Stumped by Central Florida's lack of serious slice? Try the wood-fired Roman-style pizza at The Pie Orlando.
This restaurant in the city's College Park neighborhood specializes in rectangular pies with homemade sauce, made to order and also sold pre-made "al taglio," or by the slice.
Seating at the simple space with a spiffy decor, including black-and-white photo murals of Rome, is indoors and out. I tried three varieties yesterday, plus the meatballs. Here's what I found.
Here and above are the margherita pizza. The dough has a wonderful flavor and a substantial texture. The ingredients are fresh, and those big black blisters are a rare treat in Orlando. Still, the slice was a little dull--but nothing a shake of hot red pepper flakes didn't cure.
The Meat Lovers Roman-style pizza at The Pie Orlando is my favorite of the three. It's topped with a fennel-laced sausage, generous slivers of smokey ham (it's described on the menu as prosciutto but tastes different than usual), thin slices of pepperoni and bits of red onion.
The Funghetto, or mushroom, pie should have used more mushroom, but it's garlicky with a creamy white sauce--and will be my lunch again today.
I saw a whole lot of love for the house meatballs online before my visit. Maybe we got a bum batch, because while the flavor was nice our meatballs were way too dense..
Is the Roman-style pizza at The Pie Orlando worth a trip? Once, for sure. After that, I'd say it's a gift to College Park residents, but maybe not destination-worthy for the rest of us. But if it were near my home, I'd be a regular.
2429 Edgewater Drive, Orlando, 407.757.2426