Food Friday: Five Points Pizza

Now, I'm a New Yorker. I make no apologies for that. I'm loud, I have road rage, I know my bagels, and I know my pizza. Nashville's pizza scene has baffled me.  There are immense amounts of pizza places in Nashville, but they are all parts of major chains.  We have the Papa John's, the Pizza Huts, the Domino's. These are basically places that I don't think actually make what I call pizza. I'm a personal fan of the mom and pop type places that serve you by the slice and have Italian Ices for when you are done.  No place in Nashville does it like that, so I've tried every "respectable" pizza place looking for a reasonable alternative.

Now my favorite fancy pizza in Nashville goes to City House. Filled with fancy meats and cheese, it is heaven. But it is also not NY style greasy pizza. Eastland Cafe makes a similar one that is great for happy hour, but is not down home enough.  Mafioza's is getting closer. Their pizza is greasy, floppy and the two for one slice deal jam packs the place every Tuesday night. But, its crowded and not in my neighborhood.

Close up of the goodness

When Five Points Pizza opened up in my neighborhood hangout spot next to all the bars- I was so excited.  The promised New York Style Pizza by the slice. There is the missing component! The drop in- one slice please- grease-leaking-through-the-paper-bag type pizza I missed from home. Now honestly, the pizza by the slice is a tad misleading, as this is more of a traditional restaurant than a pizza joint.  I have never ordered a single slice here nor has anyone I've ever gone with although they clearly offer it on their menu.

Steve is a pizza creeper

The pizza simple put, is pretty darn good. I wouldn't go as far as to say it tastes exactly like New York pizza, but who cares, we aren't in New York and this stuff is good! The Garlic Knot appetizer is huge and can be split easily among four people. Also, they are so filling they can count as a meal. The tomato dipping sauce has just the right amount of tangy. 

As for the pies, they offer a good assortment of options. The classic style Old World is exactly what you would expect and the Pizza Bianca is my favorite white pizza south of the Mason-Dixon. I LOVE white pizza and theirs has so much garlic on it! Gives it a great kick. On our most recent trip we tried a pie that doesn't seem to be on the Internet menu- but it had capicolla, pepperoni, olives and banana peppers. Ung. I loved it.

The only not-so-bright spot in this local eatery is the spotty service.  I've been there between 5-8 times and most of the time the service is great.  But, on a couple of occasions it just hasn't been the best. On my first visit their the waiter forgot our order and messed up our beers and then messed up our check.  After much confusion, the owner was nice enough to take care of it for us and offer us some free food. Now that is good customer service.

On my most recent trip our waiter took our drink order, and then disappeared.  For a very long time.  We tried flagging him down or getting someone else. Eventually a different waitress came by to check on us.  She took our order and handled us the rest of the night.  And the first guy, still there! Even dropped off a to-go box and didn't apologize for forgetting us, he didn't even look at us! Eh, at least the waitress was really nice and a strange waiter does not ruin the delicious pizza.

Steve enjoys the last bite!

Overall, its a great pace for dinner before you go to a show at the 5 spot or grab some beers at 3 Crow.