add to our listingsVenue Review: Pizza Peel
The Charlotte Observer
The Food: Into this renovation of a Mellow Mushroom in Cotswold comes pizza with a newfangled whole wheat crust that Will Bigham, who runs the place, continues to work on.
Johnson & Wales' Peter Reinhart, whose most recent book is about whole wheat breads, consulted on it, and Bigham says it's 90 percent where he wants it. He's still tweaking details like how the edges are stretched (“they were pressing it down, so the crumb compacted like cake, rather than bread, so we fixed that”).
In case you're picturing dry-as-dust, heavy-as-lead stuff, picture again: It's airy, nutty and sweet. Whether you like sweet will make your decision on these pies.
Specialty combos include the Sorry for Partying Supreme (pepperoni, sausage, ground beef and more), Aguascalientes (spicy chile sauce, chorizo, and corn and black bean salsa), and Positive Friction (sundried tomatoes, spinach, feta). Make-your-own toppings range from the usual to tofu, chorizo, eggplant puree and broccoli rabe.
The Look: Wood pizza peels (the paddles on which you slide pizzas into the oven) and pans dot the walls of this rustic, wooded, comfy room with some booths, some tables and a slide-up-here bar. About 35 of 43 beer taps are filled, and Bigham wants to feature Carolinas breweries down the road.
The Servers: Ours was warm and friendly as a pup, and we were checked on often.
Quirks of Note: Bigham and co-owners also have some area locations of Raving Brand's Flying Biscuit, Mama Fu's and Moe's.
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I've seen three references in the Observer about the new Pizza Peel (formerly Mellow Mushroom) in my Cotswold neighborhood...the restaurant was even mentioned as a feature in the recent "Living Here" insert. The debacle of the downfall of the 'Shroom turned me off from the location (bad mojo?) but my husband said "Let's try it."
Instead of Portifino's? This better be good.
It wasn't. We paid 15 bucks for a five dollar "Domino's style" pizza. The manager came to see if we liked the pie - I told honestly, NO. She demured, "Perhaps it's the whole wheat crust? Maybe you want something like Brixx?" No, I want a darn good pizza from a place that has Pizza in the restaurant name.
The dough is bland, and cooked way too fast. No crispiness at all. The sauce tasted like Ragu marinara, right out of the can. The cheese burned even though this pie couldn't have been in the oven more than 7 minutes - cheap cheese is the worst.
Domino's is on the same street - you'd be better off getting your CHEAP pizza there and picking up a six pack at the Harris Teeter on your way home.
How very Charlotte of the new owners, though- Tart the place up to look nice and expect people to shovel down crap, no questions asked. Welcome to the Queen City.
The Food: Into this renovation of a Mellow Mushroom in Cotswold comes pizza with a newfangled whole wheat crust that Will Bigham, who runs the place, continues to work on. (Full review)