All Entries Tagged With: "Woodson Terrace"

NoCo Pizza Challenge Round 8: Editor’s Choice

Who had the better pizza this week? Erio's...

...or the Ferguson Brewhouse?

Another week, another serving of fresh local pizza. Officially it’s Round Eight in the Great NoCo Pizza Challenge, and I’ve learned two things: 1) Don’t press funny buttons on your camera and then act surprised when your photos disappear; and 2) If you want to go vegetarian, first eat a meat-lover’s pizza.

I bring up #1 because I accidentally deleted half of this week’s photos. (The Brewhouse pic above was taken by the restaurant.) I bring up #2 because, well, I’m pretty sure there’s something fundamentally and biologically wrong with eating 4-5 different kinds of meat in one meal.

Our contenders this week were Erio’s and Ferguson Brewing Company, and since the Brewhouse only offers five “flavors” of pizza, I had to pick one that Erio’s also makes. I could’ve gone with the veggie, but in all honesty I’m not a big fan of the Brewhouse’s veggie pizza, so I went with the Carnivore instead. It had hamburger, sausage, pepperoni and bacon and was pitted against Erio’s Meat Special, with hamburger, sausage, pepperoni, bacon and ham.

This was my first time trying a meat-lover’s pizza in my entire life, and all I kept thinking was WHY? Why would anyone want this obscene amount of meat? Never mind the health implications. When you have that much protein on a pizza, you can barely taste the pizza! Bacon alone packs an enormous punch of salt and fat (aka flavor), but when you add in 3-4 other salty, fatty meats, how in the world are your taste buds supposed to sort that out?

As I’m discovering with this Pizza Challenge, truly great pizza is about a careful balance of flavors and textures. It’s about creating the perfect neutral base (the crust) and then gently building a palette of flavors that celebrates the quality and freshness of your ingredients.

Erio’s obviously gets that. Its flaky, not-too-thin crust is spot on, with just the right amount of char, and its rich tomato sauce and freshly grated mozzarella absolutely shine. Usually. This week, they were all drowned out by a sea of meat.

On the Brewhouse’s pizza, which weighed 2.2 pounds compared to Erio’s 3.1, the meat actually had the opposite effect. Everyone on my four-person tasting panel agreed…Were it not for the protein, there probably wouldn’t have been a lot of flavor. The flatbread crust (while nicely charred) was exceptionally thin, and the sauce was not very noticeable, so the meat ended up doing most of the heavy lifting. One of my taste-testers also felt that the Brewhouse pizza seemed more “snack-like,” which makes sense when you know that it’s often served as a personal pizza and sells for just $9.99.

So…who gets my vote this week? What a tough call. Technically, both of these pizzas had a lot of flavor. Meat lovers would definitely enjoy either one, especially when paired with a nice cold beer. But I’m looking for the total package – a pizza that’s so good on a basic level, it doesn’t really matter what the toppings are. Considering that, I guess I have to agree with the readers on this one: Erio’s.

Up next in Round Nine: Adamo’s of Bridgeton vs. Mattingly’s of Florissant. If you need a contest bracket, look here.

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The Great NoCo Pizza Challenge: Erio’s vs. Ferguson Brewing Co

Here we are at Round Eight in the Great NoCo Pizza Challenge. Can you believe we’re not even half done yet? This will be our second week with a repeat contender, and boy is my husband happy. He can’t wait to eat more Erio’s!

Me, I have mixed feelings. I’m also looking forward to more Erio’s, but as many people in Ferguson already know, this is not a very good time for our other contender, Ferguson Brewing Company. Formerly known as Hill Brewing, this NOCO advertiser is owned by a dear friend of mine, Joe Lonero, who is currently dealing with some personal health issues. Out of care and respect for him and his family, that’s all I’m going to say about that, but rest assured there have been many prayers said in Ferguson this past week. We love you, Joe!  Get well soon!

