Bow to the Hoagie: Italianette Pizza
Posted Tuesday, January 30, 2018There are some restaurants that become so much a part of your life, so naturally folded into your day-to-day existence that it proves difficult to pay much attention to them except when you're there, in the moment, chowing down on all they have to offer. Italianette Pizza, located in Silverton, is such a place.
This unassuming neighborhood pizza parlor has apparently been around since the late 1950s, when it was originally called, "Silverton Pizza" and resided in a smaller building on Montgomery Road. They've been in their "newer" Plainfield Road location since 1962. They've since opened a second location in North College Hill, near Swad Indian.
We've frequented Italianette for more than a decade, and in that span, I've probably only had their pizza a couple of times. Indeed, their style of pizza is simply not to my liking. It sports a thick crust and is usually topped with heaping mounds of melted cheese. I grew up near Dayton, so when I think of pizza, I think thin crust, cut into squares, a la Cassano's or Marion's.
No. For me, the magic at Italianette is in the hoagie. All hail their hoagies, praise the sandwich god, blessed be thy name, amen. An entire menu page is devoted to them, with 20 hoagie varieties listed. Roast beef, steak, Italian sausage, pork rib, fish, meatball, veggie --there's a hoagie for nearly every taste.
Italianette's menu is otherwise focused on pizza, salads, a few pasta dinners like lasagna and spaghetti, chicken wings and their wonderful baked wedge fries.
But my girlfriend and I hit up Italianette for one reason and one reason alone: they make a mean Buffalo Chicken hoagie ($5.99 for a small, $6.99 for a large). This sandwich is simple, but perfect in every way: it's got a satisfying, piping hot breaded chicken patty smothered in a mildly spicy buffalo sauce, topped with melted mozzarella cheese, mayo, lettuce and tomato, all on a toasted, buttery hoagie bun and served with potato chips. It's cheap, it's unpretentious, it's satisfying.
My girlfriend is also dazzled by their ridiculously simple, but incredibly delicious tossed side salad ($4.95), which contains only fresh iceburg lettuce, mounds of mozzarella cheese, generous pieces of crumbled, crisp bacon and slices of tomato.
Italianette Pizza hasn't changed at all in the years we've stepped through their doors. Aside from the TVs and a recent paint job to hide an old mural in the back, it still looks and feels like a comfortable hole-in-the-wall from the 80s.
And we want it to stay that way.
The best TACO joint in the city. I go there as a treat to myself every Monday. TEX MEX TACOS are delicious culinary treats that look beautiful and taste great. I'm so impressed with this place that I never explore the other items on the menu. If you don't get your taco fix here, you're losing in life.
posted: Tue., Apr 27th, 2021 @ 2:37 PM
My Wife and myself dined at Ferrari’s on Saturday and the Food and service was great/ I had the Butternut Squash Ravioli with misc nuts and sauce and it was the best meal I’ve had there/ My wife had the Fish and Vegetables and was very happy/ I also got a couple of their pizza and olive loaves of bread/ The bread is always a hit at work.
posted: Mon., Nov 23rd, 2020 @ 1:14 PM
@Rick: Thanks for the suggestion! I'll have to remember to give them a try.
posted: Sat., Nov 21st, 2020 @ 9:06 AM
Try Joe's Pizza located at Airway and Smithville Rd. You might like it...That's one of favorite haunts. I definitely think it beats Cassano's.
posted: Fri., Nov 6th, 2020 @ 4:19 PM
Hands down the best Indian in the area. I have yet to find their yellow Punjabi dish anywhere. It is my favorite, and what keeps me coming back time after time. I think I have been here over 100 times. I love this place.
posted: Thu., May 28th, 2020 @ 12:03 PM
I found a gyro I keep thinking about
https://www.yelp.com/biz/tazikis-mediterranean-cafe-cincinnati
their lamb gyro is about 2-3 bucks higher in cost than a gyro elsewhere - B U T - it is made with whole pieces of lamb meat, not the lamb and beef loaf that all other Gyro joints in Cincinnati seem to do
it is a chain. A minus for me, and I suspect for you as well.
But its good.
really, really good
one caveat: skip the baklava as it is not made in-house
posted: Mon., Dec 9th, 2019 @ 12:43 PM
I'll take your word for it, then.....it is fairly close to work so it'll be an upcoming lunch
I also need to try out this little taco wagon near Quatmans in Norwood
posted: Mon., Sep 9th, 2019 @ 6:21 PM
Hi @TJ - We were pretty impressed with the quality of the items, which I think justifies some of the pricing. I really liked the house-made tortillas and their salsas. Chilero offered some extra little touches that were a pleasant surprise. :)
Just by way of comparison...that same week we'd tried the new Mazunte location downtown...and our experience at Chilero beat them out.
posted: Thu., Aug 29th, 2019 @ 10:18 PM
Great food and fantastic atmosphere
posted: Wed., Aug 28th, 2019 @ 8:29 PM
Seems very pricey for a mostly carryout/counter-service joint
posted: Wed., Aug 28th, 2019 @ 5:51 PM