Pizza in Orlando

Here's something you don't see every day: a pizzeria in Orlando. OK, so maybe there are quite a few pizza joints. Doesn't mean a person can't keep hoping for perfection.

Dom's Pizza (5075 Edgewater Drive, 407-298-8998; www.domspizza.com) isn't quite perfection. Biting into a slice of their classic thin crust, I thought the sauce was a little too salty, the crust had an almost pretzel-like consistency, and the cheese was spread on way too thick. And I liked it. A lot. Somehow the combination works, and I'll eagerly return for more.

Dom's Pizza (5075 Edgewater Drive, 407-298-8998; www.domspizza.com) isn't quite perfection. Biting into a slice of their classic thin crust, I thought the sauce was a little too salty, the crust had an almost pretzel-like consistency, and the cheese was spread on way too thick. And I liked it. A lot. Somehow the combination works, and I'll eagerly return for more.

You'll also find specialty pizzas like the Drew Show, named after a certain radio personality, that's really a Philly cheesesteak-and-onions pie, a combination that seems so logical I'm surprised everyone doesn't do it. Hot and cold subs, calzones and oven-baked pasta round out the offerings. Now someone explain the Sound of Music cast photo on the wall.

I've officially found the laziest kitchen downtown: the staff at Due Amici, the South Orange Avenue joint formerly known as Dan's Midnite Pizza. Seriously, 30 minutes to heat up a couple of slices and make a panini? Frustrating, considering the restaurant wasn't packed and the folks behind the counter were text-messaging away.

I've officially found the laziest kitchen downtown: the staff at Due Amici, the South Orange Avenue joint formerly known as Dan's Midnite Pizza. Seriously, 30 minutes to heat up a couple of slices and make a panini? Frustrating, considering the restaurant wasn't packed and the folks behind the counter were text-messaging away.

The two slices I had ' a white pizza and a mushroom ' weren't bad. They were large enough to be satisfying for the price ' $4.95 with a soda, a daily special ' and the New York crust was appropriately thin. My companion was less pleased with his 'Sicilianoâ?� panini: too-thick prosciutto surrounded by too-chewy bread. We were both disappointed by the garlic bread-with-cheese appetizer; there was no cheese to be found. I've enjoyed calzones here in the past, and I tried a tasty fried ziti special once ' maybe if they put it on the menu, I'd go back. (Due Amici, 28 S. Orange Ave., 407-425-8881)

Psst – I'm about to let you in on a secret. What's the cheapest theater ticket in town? Answer: Gino's Pizza & Brew III on Orange Avenue, just north of Church Street. No matter what the hour, the guys behind the counter launch into a kinetic, gritty version of Hell's Kitchen performance art every time the front door opens and a fresh horde of hungry seekers pin themselves against the counter. At night, the neon sign glows garishly over Orange Avenue, as the late-night crowd mixes with horn-rimmed yuppies. All this atmosphere for the cost of a slice of pizza? Now, that's entertainment.

We didn't review this location but you can check out the review of the Giovianni's in Oviedo.

Bryan Miller honored his Uncle Giovanni; he named his latest restaurant after him. Miller, an original owner of Positano's on Orlando's westside, and the Nikolaja brothers (whose family and recipes hail from Northern Italy) have enjoyed a successful year at their latest venue, Giovanni's Italian Restaurant & Pizzeria.

Located in the University Palms Shopping Center, it's bright and immaculate with minimalist décor: small tiles of ceramic floor covering, comfy booth seating, pale walls, a wide window-front, a few pictures, some plants, a shiny deli case, and BUSTLE. Our busy server was friendly, in that brash New York kind of way, and after a too-long wait for bread and water, she was efficient.

Located in the University Palms Shopping Center, it's bright and immaculate with minimalist décor: small tiles of ceramic floor covering, comfy booth seating, pale walls, a wide window-front, a few pictures, some plants, a shiny deli case, and BUSTLE. Our busy server was friendly, in that brash New York kind of way, and after a too-long wait for bread and water, she was efficient.

Appetizers ($3.95-$5.95) range from simple mozzarella sticks ($4.25) to the chef's baked clams oreganata ($5.95). We shared an enjoyable version of tomato bruschetta, heaped with diced tomatoes that actually tasted like tomatoes and crumbles of not-too-salty mozzarella.

Appetizers ($3.95-$5.95) range from simple mozzarella sticks ($4.25) to the chef's baked clams oreganata ($5.95). We shared an enjoyable version of tomato bruschetta, heaped with diced tomatoes that actually tasted like tomatoes and crumbles of not-too-salty mozzarella.