Now let’s talk pizza…

As we learned back in Round Two, Erio’s makes one heck of a pie. This is actually the restaurant’s 40th year in business, and Mr. Erio Balassi and family are still making pizza the way they always have: completely from scratch.

The dough, the sauce, the sausage – all are made fresh daily. Even the mozzarella is carved fresh from a big ol’ block, so don’t think you’re gonna find processed bags of provel here. You won’t. What you will find is uniquely delicious pizza, perfected over four decades.

And did I mention Erio’s also has a classic vintage dining room? It reminds me of a dark and cozy rathskeller you might have found in somebody’s basement in the 50s or 60s, and I mean that in the very best way. I’m a big fan of the Venetian wallpaper mural and the barkcloth curtains and the faux bricks. I especially love the green and red chairs….

Fortunately, Erio’s pizza has just as much character. Pick your own toppings or choose from three specialties – the Erio’s Special, with sausage, pepperoni, hamburger, mushrooms, green pepper, onion and black olives, the Vegetable Special, with black olives, green pepper, mushrooms and tomatoes, or the Meat Special, with sausage, bacon, hamburger, pepperoni and ham. Large single-topping pizzas start at $11.50, and New York-style crust is also available for an extra $1.40.

Erio’s – 4434 Woodson, 63134, (314) 423-1555. Hours: Tuesday-Thursday 11-9:30, Friday-Saturday 11-10:30, Sunday 3:30-9

Nearing its one-year anniversary, Ferguson Brewing Company may not have Erio’s distinguished history, but what it does have is beer. Freshly brewed, in house, every day. It’s North County’s first and only microbrewery, and judging from the nearly constant stream of customers, business is booming.

Unlike most of the restaurants in the Pizza Challenge, the Brewhouse does not specialize in pizza, or even Italian food. But its eclectic menu of smoked meats, grilled fish and fabulous salads has certainly impressed me and many others, so I’m eager to try the flatbread pizza here.

Purists may complain that it’s not traditional pizza and shouldn’t be in the competition, to which I say bunk. The whole point of the Challenge is to showcase the wide variety of excellent pizza we have to choose from in NoCo, and I, for one, am thrilled to try something other than St. Louis style.

There are five different flatbread pizzas at the Brewhouse, each of which will feed 1-2 people. Choose from the Veggie, with onion, green pepper, zucchini, squash, mushrooms and mozzarella, the Chicken Florentine, with spinach dip, smoked chicken breast and Parmesan cheese, the Philly Cheese Steak, with beef tenderloin, onions, peppers, mozzarella and mayo, the BBQ Chicken, with smoked chicken breast, house-made sauce and mozzarella, or the Carnivore, with hamburger, sausage, pepperoni, bacon and mozzarella. Prices are $8.99 – $9.99.

Ferguson Brewing Company – 418 S. Florissant Road, 63135, (314) 521-2220. Hours: Sunday & Monday 11-9, Tuesday – Thursday 11-11, Friday & Saturday 11-midnight

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Cast your vote! Round Eight voting ends Wednesday, February 23, at 11am…

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If you need a contest bracket, you’ll find it right here.

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NoCo Pizza Challenge Round 2: Editor’s Choice

Who's my top pick this week? Angelo's...

...or Erio's?

Well, here we are in Round Two of our Great NoCo Pizza Challenge, and let me just say right off the bat… On any given day, I would eat the hell out of either these pizzas. If you tasted along this week, you know what I mean. Obviously there’s a reason why Angelo’s and Erio’s have both been in business so long.

For our head-to-head taste test, my husband and I decided to switch it up a bit from Round One, going with bacon and mushroom as our toppings. That probably wasn’t the best choice, since bacon overpowers pretty much everything, but we soldiered through. Rough job, I know!

First up was Angelo’s, a classic St. Louis-style pizza with a beautifully crispy crust. I honestly think it’s the best thin crust I’ve ever had…perfectly flaky with nice little air pockets. And though it didn’t have an especially strong flavor, it also wasn’t bland. Strangely, that was the case with everything on this pizza. The sauce didn’t really jump out, the cheese wasn’t in your face, but as a final package, it all just clicked.

