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| - The Porta Alba tucked just off East Wash on N. Butler hides away an overlooked cubby that quite surprisingly holds a little Italian caf/restaurant complete with a wood burning oven featuring some very light and pleasantly simple pizzas and other Italian antipasto, striking at more of a vegetarian and earthy eater while still offering some carnivorous options.
Its tucked away location actually well representing what Alba serves as, not a heavier more played up restaurant like Peppinnos or Tutto Pasta but rather a nice weeknight or lower key place still serving fare that is a clear step up from what it could be.
The pizzas are on the doughier side, containing rich cheeses, flavorful vegetables, and the all important balance of flavors is established. My only issue was the pizzas were containing of a bit more bottom crust than I wanted, albeit tasty, but still too much in comparison to the toppings.
In addition, to a menu pizza and a daily special pizza, a house salad had rich sweet and vinegary dressing with nice crisp greens. Finally, a dessert pizza basically consisting of two thin layers of pizza dough and Nutella was initially tasty but left unappealing after one slice, my mild frustration in the crust proportions again reverberating.
This isn't to say, the Porta Alba isn't satisfying because it is without forcing heaps of food and heaviness onto you. It's a refreshing option in light more Italianesque pizzas and dishes which taken in the right contexts are quite agreeable.
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