First Impression

John: First, let me say that ending last week’s Dining Duo with a cliffhanger was the worst idea I’ve ever had. I couldn’t have a normal conversation all week. All anyone wanted to do was ask me questions. “What’s changing?”  “Is this the last restaurant review ever?” “Are you dropping Tim for someone that can write a coherent sentence?” Of course, those are all good questions (especially the last one), but let me cut to the chase, here’s what’s changing: Altork and I are toughening up the grading scale. Yes, I’m very aware that we haven’t handed out a ‘C’ since July 2008. That’s going to change. As of right this second, we’re grading on a number system, 1-10. And just so we’re clear, ten is the highest. The first restaurant to be sampled by the revamped Dining Duo: Pepperoni’s Tavern. With the NCAA tournament in full swing, we thought going to a sports bar would be the prudent thing to do. If you’re at a sports bar during an event like the NCAA tournament, your first impression has to be based on two things: are all the games being shown and if they are, are they being shown on giant televisions. Check and check. Being from Ohio, I swore to myself I would give them a one if the Ohio vs. Georgetown game wasn’t on. It was and it was on a 10-foot projection TV. Perfect. The only complaint I had is that all the TV’s aren’t flat screens, however, the three 10-foot projection televisions make up for this. Also, if you don’t want to eat in the restaurant area, there is a giant mahogany bar. It looks like it was stolen off the set of Mad Men. If you don’t watch Mad Men, you should.

Tim: Okay. Let’s address the obvious here. A write sentence I can totally coherent. So enough of that talk. Secondly, my first impression of the place was when Breech told me we were going to a sports bar called Pepperoni’s, and I thought he was a little sleep deprived. But it’s not just a pizza place as the name implies. In fact the full name is Pepperoni’s Tavern, so there’s that. Then there’s all the cool stuff inside that screams “sports bar.” Aside from all the TV’s and the Mad Men bar, there’s a ton of flags hanging from the ceiling that represent a vast array of sports teams (both college and professional). And there are a lot of big men drinking beer.

John: 8
Tim: 7 (for lack of HD TV’s)

Appetizers

John: I’ll keep this short because I just spent half the review giving my first impression. Pepperoni’s has several common appetizers – mozzarella sticks, chicken tenders, spinach dip – so we decided to do something uncommon: fried meatballs. I’ve had fried twinkies, fried chocolate and fried yogurt, but I’ve never had a fried meatball. Because it’s fried, the outside of the meatball is crispy and because it’s crispy, the BBQ sauce really stuck to it. The BBQ sauce had a unique tangy flavor that made the already enjoyable meatballs even better.

Tim: This is America, where frying food is part part of our cultural heritage. So any time a dish needs to be improved, the fallback option is to fry it. Here’s how I envision the meatballs part of the meeting going down at Pepperoni’s menu-making party:

Chef 1: These meatballs need something. We’ve already put BBQ sauce on them. What else can we do?

Chef 2: Is the restaurant going to be in America?

Chef 1: Yep.

Chef 2: Uh. We could fry ‘em.

(Everyone nods in approval.)

John: 7.5
Tim: 8

Entrée

John: This is where our new grading system is going to come in handy because we’re going to individually grade each dish. For Pepperoni’s, this is a good thing. Why is it a good thing? Because Pepperoni’s has the best pizza in Atlanta. You read that right. I am not joking. Like Simon Cowell being nice to an American Idol contestant, it’s one of those things you would never expect. You just don’t expect to have the best pizza in Atlanta at a sports bar, even if it is an upscale sports bar like Pepperoni’s. We ordered the Milano pizza, which was topped with sun-dried tomatoes, spinach, artichokes and feta cheese. The pizza melts in your mouth and the crust is so good, you actually might eat it first (note: we got the regular crust, not the thin crust). We also ordered the Bayou chicken sandwich, which consisted of a grilled chicken breast smothered in BBQ sauce and topped with jalapeno cheese. Now I didn’t bring a ruler, so I couldn’t measure the circumference of the bun, but I will say that the sandwich was gigantic and tasty. We also had a pasta dish: the sausage and roasted red peppers marinara. I liked the dish because it had a lot of sausage, but I think they overcooked the noodles.

Tim: Let’s start from the bottom and work our way up. The pasta was forgettable, and the sandwich was decent. But my opinion on those two dishes may have been skewed because I ate the pizza first. And by comparison I think just about anything would have fallen short of that. The pizza was terrific. Artichokes and feta are two items that provide very strong flavor, and they didn’t disappoint on this pie. Every bite was a delightful balance of slightly crispy crust, flavorful toppings and cheesy goodness. And it’s conducive to that classic culinary combination of pizza and beer, which incidentally is also perfect for a sports bar. I don’t know how it could have been better, so let’s give out our first perfect 10.

(John’s grade is listed first, Tim’s second)

The Milano Pizza: 9.5, 10
Bayou BBQ: 7.5, 7
Sausage and Roasted Red Pepper Marinara: 6.5, 5

Dessert

John: There was something called Kentucky Pie on the menu and I thought it sounded good. On the other hand, Tim thought it sounded horrible because he’s holding a grudge against the entire state of Kentucky. But that’s irrelevant. The Kentucky Pie tasted like I think a Reese’s peanut butter cup would taste if someone made a Reese’s cup into a pie. I love Reese’s cups, so I ate at least half of the dish. Our other dessert was the Brownie Mountain Sundae, what did you think Tim?

Tim: First of all, unless you’re one of those bandwagon idiots who loves Kentucky basketball, I don’t know how you can eat a dish called Kentucky Pie during March Madness with a good conscience. (Okay, I took a bite or two. It was delicious. But they should neutralize the name a little during the tournament. Maybe SEC pie or something.)

As for the Brownie Mountain Sundae, that’s about as aptly descriptive a name for a dessert as I have seen in a long time. It was a mountain of brownie sundae (brownie, ice cream, whipped cream). And it was delicious. In fact, if I ever open a college I’m going to name it Brownie Mountain State, so that when they make the NCAA tournament they stick it to the Kentucky Pie.

Kentucky Pie: 8.5, 7 (loses a point for the name)
Brownie Mountain Sundae: 8, 8

Final Impression

John: At the end of the night, I found something out that didn’t shock me at all. The owner, Bill, is a guy that has been in the restaurant business longer than I’ve been alive. He knows his way around the kitchen and it shows in the quality of the food. Keep in mind that after today there are still two weeks and 15 games left in the NCAA tournament. That should give you at least 17 reasons to go to Pepperoni’s. The pizza they serve should give you about 10 more.

Tim: In my mind, a sports bar named like a pizza place carries some cache. It immediately stands out before you even walk in the door. But I’m with Breech. Once you walk in you’ll be even more impressed. And while the menu is full of unique Italian inspired dishes, there are plenty of options for someone who just wants to eat the typical sports bar food. And there’s a good variety of draft beer, so there’s something for everyone. They even have a TV in the men’s room.

John: 8
Tim: 8