That’s how pizza is made in Italy… delicate, nothing overpowering, but just enough to let you taste each ingredient. Of course, St. Louis likes to claim the thin crust as its own, but really the wafer-style is an Italian tradition. All we did was add the provel cheese – a pasteurized, processed blend of cheddar, swiss and provolone that was invented here, on the Hill, in 1947.

If you’re not a fan of provel and/or St. Louis-style, and many people aren’t, you will probably love Erio’s. For one, the restaurant only uses mozzarella cheese (grated fresh daily). For two, its lovely round crust falls somewhere between thin and New York, with just the right amount of bite. Ours weighed the same as the Angelo’s pizza – 2.6 pounds in the box – but the crust was definitely thicker.

Another difference: fresh mushrooms, which is a big plus for me. My neighbors, Martin & Heidi, who helped us in the taste test this week, also thought the Erio’s pizza had more flavorful bacon. Like Angelo’s, the sauce didn’t jump out much and the cheese was nicely subtle, but still, this was one very delicious pizza.

So who gets the nod? We went back and forth over this, taking one bite and then another…and another, until we finally just asked, “Which one do you want to eat more of?” It was a seriously tough call but the results were unanimous. The editor’s choice for Round Two is: Erio’s.

If you haven’t voted in the people’s choice yet, you have until 11am today. And if you’re looking for the contest bracket, you’ll find it right here.

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The Great NoCo Pizza Challenge: Angelo’s vs Erio’s

NOCO fans, if you didn’t do a true head-to-head taste-test in Round One, you absolutely MUST join in this time! By luck of the draw, Round Two features a pair of glorious old-timers, two classic North County restaurants that make everything from scratch using Old World family recipes and have been serving fantastic pizza for 35+ years.

First up is Angelo’s Pizzeria in Black Jack. Founded by Italian immigrant Angelo Pirrone in 1969, this tiny restaurant first opened in Jennings and then moved to its present location in 1974. Little has changed here over the years, including the dark brown paneling on the walls and the cast of characters who routinely walk through the door.

Mr. Pirrone has since passed on, but his wife, children and grandchildren are still manning the fort and making some truly awesome pizza. The cheese here is a blend and you can select your own toppings or choose from two specialty pizzas – the Supreme, with Italian sausage, pepperoni, bacon, mushrooms and onion, or the Veggie, with green pepper, onion, black olive, mushrooms and extra cheese. Large single-topping pizzas start at $13.75.

Angelo’s Pizzeria – 4814 Parker Road, 63033, (314) 355-3242. Hours: Tuesday – Thursday 11-10, Friday – Saturday 11-1, and Sunday 2-9

Over at Erio’s, the magic also comes straight from Italy. Erio Balassi, a native of Trieste on the Mediterranean coast, first opened his restaurant in Florissant in 1971, moving to the present Erio’s location in Woodson Terrace two years later. Mr. Balassi still works at the restaurant every Tuesday for lunch, where the interior is still a dark-paneled paradise that hasn’t changed one bit.

Erio’s makes its own dough, sausage and tomato sauce, and fresh mozzarella is ground every day here. Pick your own toppings or choose from three specialty pizzas – the Erio’s Special, with sausage, pepperoni, hamburger, mushrooms, green pepper, onion and black olives, the Vegetable Special, with black olives, green pepper, mushrooms and tomatoes, or the Meat Special, with sausage, bacon, hamburger, pepperoni and ham. Large single-topping pizzas start at $11.50, and New York-style crust is also available for an extra $1.40.

Erio’s – 4434 Woodson, 63134, (314) 423-1555. Hours: Tuesday-Thursday 11-9:30, Friday-Saturday 11-10:30, Sunday 3:30-9

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Cast your vote! Round Two voting ends Wednesday, January 12, at 11am…

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