I had been watching the storefront next to The Living Room, 529 University Ave., for some time. Many moons passed until last Wednesday when the space was miraculously open and started serving a variety of specialty pizzas. I walked in to an eatery with blank, dark orange walls and dark red ceilings: It's just like a blood orange in there. Perhaps there will soon be stuff on the walls, but right now the vibe is somewhere between a whorehouse and a hospital.
I feel some trepidation. Ian is very informative about the pizzas and eager to deal. These Casa Bianca-sized slices of premium pizza are only $2.50, no matter what combination of exotic toppings you get on it. It's like he's a pizza pusherman; I am afraid Ian will hook me and jack up the price, which will leave me helplessly handing over $5 bills for slices of steak-and-fries pizza at 3 a.m. I am weak-willed when I am inebriated.
ESSENTIALSIan's319 N. Francis St. 257-0597 Mon.-Fri. 4 p.m. to late, Sat. 12 p.m. to late. (out of 5) Overall *** Food **** Decor *** Service *** Chutzpah *** High-quality, eclectic slices Blood orange whorehouse |
The thing is, I don't think I would even properly appreciate Ian's pizza at such a time. Ian's offerings change daily, and there is no shortage of varieties. One, a pizza with pesto, slices of tomato fresh mozzerella and basil leaves is good, but makes me wish the pesto was more flavorful. The fresh basil overwhelms everything on this pie. However, the pesto's mild flavor does work well on Ian's artichoke heart pizza.
Ian offers a macaroni-and-cheese pizza featuring cr??me fraiche, which tastes all right, but is more novelty than gourmet entr??e. Another imaginative offering is the steak-and-fries pizza: I really enjoyed the tender steak pieces on barbecue sauce and mozzarella with slightly mushy fresh-cut fries.
Other eclectic offerings include the chicken burrito pizza with black beans (I like), chicken parmesean (good) and buffalo wing pizza (bleu cheese and chicken, very good). There has been talk of using truffle oil and even a possible ceviche pizza. Damn. Ian said that he is waiting for a larger more eclectic crowd to start frequenting his restaurant before he rolls out such big guns.
I really like Ian's pizzas, but there's no denying they're a little different. The crust on all of these pizzas is moderately dense and very crispy, but also surprisingly dry. I have grown accustomed to and live by the grease-stuffed crust of Ian's neighbor, Casa Bianca, 333 N. Basset St. Ian's tactic is well-exhibited by the steak and fries pizza: folded in half, the pizza becomes much like a sandwich on thin, crispy bread. I'm not saying this is a bad thing; merely that there is still a time and a place for Casa.
Ian is an amiable fellow who keeps his restaurant open real late, which I like. If you have a great drunken idea for a pizza, suggest it: You may just see it as a special someday.
