our mouths.  Like children, we couldn’t wait another minute to eat this stuff.  It was perfect.  Nothing crispy here.  Not like the toast that normal plagues the bottom of a thin crust pizza.  This stuff was eerily similar to 8 1/2 pizza, only with its own flavor.  No garlicy crust, no extra spices in the sauce.  Just a damn good thin crust pizza, done perfectly.  Cooked to perfection with a few charred edges, perfectly melted cheese and a hearty tomato sauce.  It still retained the sloppiness which defines some of the New York style.  You know, the droopy edge, while still having a well-balanced crispy and chewy crust.

We sat there, like kids.  Telling jokes while trying to hold bits of pizza in our mouth, but occasionally letting them fall back onto the pizza box or in our laps.  Both of us enjoyed the hell out of this stuff.

Tarrantino’s pizza has always been a gamble for me but this time it paid off.  I kinda like not knowing what I’m gonna get.  I just hope I can get them to replicate this experience again. -gRant

Sorry, no pictures of the actual pizza, just the box.  The restaurant was too dark for my puny camera phone.

Just make sure to read this book.  If you like food at all, you’ll love it.  This guy is a voice of inspiration.