Pizza Bella

Since I've now visited Pizza Bella three times and have been equally if not more satisfied each time, I feel that it deserves a mention here at food is love. Really there is not much to say other than FABULOUS.
The pizzas served here are roughly twelve inches each, served on a large ceramic plate and sliced into four large pieces. Of course one pizza is more than a meal, but after having not eaten all day and sweating away to Zumba at the gym, a girl like me can with no doubt eat one entire "pie" if you will, along with a cold beer and be completely satisfied.
What makes Pizza Bella so great isn't one thing alone. The dough is delicious, thin as wax paper but strong enough to bear the weight, moisture and grease of a melange of toppings. The crust is airy and crisp with just the right amount of chew.
The pizza that interested me the most on my first visit was what they call simply Potato. On arrival and at first glance the pizza looks like it is being served a la mode, because post-bake a scoop of shredded radicchio tossed in balsamic vinegar is placed in the center of the pie, adding volume and a beautiful contrast of color. Beneath the radicchio slaw, covering the pizza is a sheet of sliced Yukon potatoes, Gorgonzola cheese and olive oil.
Upon biting into the pizza, you first get the softness of the potato on your teeth, followed by the heavy salt and strength of the buttery Gorgonzola. The crispy radicchio and the sweet balsamic vinegar provide the perfect contrast to the heavy flavors and textures brought by the potatoes and cheese. This is a pizza for serious food lovers. The flavors are strong and they are not for the weak of taste bud. I think Pizza Hut would call this one the Scalloped Potato Pizza.
To drink I chose the Brazilian beer Xingu, suggested by the friendly and informative server. Xingu is a black beer, a lager made from black-roasted malts, which color the beer black during the brewing. Cold, sweet and light to perfectly complement my pizza.
I am definitly going back here again. There are at least ten pizza's on the menu, with toppings that include egg, pancetta, chorizo, pesto...the list goes on. In addtion to pizzas there is always an entree special as well a few appetizers, salads and desserts.
Please go eat here now and share the pizza love!

Another Burger

So gourmet burgers seem to be the newest food trend to hit the mainstream in Kansas city. I for a long time resisted becoming a follower of this new burger obsessed city, but after my mothers day brunch at Blue Stem I have been converted. Brunch on Sunday at a fine place like this always has a special menu, sprinkled with wonderfully prepared twists of typical brunch fare: Eggs Benedict, french toast, biscuits and gravy yada yada yada. Arriving STARVED and a bit hungover, wanting something salty that would probably leave me feeling guilty later, I was torn between the fried chicken livers and the kobe beef burger. I chose the burger with pleasure! It came out on a yummy egg bun, medium as ordered, topped with plenty of melted swiss, bacon and an over easy egg! On the side were pommes frites(fancy name for french fry), but these french fries deserved the special name. They were fried golden, practically greaseless and seasoned mimimally, to enhance the flavor of the potato(i think they used yukons). A side of sweet homeade ketchup completed the masterpiece that would be my brunch. Everything was wonderfull. The meat in the burger was rich and perfectly seasoned. I had a few bites whole, and then kind of deconstructed the thing(it was massive, at least 1/3 lb), and picked at it. Wonderfull is how I would describe what I had! To drink I had coffee(roasterie), water(sans ice, how i like it and also how they serve it!) and a bellini(peach nectar with a wonderful proseco in a champagne flute). I feel a leisurly brunch requires at least three different kinds of beverages, ya know, to really evoke that sort of luxury allowed by brunch.
The service was perfect, the music(ratatat) pleasant and the atmosphere comfortable and inviting. I do believe Blue Stem is truly wonderful. And burgers are definitly my newest obsession so be on the lookout for more burger posts from me!