napolesepizzeria.com
Intro
Being a writer and working in marketing, I tend to be very selective about the words I use. Not because I have some sort of Vonnegut (Vonnegutian?) Complex, but because I think there's a fine line between "persuasive selling" and "straight-up lying".
That being said, I find it interesting how restaurants (in this case, pizza restaurants) choose their names and descriptive language.
In previous posts, I've celebrated the whimsical "Smiling Teeth" of Puccini's and questioned other places on their ability to deliver on their marketing messages (e.g., Coal Pizza touting the fact that it cooks its pizzas in 90 seconds, and then taking nearly 45 minutes to get our order to our table).
WRITER'S NOTE: I just looked up the Coal Pizza site again and, apparently, it closed its doors since our visit last month. Too bad. Hate to see that happen to any local business. But bad service will do that to you.
Our most recent family pizza blog visit was to Napolese, which fancies itself as "an Artisinal Pizzeria". And even though the word "Artisanal" is oft-overused in pizza and foodie circles, Napolese truly delivers. And then some.
Here's some descriptive proof from their salad menu:
GUNTHORP FARMS DUCK CONFIT, ROASTED POTATOES, ARUGULA, RADISH, JOWL BACON, SHAVED PARMESAN, SHERRY FIG VINAIGRETTE
Atmosphere & Service
Napolese is located next door to Cafe Patachou, the great local eatery that owns and operates this neighborhood restaurant. We arrived about 6:00 on a Saturday night and were seated immediately (even though the joint certainly was jumpin'). They have bar seating situated right next to the pizza flingers and the beautiful brick oven, and these seats were quickly filled after we got there.
Pizza (breadsticks)
I've complained in the past about pizza places that don't serve breadsticks, and Napolese doesn't serve breadsticks. But the eclectic menu more than makes up for it. (Hypocrite!)
Instead, I went with the chop chop salad (which is actually big enough for two people), and it was fresh, flavorful and well balanced. The perfect prelude to my "Artisanal" meal.
The pizza was, well, WOW. I had the Hamaker's Corner (pepperoni, Italian sausage, provolone, mushroom). Benjamin went with the Classic Pepperoni (why do they slice their pepperoni the long way?), which had some spice to it, but Benjamin thoroughly enjoyed. Wesley selected the Pie of the Night, which if memory serves, had pepperoni, feta and...wait for it...spare ribs! Wesley was blown away. Benjamin thanked me for taking him there. My pizza was, in a word, stellar.
The crust was divine, delicious, downright perfect. Both boys commented (several times) how great the crust was—even hours after the visit.
My one strike against Napolese is the price. In their defense, we could have cut the cost by going without the salad and only buying two personal pizzas versus three (we had plenty of leftovers). And a $6 beer is pretty pricey for a pizza place. But I'd argue that the flavor and the experience is well worth the expense. It's not the every-Friday-night kind of place (for our family budget at least), but it's definitely one of the best pizza places in Indy. Hands down.
Verbatims from Benjamin:
The pepperoni tastes like sausage. It's spicy but really good. Really spicy but I still really really love it.
Verbatims from Wesley:
From the looks of this place, you'd think it would be healthy. But it's disgusting. And I mean that in the BEST kind of way. Good cheese, great toppings, great crust... this is delicious.
Rating (out of 8 possible slices, with 4 being average)
Dad: 7.25
Benjamin: 7
Wesley: 7
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