Desperate for pizza
Tonight was great! Of course, I have no pictures, but I'm going to write all about it anyway. I went with Craig and John to the new Bob Amick restaurant Piebar on Monroe. The three of us tried to go once before after it had just opened and it was completely packed so we left it for another time. With tonight being the start of season two of Desperate Housewives, they invited me to come out to dinner with them and then watch the season premiere. It was the first time for all of us to try the restaurant and I was really touched by that because I thought for sure they would have another chance to go without me (it is right around the corner from them) but I was fine with that. But, I thought it was very sweet and thoughtful of them to wait and go with me since that's what they originally tried to do, and it was fun to go someplace none of us had been before.
They have a really great menu at Piebar. It is divided into three sections: antipasto, micro plates, and pies. We ordered from all three sections so we could share and sample a little of everything. For the antipasto we got a plate where you choose three meats and two accessories. We had the fennel salame, mortadella, and white anchovies with artichokes and honeyed eggplant. Honestly, it was all really good, but I did have two favorites. The anchovies were tasty! I'd never eaten anchovies like that before, so it was a new experience and I didn't know if I would like them, but they seemed fresh and flavorful and not weirdly fishy or anything like that, I was really glad we had them. My other favorite was the honeyed eggplant. I like eggplant anyway, but it was delicious and sweet with the honey. It was a nice contrast to the saltiness of the meats.
Next we got an array of micro plates. We tried to get chicken livers, but they were all out (maybe next time) I was eager to try liver since I've never had it before, but apparently it's a popular dish. We had the asian pear salad with portabello mushrooms, watercress, and pecorino (as well as the pear). It was good, but I'm definitely interested in trying the other salads on the menu. We had shrimp ceviche which came with citrus ketchup and fresh coriander. I loved the citrus in the ketchup! It tasted like cocktail sauce with oranges or something, but I thought it was really a nice thing to pair with the shrimp. There was tempura mushrooms with white truffle mayonnaise which were fun to pop into your mouth after dipping them in the mayo. The mushrooms were juicy but the tempura coating was crisp, I loved the texture. Finally we had veal parmesan on a stick. The stick was some sort of cracker stick that speared the little cutlets of breaded veal with marinara sauce and melted parmesan. I liked this one a lot and would have gladly eaten more than my little serving . But again, everything we had was so good, it made me really want to try other things on the menu because it all sounded so interesting, and the quality of the dishes we did have made me think the other ones would be equally enjoyable.
Finally for pizza we had two types: wild mushroom, goat cheese, onion, and white truffle pizza and duck confit, balsamic onion, blue cheese, and grapes pizza. Both were good, but I liked the duck pizza the best. I'm a sucker for duck anyway, but the combination of all the toppings went really well together and I just loved it. Despite significant protests on my part I managed to get two pieces of the duck pizza, so that was nice too. I should explain about the pizzas though. The pizza at Piebar is rectangular with a super thin flatbread crust. The toppings are piled on, so there's really no lack of substance without a thicker crust, and I liked it that way. You either get a half pie or a whole one, and our waitress suggested that half a pie per person would be a reasonable amount based on the size. We only got two halves since we had so many other things to eat, but we were really glad we sampled from other parts of the menu. I would be easy to go and order a few micro plates and never touch the pizza, or get a few pizzas and never try the micro plates, so there are lots of options. Some of the pizza combinations sound wild, but I bet they're all good. The waitress recommended the shrimp, cheddar grits, and pineapple pizza, and I bet that would be a good one. The placemats double as menus which they discard after each guest is gone, so I took my menu with me, hence all the information I have about what we actually ate (or could have eaten).
Overall, I thought the food was really good, and I enjoyed the atmosphere as well (the last time I was in that building it was a bank). I would gladly go back again any time, but I was very pleased that Craig and John invited me along for our first testing of the place, it was a nice evening, and I was flattered that they waited to go with me.
But, moral of the story: if you're looking for more mature pizza than what Dominoes or other normal pizza places have to offer, head to Piebar! It's an enjoyable and completely different experience.
They have a really great menu at Piebar. It is divided into three sections: antipasto, micro plates, and pies. We ordered from all three sections so we could share and sample a little of everything. For the antipasto we got a plate where you choose three meats and two accessories. We had the fennel salame, mortadella, and white anchovies with artichokes and honeyed eggplant. Honestly, it was all really good, but I did have two favorites. The anchovies were tasty! I'd never eaten anchovies like that before, so it was a new experience and I didn't know if I would like them, but they seemed fresh and flavorful and not weirdly fishy or anything like that, I was really glad we had them. My other favorite was the honeyed eggplant. I like eggplant anyway, but it was delicious and sweet with the honey. It was a nice contrast to the saltiness of the meats.
Next we got an array of micro plates. We tried to get chicken livers, but they were all out (maybe next time) I was eager to try liver since I've never had it before, but apparently it's a popular dish. We had the asian pear salad with portabello mushrooms, watercress, and pecorino (as well as the pear). It was good, but I'm definitely interested in trying the other salads on the menu. We had shrimp ceviche which came with citrus ketchup and fresh coriander. I loved the citrus in the ketchup! It tasted like cocktail sauce with oranges or something, but I thought it was really a nice thing to pair with the shrimp. There was tempura mushrooms with white truffle mayonnaise which were fun to pop into your mouth after dipping them in the mayo. The mushrooms were juicy but the tempura coating was crisp, I loved the texture. Finally we had veal parmesan on a stick. The stick was some sort of cracker stick that speared the little cutlets of breaded veal with marinara sauce and melted parmesan. I liked this one a lot and would have gladly eaten more than my little serving . But again, everything we had was so good, it made me really want to try other things on the menu because it all sounded so interesting, and the quality of the dishes we did have made me think the other ones would be equally enjoyable.
Finally for pizza we had two types: wild mushroom, goat cheese, onion, and white truffle pizza and duck confit, balsamic onion, blue cheese, and grapes pizza. Both were good, but I liked the duck pizza the best. I'm a sucker for duck anyway, but the combination of all the toppings went really well together and I just loved it. Despite significant protests on my part I managed to get two pieces of the duck pizza, so that was nice too. I should explain about the pizzas though. The pizza at Piebar is rectangular with a super thin flatbread crust. The toppings are piled on, so there's really no lack of substance without a thicker crust, and I liked it that way. You either get a half pie or a whole one, and our waitress suggested that half a pie per person would be a reasonable amount based on the size. We only got two halves since we had so many other things to eat, but we were really glad we sampled from other parts of the menu. I would be easy to go and order a few micro plates and never touch the pizza, or get a few pizzas and never try the micro plates, so there are lots of options. Some of the pizza combinations sound wild, but I bet they're all good. The waitress recommended the shrimp, cheddar grits, and pineapple pizza, and I bet that would be a good one. The placemats double as menus which they discard after each guest is gone, so I took my menu with me, hence all the information I have about what we actually ate (or could have eaten).
Overall, I thought the food was really good, and I enjoyed the atmosphere as well (the last time I was in that building it was a bank). I would gladly go back again any time, but I was very pleased that Craig and John invited me along for our first testing of the place, it was a nice evening, and I was flattered that they waited to go with me.
But, moral of the story: if you're looking for more mature pizza than what Dominoes or other normal pizza places have to offer, head to Piebar! It's an enjoyable and completely different experience.
posted by Erin at 11:23 PM
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