Pizzeta Draws Solid Dinner Crowd

One look around and it's obvious: pizza is the way to go at Pizzeta. There are plenty of other options, but every table had at least one pie. Most were enjoying two or three.

The Main Street pizzeria draws a solid dinner crowd. In the hour and a half that I was there, none of the seven tables sat empty for more than five minutes. Families, high school students and professionals alike were grabbing a slice after softball practice or work.

Considering the crowd, I expected service to be swift. I was wrong. It was painfully slow. I recommend ordering from the counter if at all you are in a hurry. Only accept table service if you have time to kill. We had to wait even to sit down, as there were chunks of pasta and marinara sauce on the only open seats.

When the waiter did finally come over, he was friendly and knew the menu inside out. It offers a variety of soups, salads, appetizers, entrees, pasta dishes and—of course—pizza. Diners even have the option to create their own salad or pizza.

We started with minestrone soup and bruschetta. To say we were surprised when the green minestrone soup came out is an understatement. It gets its color from the pesto, a unique twist on the classic soup. While my mom said she liked it, I found it bland. Vegetarians beware: The minestrone is prepared with chicken broth.

The bruschetta was fresh. It was a bit salty but otherwise good, with large chunks of tomato on lightly toasted Italian bread topped with shaved Parmesan.

Next we tried the Chop Chop salad, which costs $7/$10. I added sauteed shrimp for $6. It was tender and juicy, with just a hint of butter. My mom added grilled chicken, which she absolutely devoured. The salad was topped with Kalamata olives, tomatoes, red onions and garbanzo beans. The menu says it includes carrots, but there were definitely none on either of our plates.

We complemented our salads with a personal size Caprese Pizza at $9. With broccoli, peppers, eggplant, zucchini, and onions, it was practically an entire garden served on delightfully thin, crispy crust. Topped with fresh mozzarella, it was easily the best part of the meal.

If you’re not a fan of garlic, opt for one of the many other pizza options such as Galletto with grilled chicken, bacon, tomato, cheddar cheese; Formaggi with pecorino, provolone, mozzarella, ricotta cheese; Venezia with grilled chicken, mozzarella, garlic, roasted peppers; or Poggio with wild mushroom, mozzarella, fontina cheese.

Pizzeta is a good place to head if your family cannot agree on one type of food. There are American dishes such as burgers, veal, seafood and chicken. The menu also includes panini and sandwiches.

One of the house specialties is vegetable lasagna, a pasta-free pile of fresh garden vegetables and three cheeses served in tomato sauce. There are French fries and pasta salad sides. The bill adds up quickly, with dishes ranging from $12-29.