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| - The sauce is usually the under-appreciated element of pizza, but it's front and center at Spinato's. One's opinion of Spinato's hinges almost totally on his opinion of the unusually sweet sauce. After yesterday's experience, I've decided that I love Spinato's as on occasional treat, but it's a little rich to be my go-to pizza place.
Everything besides the sauce on the pizza was nearly beyond reproach. The crust was thin and crisp, but not like a cracker. It still had some chewiness. The aforementioned sauce and cheese went nearly out to edges of the pie. The pizza was cut into squares and toppings were carefully and evenly applied. The mushrooms were outstanding because they're the canned mushrooms that remain plump and juicy when cooking. The bell peppers and ricotta cheese were OK, although the ricotta added even more sweetness. One renegade black olive somehow made it on my pizza, which I found endearing.
If you're not in a pizza mood, they have a full menu with sandwiches, salads, calzones, etc. They actually have a calzone stuffed with spaghetti. On a previous visit, we ordered it just as a conversation topic, leading to jokes like "... so why are Americans getting fatter?" I have to admit that the little carbohydrate bomb was pretty tasty.
Nothing was special about the restaurant itself. (After all, it's a converted Chili's.) But the pizza is special. It's high quality and definitely distinctive, which is rare to say about pizza.
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