Adam & Eats: Joe’s Pizza and Pasta

Editor’s note: Adam Brandt is a graduate from the Cobra Kai School of Culinary Callousness, where he received their highest award, the Red Apron of Merciless Eating. Aside from eating and talking about eating, he makes pots, paintings, prints, books, photographs, and generally, a big mess. He has been the studio assistant at Mudpuppy Pottery for almost nine years and is attending a local university in a desperate attempt to earn a biology degree.

I realized a few days ago, that I really haven’t addressed the Italian food situation in this town. If you are like me and you don’t consider Olive Garden and Pizza Hut as Italian food, then, but for a handful of restaurants, we don’t have too many quality Italian restaurants in town. One of the newest, and one of my favorites, is Joe’s Pizza and Pasta.

Locate in the old Pizza Inn building on Rogers Avenue is Joe’s Pizza and Pasta Italian grill. The interior of the place hasn’t changed much from its days as the Pizza Inn, except maybe the fact that they got rid of the pizza buffet and added a few more tables. From my handful of experiences at Joe’s, the addition of tables was a very smart move on their part. They are always busy and for good reason. The food there is wonderful. Don’t feel like dining in? They also offer carry out and catering for your next event.

Despite the fact that the only sweet tea they have comes in a can, I still love them. I have never been disappointed by the food at Joe’s. Their pastas are rich and savory, their pizzas are out of this world, and I’ll get to the cannoli in a minute.

If you want the best bang for your buck, I suggest showing up when the doors open at 11 a.m. to beat the lunch crowd. Their lunch specials are a bargain for the amount of food that you get. There is not too much of a difference between the cheese and spinach raviolis, except one has spinach in it, obviously. Both are cheesy, tomatoey, goodness. If you are as hungry as I am come 11 o’ clock, I recommend the pasta trio. It consists of their garlic covered fettuccine alfredo, their meaty lasagna, and the cheesiest manicotti you might ever eat. If meat pies are your bag, I recommend the Stromboli. The fact that all lunch specials are served with a side salad and their fresh bread (with olive oil for dipping) doesn’t hurt my feelings one bit. It may hurt my waistline, though.

And desserts?! Oh mama mia, their cannolis are the best thing since sliced bread. Now that we are talking about cannolis, maybe we should discuss what sets Joe’s apart from the rest. Your typical cannoli, according to most people in this country, is a piece of fried dough filled with whipped cream and chocolate. Unfortunately, this is not a real cannoli. A real cannoli has the fried dough, but is filled with a sweet ricotta cheese and some sort of candied citrus peel. Let me tell you, Joe’s is not filling their cannolis with Ready-Whip. It is the real deal. Sure they add chocolate, but who doesn’t love chocolate? I mean, really?

I admit, Joe’s Pizza and Pasta is a little pricey for lunch, but considering the amount, and not to mention the top-notch quality, of the food that they set in front of you, it’s a steal.

Despite the jump in pants sizes, the food at Joe’s sure does make my life, la vita dulce. Whatever your dish of choice, you’ll end up saying “Holy Cannoli!” by the end of the meal, I can almost guarantee it.

Feedback
When he’s not beating his eggs, Adam makes time to respond to e-mails that get past his hard-ass spam filter. You can try to reach him at [email protected]

Adam also has this thing called Sandwich Control.