More evidence that the word is out on Pizza Art Cafe:

We tried to stop in @ PAC on Saturday evening and were asked if we had reservations.

What? Huh? Cue Jack Tripper-esque spit take.

Our little neighborhood pizza place is all growed up, I guess.

Got the quattro staggioni and a salmon pizza, with a crostini to start. Everything came out timed perfectly and tasted great. I think the word I've been looking for regarding this place is "rustic." As described elsewhere in the thread, it's not trying to be the fanciest or the best - it's still a tiny little rough-edged joint. I think "rustic" works.

I've been bouncing around the idea of organizing another dinner here, this one for anyone interested in the brick oven roasted octopus. I've been meaning to try it since I saw it on the menu. Any interest?

wbent,

I nudged you last time, and I happily do so again. I'm a big fan of Pizza Art, and the vast menu plays very well to group dining.

kz

Very good - I'm still figuring out what works schedule-wise but I'll put something up in the near(ish) future.

stevez wrote:I feel like I might have eaten at a completely different restaurant. I found little of redeeming quality about Art's Café, other than the parking space I found right in front. I'd only return under protest.
...

I'm here to say that the Emperor has no clothes. I give this place no more than 6 months before it folds.

Steve- from your post in 2006, I'd say you were a bit off

I stopped by this place after the Yoga for a Healthy Back workshop at Bloom Yoga across the street. Great class by the way (two Wednesdays... I spotted this place the first Wednesday).

I thought the mussels were really good...although they were most likely frozen. The sauce was great. Its been a while since I have had mussels. They didn't serve bread or a spoon, so I scooped the juice. The waiter told me later that he would have brought bread... oh well-saved a few calories at least

We ordered the salume pizza, but the waiter upgraded us to the diavolo... which simply added hot peppers. Weird: there was crushed red on top, but then it looked like a few green pickled peppers were thrown haphazzardly around the pie. Those had to be removed, cut up and dispersed appropriately. I thought the pizza tasted great without the peppers.

Reading upthread... this ain't no Spacca Napoli. But, the point is well made. You can get into the place and have a nice comfortable dinner. The check is reasonable due to the fact that they are BYOB. I thought it was a fun little neighborhood place off the beaten path that most people will miss. They have outside dining... which for once is not on a busy street amidst all the car fumes.


4658 N Rockwell St
Chicago, IL 60686
(773) 539-0645
http://www.pizzaartcafe.info

BTW- now that I have read the whole thread... I am in for the Octopus. If'n I don't respond, send me a pm... I don't read the board as often anymore

I'm glad Darren72 nominated Pizza Art Cafe for a GNR because it forced me to try it for the first time tonight (although I posted back in November that I needed to give it a try because I live less than a 5-minute away and never even noticed the place). I've lived in the Lincoln Square area for more than four years, and asked for pizza recs in the area in this thread, but nobody mentioned Pizza Art Cafe. Perhaps it hadn't opened when I started that thread, and of course they don't deliver so it really didn't exactly fit my request. But someone should have known I live close enough and hit me over the head to try it. I feel like I've wasted more than four years of my life!

But now I have found what might just be my go-to pizza place in the area. I picked up a #8 (spinach & garlic) and really enjoyed it. There were nice charred spots on the flavorful crust, crispy on the edges, softer towards the middle, foldable in a NY kind of way, very tasty tomato sauce and a nice ratio of ingredients. Although I did not eat there, the interior appeared cozy and I love the front outdoor dining area because Rockwell near Leland is just a great little spot - quiet except for the occasional Brown Line train and charming. I really look forward to tasting a number of Pizza Art's other offerings. Just note that if you go to Pizza Art Cafe, know where you are going (4658 N. Rockwell, west side of the street between Eastwood and Leland) because I did not notice any signage.

I went to Art's Cafe/Pizza on Sunday and ordered the prosciutto pizza and the four seasons pizza (with smoked beef). I felt the toppings were much more interesting than the crust - particularly the meats, but ultimately while I enjoyed the two pizzas (and appreciated the high quality olives), the pizzas were more a novelty than a place that makes me salivate to return. The crust was more pita-like than the old Candlelite-cracker crust. Perhaps the comparison is unfair, but I'm glad that Burt's is my neighborhood place. But the prices at Art's are very reasonable.

