May 4, 2009

Stamford Restaurant & Pizzeria

Located on East Main Street, Stamford Restaurant & Pizzeria is a little Italian restaurant hidden amongst a rug store, Just Cats, and Exit 9 Bagels. We were pleased to host two guest judges on this leg of the Tour, including our fellow local blogger JR of Streets of Stamford and Bryan, a Burrito Tour veteran.

Establishment. We were greeted at Stamford Pizzeria by a rather pungent aroma at the door of an otherwise presentable, intimately lit, and (mercifully) neutrally smelling dining area. Moderately sized, this restaurant was large enough for our party of five, as we were quite comfortably seated at a long table beneath a kitschy full relief map of Italy complete with little light-up landmarks. The service was excellent at first, but tailed off and became less attentive and much more frustrating over the course of our meal to the point where we were on the verge of begging for our bill. Cleanliness was also suspect, as the bathroom is located in the kitchen and kind of grossed us all out. Stamford Pizzeria's menu consists of the standard Italian favorites as well as both specialty and traditional pizzas.

Pizza. We've sounded off on the mediocre establishment, but despite all that, this pizza is very good. The crust was rather tasty and well proportioned with just the right amount of char. Accompanying it is an average sauce that was underseasoned and in short supply, but otherwise complementary to the overall pizza despite a lack of bold flavor. Stamford Pizzeria does not seem to skimp on good ingredients, as this pie was generously covered with high quality cheese for a fresh flavor and a stringy consistency that wasn't excessively greasy (but could, and did cause the cheese to slip off the pie with ease). Our topping of choice, Italian sausage, also came in the form of high quality, flavorful, meaty chunks. Stamford Pizzeria's thin crust pie cooled a bit too quickly for our liking, but was very good overall.

The bottom line. Stamford Pizzeria is a frustratingly average establishment with a decidedly above average pizza in spite of many gaudy shortcomings not at all related to the food.

Establishment: 18/30
Pizza: 23/30
Hits the Spot: 8/10
Large Cheese: $10.60

Stamford Restaurant & Pizzeria on Urbanspoon

awardSeal

AWARDS WON:

2009 – Best of East Side

2009 – Tournament Finalist (7th place)

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