East Side Pies

As with (dessert) pies, a crust can make or break the deal. Pizza pies of course can be your deep-dish Chicago-style, your more average "regular" crust, or a thin crust, often very hard to do right. East Side Pies has perfected the art of the thin crust pizza. It's practically wafer thin, and it stays crispy all the way through, from the edge of the crust to the center point of your slice. And it stays crispy through the duration of your eating an entire pie. My fourth (and final) slice of the evening was just as crisp as the first one that I slightly burned the roof of my mouth on. Go figure.

The place could best be described as a dive. There's a door with an opening, and yes, you're inside the shop, but only about 3 or 4 people can fit in the space. The counter/case to your left has pizza by the slice for sale, and it's where you place your order for whole pies. Not like the other guys in the shop couldn't hear your order, because I don't think the whole interior is much bigger than 150 square feet, with the big oven taking up much of the wall opposite the doorway. There's seating out on the patio, where a window opposite the above-mentioned counter is stationed to hand out the re-warmed slices.

There's a lot of pizza options. Either build your own, or their creations. Now, they have some things that I just don't think belong on a pizza, such as hummus and spinach curry, but I guess don't knock it til you've tried it. We got the Lu' -- with pineapple, bacon, ham, & jalapenos, and we added feta cheese. We sat at a table under the covered patio, listening to the buses on Rosewood whiz by, and the brief stoppage of one lady, trying to beg off some food. I was amused by all the posters & fliers that were up on the walls. Most were for past/upcoming music shows, but then there was the dichotomy of a poster for a lecture by former Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor and a show called "Spanksgiving". We'll just say one looked a bit more clean cut than the other!

The pizza pie itself was quite lovely. Again, a wonderfully thin crust (my father would approve), an appropriate amount of tomato sauce, that did have some flavor, but did not overpower, and our toppings of choice. I realized that since the crust was so thin, I could eat four pieces, as I wasn't filling up on bread dough. My friend swears by the Moontower Pie, their white pizza with ricotta, mozzarella, romano, feta & goat cheeses.

A lot of their business is carryout. It was a nice November evening to sit outside, but in chillier or hotter weather, it may not be the best spot. I asked, and they crank the oven to 575 - 600 degrees; I'd imagine it takes about as long to build the pizza as it does to sear it in the oven. East Side Pies did just open up a location on Airport Blvd. & 53rd Streets, but a south location would be fantastic. And it's another spot where you can use your Go Local card for a free drink. So if you need to experience the perfection of a thin crust pizza, head east.