BR wrote:I'm glad Darren72 nominated Pizza Art Cafe for a GNR because it forced me to try it for the first time tonight (although I posted back in November that I needed to give it a try because I live less than a 5-minute away and never even noticed the place). ...
But now I have found what might just be my go-to pizza place in the area. I picked up a #8 (spinach & garlic) and really enjoyed it. There were nice charred spots on the flavorful crust, crispy on the edges, softer towards the middle, foldable in a NY kind of way, ...

BR,

Sorry we failed you in the pizza thread , but glad to hear you enjoyed one of my favorite neighborhood spots.

Kenny

(GAF - sorry you hadn't read or remembered this thread before your visit, or you might have had a better idea of what to expect at Pizza Art. Cracker crust it is definitely not, so if that's what you were hoping for, I can see why you might have been disappointed.)

I've eaten at PAC once, earlier tonight, and perhaps I just didn't get it. I would describe what we ate as good, fine or nice but neither exceptional nor great.

Mixed Platter, which featured house-made smoked beef, fresh mozzarella and some overpowering crumbles of blue cheese, was fine but for me no aspect of the plate really stood out. White Bean Soup was herbacious with fresh dill. It also contained tender/not-mushy beans and pieces of the aforementioned smoked beef. It was very tasty and probably my favorite item of the evening.

Shrimp and Mussels -- which was recommended as excellent by our server -- was again, fine. I appreciated the use of fresh herbs, particularly rosemary but none of the seafood stood out for me at all. Of course, you don't evaluate a place with the word "pizza" in its name based on its seafood dishes.

We also ordered 2 pizzas -- the Capricciosa (tomato sauce, mushrooms, artichoke, ham, green olives, topped with an egg) and another pizza (either the Napolitana or the Romana), which had tomato sauce, mozzarella and anchovies. The pizzas were just okay. Not only did the toppings not really stand out, there were way too many of them and because of this, the pizzas were, as one person in our party put it, flaccid. Diced tomatoes atop the second pie were absolutely terrible (unripe and slightly crunchy), which is especially unfortunate this time of year. There was such a disappointing disconnect between the promise of the intense orange glow coming from the wood-burning oven and the condition of these wet, soggy over-topped pizzas. Maybe it was a bad night. Maybe I just don't appreciate this particular style.

Service was very friendly and enthusiastic but equally clumsy. Even after some of our food arrived, one diner was missing flatware. We had to ask for small plates even after it was obvious that we were sharing. When our waiter saw all of us sharing soup with one spoon, instead of immediately bringing over additional spoons, he said "why didn't you ask me for more spoons?" Um, if you'd been anywhere in sight, I assure you we would have. Plates being cleared were unnecessarily stacked and as such, the oily sauce from the seafood medley dripped onto the table and into my water glass -- an error that was never corrected. I was just glad it didn't get on my shirt (I need no help destroying shirts) or my camera, which was in my open backpack on the ground next to our table. At 9 pm, we were politely hustled away from our table on the sidewalk in front of the restaurant, probably because of some ordinance, but we still had wine in our glasses at that point. Nonetheless, we were sent on our way with no offer to move us inside. A little advance warning would have been nice. One additional thing that irritated me, which may not have had anything to do with the restaurant itself, was that a group of diners next to us -- apparently regulars, as they seemed to know the chef -- kept getting up, walking 10' away from their table and smoking. This happened repeatedly throughout our meal and needless to say, it was a big bummer, as the smoke managed to waft in our direction.

We skipped dessert, which was fine because we certainly wouldn't have finished it before our table turned into a pumpkin at 9 pm. However, maybe if we'd ordered something else, someone would have offered to move us inside.

After reading so many positive accounts of Pizza Art Cafe, I'd been looking forward to trying it for a long time. But my experience was nothing that created a desire to return anytime soon.

=R=

whiskeybent wrote: As above, the anchovies are very potent, way overpowering the rest of the pizza with its supersalty anchovy-ness.

aschie30 wrote:

whiskeybent wrote:The pizza with the egg in the center (I forget the name as well) - I don't think that was a favorite of anyone else last night, but it was worth a shot. I think we can probably chalk the ordering of that up to the copious BYO that we all brought with us.