Salad lovers can choose from standard favorites ($2.50-$6.95): Caesar, spinach, chicken, tuna or chef. Our house salads were a fresh mix of greens, tomato, cucumber and carrots.

Salad lovers can choose from standard favorites ($2.50-$6.95): Caesar, spinach, chicken, tuna or chef. Our house salads were a fresh mix of greens, tomato, cucumber and carrots.

We looked forward to the soup course ($2.50) that chilly night and tried the minestrone. It did the job, acceptable in a nondescript sort of way.

We looked forward to the soup course ($2.50) that chilly night and tried the minestrone. It did the job, acceptable in a nondescript sort of way.

There's an interesting menu division of pastabilities: ziti, spaghetti or linguini can be had with any of seven sauces ($6.50-$7.75), from broccoli in garlic and oil to traditional tomato. A half-dozen baked pasta recipes ($7.25-$7.95) include those combinations you know and love: stuffed shells, ravioli, lasagna.

There's an interesting menu division of pastabilities: ziti, spaghetti or linguini can be had with any of seven sauces ($6.50-$7.75), from broccoli in garlic and oil to traditional tomato. A half-dozen baked pasta recipes ($7.25-$7.95) include those combinations you know and love: stuffed shells, ravioli, lasagna.

For the eight-item "pasta alla Giovanni" list ($8.50-$8.95), try the capellini primavera in a nicely spiced light sauce. For heartier appetites, the paglia fieno papalina combines green and white pasta with ham, mushrooms and peas, all in a tomato sauce with cream.

For the eight-item "pasta alla Giovanni" list ($8.50-$8.95), try the capellini primavera in a nicely spiced light sauce. For heartier appetites, the paglia fieno papalina combines green and white pasta with ham, mushrooms and peas, all in a tomato sauce with cream.

Among the calzones, the vegetarian version ($5.75) was a tasty, steaming combination of green peppers, spinach, broccoli, mushrooms, olives and onions.

Among the calzones, the vegetarian version ($5.75) was a tasty, steaming combination of green peppers, spinach, broccoli, mushrooms, olives and onions.

Unlike most aficionados of Italian food, I'm not a tiramisu freak, but I have to say Giovanni's version ($3.25) could make me convert.

Unlike most aficionados of Italian food, I'm not a tiramisu freak, but I have to say Giovanni's version ($3.25) could make me convert.

Importantly, the owner is on the premises here, and – especially with an eye toward a franchise business – aims to please. And if he promised Uncle Giovanni that in his name he'd dish up family-type food, he's done him right.

Seems like everywhere you look, there's another Giovanni.

I'm talking, of course, about Giovanni's Italian Restaurant, which is now a triplet with the addition of their newest location. I had to look up the location myself; drive all the way east on Curry Ford Road, then hang a left.

I'm talking, of course, about Giovanni's Italian Restaurant, which is now a triplet with the addition of their newest location. I had to look up the location myself; drive all the way east on Curry Ford Road, then hang a left.

Echoing the decor and menu of the other two establishments (Giovannises?), the place has Nu Yawk Eye-talian written all over it in hearty tomato-sauce letters, and that's a very good thing, indeed.

Echoing the decor and menu of the other two establishments (Giovannises?), the place has Nu Yawk Eye-talian written all over it in hearty tomato-sauce letters, and that's a very good thing, indeed.

If the pizzas don't tempt you, the "chicken sorrentino," "baked clams oreganata" and combine-it-yourself pasta combos will. This isn't a chain as much as a guy who likes cooking Italian food with a bunch of restaurants that he likes to keep an eye on. It's sort of a family thing ... no offense.

If the pizzas don't tempt you, the "chicken sorrentino," "baked clams oreganata" and combine-it-yourself pasta combos will. This isn't a chain as much as a guy who likes cooking Italian food with a bunch of restaurants that he likes to keep an eye on. It's sort of a family thing ... no offense.

Read the review on the Giovanni's located at Alafaya.

"I feel like a 5-year-old!" says my wife, who, though certainly young, has at least graduated from kindergarten.

Dwarfed by the epic-sized slices of pizza at Lazy Moon Pizza, she was reminded what it's like to be a miniature person, when everything seems outsized. The wide variety of toppings make for endless flavor combinations, but it's the thin, crispy crust that allows one to devour these ridiculously mammoth pieces without exploding. (And, with the honey decanters on the table, it also makes for a cheap dessert.)

The collegiate crowd that packs the place for said slices is able to wash down the pizza with an impressive selection of imports and microbrews, and the soups and salads on offer put Lazy Moon quite a few notches above the average pies-and-beer joints that dot college campuses. Keep in mind, however, that the median age of the UCF clientele may have some of you feeling the opposite of "young."

