2/11/12

Blue Moon Pizza Review


BLUE MOON PIZZA!

I was invited to visit the Buckhead location of Blue Moon Pizza the other night with Mom, and we got to meet the owners, Mandy and Kelvin Slater. Mandy and Kelvin come from corporate restaurant backgrounds, and decided to start their own business. Blue Moon's motto is "Life Should Be Less Ordinary." I love it. They created a restaurant with simple but top-notch food, take-care-of the-guest service, and a fun, down-to-earth atmosphere. They chose pizza, since it seemed like “the perfect signature item, a sharing kind of food everybody loves, to which you can bring unlimited creative touches.” They also focused on creating the perfect crisp dough, and on beautiful presentation. Mandy and Kelvin are very down to earth and friendly. Great people serving great pizza. What a fantastic concept! It seems to be doing well, because they just opened two brand new locations in Buckhead and Sandy Springs, bringing the total to four.

According to About.com, pizza was considered a peasant's meal in Italy for centuries, and we cannot say who invented the very first pizza pie, although food historians agree that pizza like dishes were eaten by many peoples in the Mediterranean including the Greeks and Egyptians. The first pizzeria in North America was opened in 1905 by Gennaro Lombardi at 53 1/3 Spring Street in New York City. Fast forward to present-day Atlanta and the exciting restaurant created by Mandy and Kelvin Slater called Blue Moon Pizza…



What did you order? How was your food?

Mom and I wanted to try everything, because it all sounded good, but we had to settle on something. We started with the Portabella Mushrooms - Large portabellas baked and topped with Grandma’s Sauce, goat cheese, and fresh basil. I wouldn’t usually order portabellas, but these were really delicious! I guess I should keep an open mind. Grandma’s Sauce is very flavorful, and it complements the goat cheese and basil beautifully.





Second, we tried the Cobb Salad, which was amazing! All Blue Moon salads are served on fresh baked pizza dough seasoned with herbs and spices, and you can substitute gluten-free salad bread. The salad was composed of Romaine lettuce tossed with a BBQ ranch dressing topped with chicken, avocado, cayenne-candied bacon, red onions, crumbled blue cheese, roma tomatoes, and black olives. Mom and I couldn’t stop scooping up the bacon and avocado. Yummy!





Our entrées were two pizzas with different halfs, called Half Moons. Mom had Greek Pizza – Blue Moon pizza sauce topped with our house cheese, fresh spinach, red onions, artichoke hearts, kalamata olives, and feta cheese; and White Pizza - Fresh spinach, roasted garlic, red onions, artichoke hearts, creamy ricotta cheese and our house cheese.

I tried the Santa Fe Chicken Pizza, which turned out to be my favorite. It has seasoned black beans, chicken, jalapeno peppers, red onions, spicy ranch, cilantro, fresh avocado, and our house cheese. I also sampled the Luna Pizza, another spicy one. It has Blue Moon pizza sauce topped with chorizo sausage, caramelized onions, jalapenos, spicy ranch, black olives, cilantro, and our house cheese blend. Watch out, it really is spicy!


Ah, then came DESSERT! My favorite part of the meal. We had their Chocolate Chip Cookie, which Mandy recommended. Let me tell you, it was sooooo good! It is a warm, homemade chocolate cookie, baked fresh when you order it, and topped with Blue Bell Vanilla Ice cream and chocolate sauce.








Describe your impressions of the service. Was anything exceptionally good (or bad) about the quality of service you received?

Our server, Rebecca, was wonderful. She was a very charming and friendly person, and was able to offer plenty of suggestions from the menu. She made our dining experience very enjoyable with her pleasant personality.

What do you think of the décor and atmosphere?

The décor at Blue Moon Pizza is clean, modern and funky. It is a hip, casual atmosphere, and I loved the artwork and laidback feel.

Do you consider this a good value for the money you spent? If no, why not?

Yes, it is affordable, and well worth the price.


This restaurant is best for (Choose all that apply)

• Good food • Quick bite • Family-friendly • Outdoor
All of the above!



Some Fun Pizza Topping Trivia

Americans eat approximately 350 slices of pizza per second. And 36 percent of those pizza slices are pepperoni slices, making pepperoni the number one choice among pizza toppings in the United States. However, in India pickled ginger, minced mutton, and paneer cheese are the favorite toppings for pizza slices. In Japan, Mayo Jaga (a combination of mayonnaise, potato and bacon), eel and squid are the favorites. Green peas rock Brazilian pizza shops and Russians love red herring pizza.



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