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Eat Feature

Pizza

Frank Hamilton
Iggies

Eat Special Issue 2009

Cool Comfort EAT: City Paper's annual dining guide

Barbecue and Pit Andy Nelson's Barbecue 11007 York Road, Cockeysville, (410) 527-1226, andynelsonsbbq.com, $-$$ Whe...

Breakfast Blue Moon Café 1621 Aliceanna St., (410) 522-3940, $ For years, Blue Moon has been saving t...

Cafés Atwater's Belvedere Square Market, 529 E. Belvedere Ave., (410) 323-2396; 1425 Clarkview Road, Suit...

Caribbean Judy's Island Grill and Bake Shop 5216 Park Heights Ave., (410) 367-0272, judysislandgrill.com, $-$...

Chinese Grace Garden Chinese Restaurant 1690 Annapolis Road, Odenton, (410) 672-3581, gracegardenchinese.co...

Classic American Burke's Restaurant and Café 36 Light St., (410) 752-4189, burkescafe.com, $$-$$$ Burke's is n...

Contemporary American Abacrombie Fine Food and Accommodations 58 W. Biddle St., (410) 837-3630, abacrombie.net, $$$ Cork...

Delis Attman's Authentic New York Delicatessen 1019 E. Lombard St., (410) 563-2666, attmansdeli.com, $ N...

Diners Jimmy's Restaurant 801 S. Broadway, (410) 327-3273, $ A cornerstone of Fells Point, Jimmy's slings ...

Eclectic Golden West Café 1105 W. 36th St., (410) 889-8891, goldenwestcafe.com, $-$$ Baltimore has ple...

Ethiopian Dukem #2 1100 Maryland Ave., (410) 385-0318, dukemrestaurant.com, $-$$ Luckily, pretty much the on...

French Bonaparte Breads 903 S. Ann St., (410) 342-4000, $ This Fells Point bakery boasts a surprisingly e...

Hawaiian Roy's 720 Aliceanna St., (410) 659-0099, roysrestaurant.com, $$$ With so many fabulous local resta...

Indian and Nepalese Akbar 823 N. Charles St., (410) 539-0944, akbar-restaurant.com, $$ Akbar has the feel of a secret ...

Irish James Joyce Irish Pub and Restaurant 616 S. President St., (410) 727-5107, thejamesjoycepub.com, $$...

Italian Aldo's 306 S. High St., (410) 727-0700, aldositaly.com, $$$ "Sophisticated" and Little Italy don't...

Japanese Aloha Sushi 1218 N. Charles St., (443) 759-8531, $-$$ Everything about Aloha Sushi is just right...

Korean Joung Kak 18 W. 20th St., (410) 837-5231, $$ Its partisans will tell you this is the best Korean r...

Latin Arcos Restaurant and Bar 129 S. Broadway, (410) 522-4777, arcosrestaurante.com, $$ Because there's...

Mediterranean Black Olive 814 S. Bond St., (410) 276-7141, theblackolive.com, $$-$$$ Fells Point Greek restauran...

Middle Eastern Amer's Café 7624 Belair Road, Belair Beltway Plaza, Nottingham, (410) 668-5100, amerscafe.com,...

Pizza Angelo's Carry-Out 3600 Keswick Road, (410) 235-2595, angeloshampden.com, $ Best pizza in Hampden ...

Pub Grub Curb Shoppe Bar and Grill 5736 Falls Road, (410) 433-8299, curbshoppe.com, $ This neighborhood pub...

Russian Vernisage 1004 Reisterstown Road, Pikesville, (410) 484-7701, $$-$$$ With its glass chandeliers an...

Seafood Blue Sea Grill 614 Water St., (410) 837-7300, blueseagrill.com, $$$ A daily selection of "Fresh ...

Southern Charleston 1000 Lancaster St., (410) 332-7373, charlestonrestaurant.com, $$$ Somewhere along the l...

Spanish Pazo 1425 Aliceanna St., (410) 534-7296, pazorestaurant.com, $$$ If you don't leave Pazo a little ...