That would be the Capriciosa pizza. I'll partly take the fall for ordering that, as I recall yammering on about how I like an egg on pizza and most people don't like it and they're crazy, blah, blah, blah, and then the pizza was ordered. But truthfully, I think a fried egg sunnyside works better on a pizza than an overeasy egg, which was on this one. Besides, this pizza also had ham on it, and I think we all agreed that ham was not Pizza Art's strong suit.

Ronnie,

Sorry to hear that your experience with the pizzas didn't live up to what others have experienced. That said, using the pizzas above in your judgement Pizza Art Cafe is like judging Bari by its boxed raisins and produce section. I wish you'd heeded the advice in this thread before ordering - you happened to order the two pizzas that multiple people in this thread have noted are PAC's weak suit. There are many standout dishes highlighted by posters here, and you seem to have missed all or most of them. Too bad.

Kenny

ronnie_suburban wrote:Service was very friendly and enthusiastic but equally clumsy. Even after some of our food arrived, one diner was missing flatware. We had to ask for small plates even after it was obvious that we were sharing. When our waiter saw all of us sharing soup with one spoon, instead of immediately bringing over additional spoons, he said "why didn't you ask me for more spoons?" Um, if you'd been anywhere in sight, I assure you we would have. Plates being cleared were unnecessarily stacked and as such, the oily sauce from the seafood medley dripped onto the table and into my water glass -- an error that was never corrected. I was just glad it didn't get on my shirt (I need no help destroying shirts) or my camera, which was in my open backpack on the ground next to our table. At 9 pm, we were politely hustled away from our table on the sidewalk in front of the restaurant, probably because of some ordinance, but we still had wine in our glasses at that point. Nonetheless, we were sent on our way with no offer to move us inside. A little advance warning would have been nice. One additional thing that irritated me, which may not have had anything to do with the restaurant itself, was that a group of diners next to us -- apparently regulars, as they seemed to know the chef -- kept getting up, walking 10' away from their table and smoking. This happened repeatedly throughout our meal and needless to say, it was a big bummer, as the smoke managed to waft in our direction.

Ronnie - I will add that I wouldn't judge this place for its service. Part of the appeal, I think, of Pizza Art is its quirkiness; I don't think you'd ever expect polished service here as you wouldn't at many neighborhood ethnic places. Having said that, in my one visit there, I found the server young and inexperienced, but friendly and helpful.

ronnie_suburban wrote:After reading so many positive accounts of Pizza Art Cafe, I'd been looking forward to trying it for a long time. But my experience was nothing that created a desire to return anytime soon.

=R=

It sounds like not much has changed since my visit two years ago. I still don't understand the love for this place.

stevez wrote:

ronnie_suburban wrote:After reading so many positive accounts of Pizza Art Cafe, I'd been looking forward to trying it for a long time. But my experience was nothing that created a desire to return anytime soon.

=R=

It sounds like not much has changed since my visit two years ago. I still don't understand the love for this place.

That's an amusing reaction: post a negative account 2 years ago (actually closer to 3), read pages of positive accounts that counter it, then wait for one more negative review so that you can say not much has changed. Amazing how the human mind works sometimes.

Ronnie, I too am sorry that you didn't enjoy the meal as much as some of us had. I happen to dine there on Tuesday night and had a great experience. My wife and I planned to go for a jog. But then we though, "hey, what if we walk to Pizza Art Cafe instead?" Seemed entirely reasonable.

We started with the lasagna appetizer. This was my first time trying this dish and it personified why I like Pizza Art Cafe. The lasagna has a real flaky crust, almost like a puff pastry. It has ground beef inside, but no tomato sauce. The whole thing is topped with their agria cream, which looks like whipped cream. It almost looks like a dessert. We also split two pizzas. One of my favorites is their spinach pizza, which he had again. We also had one of the pizzas that feature their house-smoked beef (the Sicilian, if I recall). As with any very thin pizza, I think it is best to stick with pizzas that don't have a lot of heavier toppings.

