Remember when pizza was kid food? It was the most antici- pated lunch in the school cafeteria, and in Arizona, it was a real treat to go to Shakey’s or Organ Stop Pizza. At home, Mom would make the dreaded homemade pizza from a box or, almost as bad, frozen pizzas that really didn’t taste much like pizza at all. There were a few neighborhood places in Phoenix like Red Devil Pizza, where you could phone in an order but you had to pick it up yourself. Then came Domino’s with home delivery and Pizza Hut, but for the most part, all of this stuff was doughy bread with canned tomato sauce and melted mozzarella. Yet, we ate it because pizza shares the same quality that all ideal foods do. No utensils are required.
Today, there are gourmet pizza shops, take-home-and-bake pizzas, thin crust, deep dish, white pizza, Greek pizza, fried egg pizza and just about any kind of pizza you can dream up. Because we are hardwired from childhood to adore pizza, the disap- pointment of biting into a mediocre slice is just so sad for me. I’m constantly looking for a delicious pie, and I have found it at a restaurant called The Parlor Pizzeria – a name that honors the beauty parlour that occupied that space for 58 years, Salon de Venus.
Gone are rows of hair dryers and the ladies with their shampoo sets. The restaurant has been beautifully made over into a trendy, hipster joint that combines cool original features of the ’50s-era building – like the see-through block wall in the front and the salon chairs barstools – with a sleek hardwood interior design and modern fixtures.
It’s a beautiful night and the windows are open. The sounds and smells of the restaurant spill outside. It’s kind of a loud place; alternative music is playing, but it’s happy people talking and eating that makes most of the noise. There are 16 draft beers on the menu, a nice wine list and some very interesting cocktail specialties. We settle in for our dining experience with a great deal of hope, which is kind of dashed by a waiter who doesn’t know too much about the menu. Fear not though, the food speaks for itself.
Here’s what we had:
ODELL MYRCENARY DOUBLE IPA SNIFTER $5 It is served in a brandy glass to allow the floral aroma and citrus flavors to breathe and
you to breathe it in. Look out, though, it has a 9.3% alcohol content; maybe the small glass is a good thing if you’re driving.
CAPONATA BRUSCHETTA $7.50
Sweet and Sour Eggplant/ Roasted Peppers/Pine Nuts/ Currants/Herbed Ricotta Spread I am a sucker for roasted peppers and love egg- plant, so this one was an obvi- ous choice; it was scrumptious. Crispy bruschetta mounded with sweet, smoky herbal yumminess. It was comforting and complex and delicious.
ARANCINE $8.50
Crispy Saffron Risotto/Provolone/ Pomodoro Out came three meatball-looking (it’s not meat) fried rice balls swimming in a red sauce that just screamed “eat me.” They were crispy on the outside, but tender on the inside, and not the least bit greasy. The pomodoro was fresh and flavorful. The two of us looked at each other when it came down to the last rice ball and no words needed to be said. It was cut into equal halves because no one was going to offer to give up the last bite.
MIXED GREEN DINNER SALAD WITH WHITE BALSAMIC VINAIGRETTE $5 I had a confession to make. I have never heard of, let alone tasted, white balsamic vinegar, so this I had to have. It was truly delicious. The salad was cold, crisp and fresh, perfect really, and the dressing was out of this world. White balsamic is lighter and not as sweet as dark balsamic, which makes it an excellent and aesthetically pleasing ingredient for a dressing. I am going to look for this in the store.
FUNGHI PIZZA $8 (8” PERSONAL PIZZA) Roasted Mushrooms/ Goat Cheese/Truffle Oil/Chives There is a list of house specialty pizzas or you can build your own. This one sounded delicious, as I am a fan of the mushroom in or on anything, so I went with it. It’s a thin crust pizza (not a cracker), and it arrives hot and loaded with a variety of mushrooms that taste like they were sautéed before they were baked on the pizza. It is fresh and wonderful. The crust is golden brown from the wood-fired oven, and at this price it really can’t be beat.
ARTICHOKE HEART AND SPINACH PIZZA $8 (8” PERSONAL PIZZA)
This was a build-your-own affair and, like the other pizza, came loaded with toppings. The artichoke hearts were huge but invisible under the generous serving of fresh spinach leaves. The menu says that they use a house blend of cheeses, and I’m not sure what it is but it works!
BREAD PUDDING $6.50 House-Made Brioche/Roasted Chestnuts/Dates/Tuaca Custard My friend, who for the past 15 minutes has been saying how stuffed she is, orders dessert. What’s that about? She goes for the bread pudding, and it is elegantly served on a large plate in a pool of custard sauce. The bread pudding has a crispy, powdered sugar-coated crust. It falls apart in chunks in the shape of croutons under the pressure of our fast-moving forks, and she says, “I think these are croutons.” It wasn’t your traditional bread pudding, but I can report there was none left. The custard sauce was heavenly and reminded me of warm rummy eggnog. It was worthy of spooning up after the bread pudding was gone.
There was one disappointment. As I mentioned earlier, the cocktail specialties looked interesting and I felt like having an after-dinner drink. The one I ordered, a rye and apple bitters with cinnamon, apparently was a “seasonal” drink and no longer available. I asked the waiter to please double check because he hadn’t been that knowledgeable about the menu before, but, darn it, he was right this time. This is a pet peeve of mine. If you don’t have it, don’t put it on the menu.
Kids grow up and I guess pizza does too, and that’s why there was truffle oil on mine. The Parlor is a charming place with very good food
at reasonable prices. I will go back, though not on Sundays, when they are closed. I still want that drink!
The Parlor Pizzeria $$ | 1916 E. Camelback Rd. | Phoenix, AZ 85016 | theparlor.us