Thai Ban Thai 340 N. Charles St., (410) 727-7971, banthai.us, $$ Ban Thai is our favorite place to eave...

Upscale Comfort Food Ale Mary's 1939 Fleet St., (410) 276-2044, alemarys.com, $$ Kudos to Ale Mary's for celebrating th...

Vegetarian Liquid Earth 1626 Aliceanna St., (410) 276-6606, liquidearth.com, $$ We've appreciated the vegetar...

Vietnamese Baltimore Pho 1114 Hollins St., (410) 752-4746, baltimorepho.com, $$ Despite the downtrodden local...

Eat 2009

Posted 3/4/2009

Angelo's Carry-Out

3600 Keswick Road, (410) 235-2595, angeloshampden.com, $

Best pizza in Hampden with huge delicious slices, regular-sized ones, and large, New York-style pizza pies made with pride for generations. Angelo's light touch with a spicy sauce that's not too sweet, melty mozzarella, and mushrooms and sliced sausage, onions and pepperoni, Canadian bacon and peppers, or whatever combo of toppings you roll with results in really good eating, whether you're dining in with a giant slice or taking a boxed pie home.

Iggies

818 N. Calvert St., (410) 528-0818, iggiespizza.com, $

We'd love Iggies even if it was just a plain old high-end, we-give-a-damn thin-crust pizza emporium--the pies are artful mixes of traditional and modern (the roasted duck is a peak experience)--but there's nothing plain about Iggies. It is resolutely funky, from its dog-friendly disposition to its self-service aesthetic. Bring your own booze if you like, there's no cork fee or anything pretentious like that. And your tips all go to local direct-service charities.

Joe Squared

133 W. North Ave., (410) 545-0444, joesquared.com, $$

Yes, they serve an eclectic mix of risottos, pastas, and appetizers here, but it's really the pizza that's the thing at Joe Squared. Thin-crust gourmet pies with fresh toppings like buffalo-milk mozzarella, crab, corn, apples, and barbecue chicken steal the show. Our favorite is the flag pizza, super-thin crust pie divided into three distinct sections--one with traditional red sauce and parmagian, romano, and mozzarella, one with pesto and fresh mozzarella, and one with garlic sauce, fresh mozz, and cheddar. These are the kind of gourmet pizzas one has dreams about.

Matthew's Pizza

3131 Eastern Ave., (410) 276-8755, matthewspizza.com, $-$$

There are pizza joints--places for a greasy slice of pepperoni--and they're a dime a dozen. Then there are places where they raise the pizza to an art form, and around here that's Matthew's Pizza--which was churning out quality pie long before gourmet pizza shops started popping up all over town. The crab pizza with Old Bay is a particular favorite.

Pizzeria Speranza

222 N. Charles St., (410) 752-1000, pizzeriasperanza.com, $$

Pizzeria Speranza, the New York-style pizzeria in the Charles Center almost no one outside of the downtown area knows about, is the closest you'll get around here to the NY/NJ trifecta: fresh, salty mozzarella, sweet sauce, and thin crust--the kind of pizza that folds easily in the hand, with edges that are puffy, not doughy. You can eat there, or get it delivered. They have a ton of toppings, from sausage to pineapple to garlic to god-knows-why jalapeno poppers, but we go for the simple cheese pie.

Zella's Pizzeria

1145 Hollins St., (410) 685-6999, zellaspizzeria.com, $$

Zella's is a SoWeBo haven, a pizza/art gallery oasis in an area where non-chicken/lake trout/GI tract disintegrating Chinese food items are pretty much limited to Safeway. There's a handful of sandwiches on the menu, but we're mainly talking about pie here, yummy, yummy pie. The crust, chewy and tasty while somehow immune to sogginess, is aces, and you get a range of options above and beyond most pizza joints, from subbing traditional pizza sauce for pesto or roasted red pepper sauce to high-end toppings like portabella mushrooms and roasted eggplant. Dare say Zella's is even worth the trip for non-neighborhood folk.

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