Everyone's tastes are different, so here's a reflection of mine: I'm not in love with pasta. And when it comes to spaghetti, I'm not even in like -- blame it on too many P.T.A. spaghetti dinners. With that disclaimer in mind, I went to Lido's Italian Restaurant, a two decades-old favorite in South Orlando.

The immediate impression was of a small, neighborhood-type of place -- 22 tables decorated with wine bottles and red-and-white checkered tablecloths. Easy listening music. Fans overhead. Plants hanging from the ceiling.

The immediate impression was of a small, neighborhood-type of place -- 22 tables decorated with wine bottles and red-and-white checkered tablecloths. Easy listening music. Fans overhead. Plants hanging from the ceiling.

If you're worried about others smoking, as so many seem to be these days, you probably should know that smoke inevitably drifts into the non-smoking section. Likewise, if you're worried about others overhearing your conversation, be warned that Lido's is almost like a huge family gathering with many people talking at once. (My own favorite discussion this night came from a group of four men who were pondering how founding father Thomas Jefferson would have viewed assault rifles.)

If you're worried about others smoking, as so many seem to be these days, you probably should know that smoke inevitably drifts into the non-smoking section. Likewise, if you're worried about others overhearing your conversation, be warned that Lido's is almost like a huge family gathering with many people talking at once. (My own favorite discussion this night came from a group of four men who were pondering how founding father Thomas Jefferson would have viewed assault rifles.)

A young woman greeted us immediately and cheerfully, and told us to pick any table we wanted. She quickly brought us our drink orders, a bottle of Peroni beer ($2.50) and a half-carafe of Chianti (very reasonable $5.25).

A young woman greeted us immediately and cheerfully, and told us to pick any table we wanted. She quickly brought us our drink orders, a bottle of Peroni beer ($2.50) and a half-carafe of Chianti (very reasonable $5.25).

A glance at the menu made it obvious even to a beer-drinker that Lido's has a surprisingly wide variety of often-inexpensive wines -- particularly for such a small neighborhood place.

A glance at the menu made it obvious even to a beer-drinker that Lido's has a surprisingly wide variety of often-inexpensive wines -- particularly for such a small neighborhood place.

We found our bread sticks were hot and filling, albeit somewhat ordinary. The salad of greens was served, a la Olive Garden, in one big bowl (though that restaurant's has more variety). The homemade Italian dressing could have used more bite.

We found our bread sticks were hot and filling, albeit somewhat ordinary. The salad of greens was served, a la Olive Garden, in one big bowl (though that restaurant's has more variety). The homemade Italian dressing could have used more bite.

My companion picked one of the 10 veal dishes, veal Marsala ($11.95), with a side-order of (shudder) spaghetti. The veal, properly thin, had a rich sauce of mushrooms, butter and Marsala wine. Feeling bold, I had a few bites of the spaghetti, which was mildly pleasing.

My companion picked one of the 10 veal dishes, veal Marsala ($11.95), with a side-order of (shudder) spaghetti. The veal, properly thin, had a rich sauce of mushrooms, butter and Marsala wine. Feeling bold, I had a few bites of the spaghetti, which was mildly pleasing.

I had the day's special, an un-Italian 8-ounce filet mignon ($8.95). It was cooked to the right degree of requested well-doneness, and was as good as you would find at most steakhouses.

I had the day's special, an un-Italian 8-ounce filet mignon ($8.95). It was cooked to the right degree of requested well-doneness, and was as good as you would find at most steakhouses.

Dessert was spumoni ice cream, which was creamy and rich. The menu said the cannoli had "homemade filling," which was fine, but perhaps they should have done the same with the rest of the dish, because the shell was thick and hard.

Dessert was spumoni ice cream, which was creamy and rich. The menu said the cannoli had "homemade filling," which was fine, but perhaps they should have done the same with the rest of the dish, because the shell was thick and hard.

On a return visit for lunch, I ordered a $3.75 Italian cold cuts and cheese sub. The meat was nicely lean meat, but the sub made even higher grades for the crunchy, crusty bread and the dressing that was sweet and tart.

On a return visit for lunch, I ordered a $3.75 Italian cold cuts and cheese sub. The meat was nicely lean meat, but the sub made even higher grades for the crunchy, crusty bread and the dressing that was sweet and tart.

Of course, the true test of a restaurant is whether you will go back. In this case, I will, not only for the atmosphere but also to try some of the pasta dishes (the vegetarian lasagna looked good) and maybe even have a few bites of someone else's spaghetti.

