Tuesday, June 2, 2015

Review; Biaggio Pizzeria, Allentown PA

I'm a bit of a pizza purist - I rarely indulge in non-traditional toppings. Typically, I want red sauce, cheese, and cured meats on my pizza.  Nonetheless, I was intrigued when a colleague brought me a novelty slice of pizza from Biaggio Pizzeria, in Allentown PA. This huge slice was adorned with a few big quarters of deep-fried pickles.
Click on any image for full-size resolution

Now, it's hardly fair to judge a pizzeria by one slice of re-heated novelty pie, so this is more of a "quick hit" first impression. And, to my general surprise, I enjoyed this slice.

Underneath, it was a fairly standard (albeit oversized) slice of white pizza. The crust seemed to have been well crafted and properly baked, but the dough was not distinctive. Biaggio uses the wonderful Licscio's rolls for its hoagies and cheese steak sandwiches, so one might perhaps hope that artisan dough would be the source of its pizza crusts, but this seemed pretty generic.

However, the cheese or cheese blend on top was tastier than the average bland white pie. Sprinkled over the pie were little cubes of pickle and some slivers of purple onion. Both added welcome flavor and texture to the pie.

The star, of course, was the big hunks of deep fried (bread-coated) pickle riding on top. Have you had a fried pickle? If you like them, you may well enjoy them on a pizza - I certainly did.  It was salty, of course, but it retained a snappy crunch even after my at-home oven re-heat. A white pizza needs an interesting topping, and this fulfilled that with some flair.
Underside of the crust

I do think that such novelty pie is better by the slice than as a whole pie; I can't imagine eating more than one slice of this funky creation. Still, it's a WIN for Biaggio. Barely-above-average crust, but good white cheese and a tasty oddball topping. I'm glad I got to try this pickle pizza.



Biaggio's Pizzeria & Family Restaurant on Urbanspoon

3 comments:

  1. Two or three years ago this place used to be called Atillios and had the best pizza in Allentown. It was owned by two Italian guys and then they retired. Amazing pizza and Italian food not your run of the mill shopping mall pizza place at all

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  2. Also if you are in Allentown again Id suggest going to The Paddock. They have some great bar style pizza I always order it extra cheese and extra crispy. And in my opinion it the best in lehigh valley is Crossroads in Hellertown. Its bar/hungarian style and one of my favorites anywhere. I grew up eating though so I may be biased towards it. Real thin pie that always has a soft but crispy crust

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  3. Thanks for the tips, Kyle! I don't get up that way much but I will keep the Paddock and Crossroads on my list....

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