For future diners: if this is your first time, I highly recommend trying the crostinis on their homemade bread topped with their house-smoked beef. This dish is great and really shows off what makes Pizza Art Cafe unique.

I agree with Aschie30 that servers tend to be young and somewhat inexperienced. I've never had bad service. The worst I've experienced is a somewhat long delay between visits from the server. We were also missing a set of flatware the other night. In any case, there is no excuse for the issues that you had, Ronnie.

Edited to identify the topping on the lasagna as agria cream.

Kennyz wrote:That said, using the pizzas above in your judgement Pizza Art Cafe is like judging Bari by its boxed raisins and produce section. I wish you'd heeded the advice in this thread before ordering - you happened to order the two pizzas that multiple people in this thread have noted are PAC's weak suit. There are many standout dishes highlighted by posters here, and you seem to have missed all or most of them. Too bad.

I'm the one responsible for having ordered the anchovy pizza (I like the little salty fishes, what can I say) and I'll toss out there that the pizza did not fail because the anchovies were too potent, overpowering the pizza (as your quote would imply). It just wasn't a great pizza - it wasn't going to hold up anywhere in the same eschelon as Coalfire/Spaca/Great Lake/etc (which, given the style of pizza and oven, is what I would measure against).

As an aside, I actually thought of you last night when I tasted the tomatoes Ronnie mentioned in his review (which also appeared in the mussel/shrimp dish). I thought to myself "if Kenny had encountered this tomato on his visit, his review of the restaurant would have started and ended on how offensive such a crappy tomato was this time of year".

The flaccid pizza


Perhaps ordering was to blame, but with two pizzas, one recommended seafood dish, and their housemade smoked beef plate, I thought we ordered a decent sample size. If there had been a couple of really high notes, perhaps I would have chalked up the so-so items to misfires or bad ordering on our part, but unfortunately that wasn't my experience.

-Dan

Dan,

There's not a positive mention I can find of either of the two pizzas you ordered, and more than one negative mention of both. Conversely, there are numerous positive mentions of the mushroom pizza, the spinach pizza, the pizza with the hot peppers, the bruschetta, and other items I'm sure I'm missing. You asked for recommendations from service staff instead of LTHforum posters who have noted quite clearly that the servers at PAC are clueless. Given the stealth LTHForum usage skills you and Ronnie have, I'm really quite surprised by the ordering strategy.

Kenny

Kennyz wrote:

stevez wrote:

ronnie_suburban wrote:After reading so many positive accounts of Pizza Art Cafe, I'd been looking forward to trying it for a long time. But my experience was nothing that created a desire to return anytime soon.

=R=

It sounds like not much has changed since my visit two years ago. I still don't understand the love for this place.

That's an amusing reaction: post a negative account 2 years ago (actually closer to 3), read pages of positive accounts that counter it, then wait for one more negative review so that you can say not much has changed. Amazing how the human mind works sometimes.

What can I say, I really dislike this place, though I'll admit I was wrong giving it only six months to survive. Feh!

dansch wrote:It just wasn't a great pizza - it wasn't going to hold up anywhere in the same eschelon as Coalfire/Spaca/Great Lake/etc (which, given the style of pizza and oven, is what I would measure against).

I also wouldn't compare this pizza, which is more of its own style, to any of those listed, just like I wouldn't compare Coalfire to Spacca Napoli either. Very different styles, in my opinion. Pizza Art is not, I don't think, attempting to be a Pizza Temple like those places you list. If you read the thread above, in addition to enjoying the pizza for what it is, many people enjoy numerous other, non-pizza dishes. I think Pizza Art's neighborhood appeal is an in total experience, rather than being simply about pizza, a la Great Lake. In that regard, I don't think the comparison is apt.

Kennyz wrote:You asked for recommendations from service staff instead of LTHforum posters who have noted quite clearly that the servers at PAC are clueless.

I admit it. I went to a restaurant without doing my usual "<restaurant> site:lthforum.com" search on Google and reading all of the posts so as to know which pizzas to order and which to avoid. I sat down, I looked over the menu, I asked for recommendations, I ordered, I got so-so food. If that's a damning indictment of my skills instead of the restaurant, so be it.

aschie30 wrote:Pizza Art is not, I don't think, attempting to be a Pizza Temple like those places you list. If you read the thread above, in addition to enjoying the pizza for what it is, many people enjoy numerous other, non-pizza dishes.