When I lived in Atlanta in the early 1990s, I was one broke-ass sucker. Before I began my illustrious career in alternative journalism, I was sleeping on a friend's floor, working various jobs, avoiding responsibility and managing to drink most of my paycheck. Therefore, despite all the wonderful dining options around town, my stomach had to endure the standard bohemian rations of cheap ramen and 99-cent fast-food menus.

Occasionally, though, minor financial windfalls would come my way, and whatever wasn't spent in pursuit of entertainment was splurged on one of two meals: fried chicken at the Silver Grill (the best fried chicken on the planet) or pizza at Mellow Mushroom. And Mellow Mushroom was the first place I ever encountered a tofu anything that tasted good. Yeah, tofu on your pizza. Weird, right? But the, um, mellow vibe at the Mushroom helped keep the hippie leanings of its pizza menu from turning the joint into some sort of granola factory. The mood was communal, the beer was cheap and the pizza – with meat or without – was always excellent.

Not surprisingly, the restaurant was successful to the point of being an institution. The first Mellow Mushroom opened in the '70s near Georgia Tech; there are now more than 50 locations throughout the Southeast. So when construction began on a Mellow Mushroom outpost – near my house even! – I was eager for a chance to see what happens when a restaurant whose identity is intertwined with its city of origin branches out into foreign territory. Would the atmosphere be as convivial? Would they have good beer? Would this charming and wonderful part of my own personal history have been turned into an Olive Garden-style commodity? Most importantly, would they have good pizza?

Answers: Yes, but with effort. Hell, yes. Yes, but not in a bad way. Absolutely.

As with any new restaurant in Winter Park, interest in Mellow Mushroom's opening was high. We went just a few days after it opened and were greeted by a polite hostess who informed us there was a 15-minute wait, which was surprising, but would have been fine if there had actually been a place to wait. The restaurant is squeezed into a tiny plot of land in the Publix shopping plaza on Aloma Avenue, and there's precious little room for parking near the restaurant (unless you count the plaza's huge parking lot nearby). With no real waiting area, this means the parking lot also functions as an ersatz holding pen for those on the list.

That's the only thing I found wrong with the new Mellow Mushroom.

Though it shone with a sparkly freshness that was a little off-putting, the classic-rock soundtrack and quasi-psychedelic artwork (right down to the "plasticine porter" bathroom-door markers) were all hallmarks of the relaxed, counter-culture Mushroom environment. A reassuringly long line of beer taps at the bar was a great sight; the fact that they all poured excellent Shipyard products made me giddy.

Our waitress was one of those sit-at-the-table types, which is usually annoying, but when she served our food, it could have been brought to us by Dick Cheney and we would have left a good tip. Huge chunks of fresh, moist mozzarella and tomato slices topped a massive bed of fresh field greens in the Capri salad ($7). The teriyaki-marinated tofu in our half-hoagie ($3.75) was accented by grilled onions, peppers and sprouts and slathered with mayonnaise. The pretzels ($3.70) were made with superfresh dough and baked on a pizza stone.

Oh yeah, the pizza. The 10-inch "Magical Mystery Tour" ($10.75) pie – spinach, feta, mozzarella, portobello mushrooms on a pesto (rather than marinara) base – was simply astounding, with copious toppings and a buttery, Parmesan-topped crust. Despite the other excellent offerings on the menu, the pizza's what it's all about here, and I'm pleased to report that expansion has done nothing to diminish the quality.

Sure, the slick new surroundings don't have the same scrappy appeal as the original shops, but the pizza's still great and, hey, I don't have the same scrappy appeal I had a decade ago either. I guess that's a fair trade.

A trusty takeout joint is an integral part of any downtown neighborhood. And Metro Espresso Pasta, Pizza and Subs, tucked away on the ground floor of The Plaza apartments, fits the bill in Eola Heights.

When the business switched hands last year, new owner Lisa Cibrian injected a taste of Italy into the menu, and added beer and wine. These days, the pace is fast and furious at lunchtime. There's a handful of tables inside and on the sidewalk, but most people call for takeout.

When the business switched hands last year, new owner Lisa Cibrian injected a taste of Italy into the menu, and added beer and wine. These days, the pace is fast and furious at lunchtime. There's a handful of tables inside and on the sidewalk, but most people call for takeout.

Pizza by the slice is popular ($1.75). So are thick subs stuffed with hot meatballs and Parmesan cheese ($3.50), juicy Greek salads ($3.95) and mozzarella-packed strombolis and calzones ($3.95 and $3.50). Cibrian also makes some mean lasagna and pasta dishes ($5.50 to $6). It's open till 8 p.m. Monday-Saturday.