I see the raging hot wood-fired oven, I guess my expectations (and comparisons) go up.
We did, as mentioned upthread, try a few of the non-pizza dishes (mussels and shrimp, white bean soup, and the housemade smoked beef)

aschie30 wrote: I think Pizza Art's neighborhood appeal is an in total experience, rather than being simply about pizza, a la Great Lake. In that regard, I don't think the comparison is apt.

That's fair. It's a cute place, reasonably priced, BYOB, and has decent food - if I lived a couple of blocks away, I could see going there more regularly. That said, I'm not sure I'd send out of towners there as a great example of Chicago dining.

-Dan

ronnie_suburban wrote: I would describe what we ate as good, fine or nice but neither exceptional nor great.

That pretty much sums up my opinion of this place. I live about 4 blocks away and I've been twice in the 2+ years I've lived here. The last visit was about a year ago and with all the positive reviews, I was starting to wonder if I should give it another go (and I think I will--it's close and inexpensive, but I have eaten anything there I thought was better than 'fine').

aschie30 wrote:Part of the appeal, I think, of Pizza Art is its quirkiness

I agree with this sentiment. I like the atmosphere in PAC, it's quirky art and out of the way location.

stevez wrote:I still don't understand the love for this place.

I'm with you.

Kennyz wrote:That's an amusing reaction...Amazing how the human mind works sometimes

Not sure I agree. I had two ho-hum (but not bad) experiences at Pizza Art and wasn't that motivated to post about it. When I saw several positive reviews, I thought, 'hmm...I should trot over there and try it again'. But when mediocre reviews from people with a long track record show up on the board, that motivated me to post and say, 'yeah, that's what I thought, too'. And I think the balance is a good thing for people who are considering PAC, among other spots.

dansch wrote:

Kennyz wrote:You asked for recommendations from service staff instead of LTHforum posters who have noted quite clearly that the servers at PAC are clueless.

I admit it. I went to a restaurant without doing my usual "<restaurant> site:lthforum.com" search on Google and reading all of the posts so as to know which pizzas to order and which to avoid. I sat down, I looked over the menu, I asked for recommendations, I ordered, I got so-so food. If that's a damning indictment of my skills instead of the restaurant, so be it.

I wouldn't say it is an indictment, but it is a fairly common for people to post about board favorites - like LTH, Spoon Thai, Tac Quick, etc - to say that they aren't impressed, only to be met with the response that they didn't order "the right thing".

My pizza on Tuesday night was nice and charred on the bottom. I'm a little unclear about the "flacid" comment, though. If you pick up a piece of Spacca Napoli pizza by the edge, the other edge will certainly fall over and topping fall off. It isn't a cracker crust.

In any case, since Pizza Art Cafe is up for a GNR, it was nice of you both to try it out.

So, as I plan another visit to PAC, I'm trying to pick out the highlights of previous posts (and what appeals to me).
As a rough plan, I think I'll order the crostini with house-smoked beef, a shrimp and homemade chees pizza, and either a diavola pizza or a pasta al amatriciana?

PAC fans, any can't miss standouts I should add?

thaiobsessed wrote:So, as I plan another visit to PAC, I'm trying to pick out the highlights of previous posts (and what appeals to me).
As a rough plan, I think I'll order the crostini with house-smoked beef, a shrimp and homemade chees pizza, and either a diavola pizza or a pasta al amatriciana?

PAC fans, any can't miss standouts I should add?

I like all of those, though I probably like the amatriciana as much for for the novelty as anything else. I also like the mushroom pizza, which is just simple button mushrooms cooked in the wood oven with enough garlic that you notice. The cevapcici is quite good too.

Kennyz wrote:The cevapcici is quite good too.

This is one of 3 items listed on the menu as "signature" items, so we tried to order it. Our server immediately nodded his disapproval like a pitcher shaking off a sign from the catcher. We were told that it'd take a long time and it was implied that it wouldn't be worth the wait, anyway.

As for ordering the wrong pizzas/items, I blame Dan entirely (just kidding, of course).

=R=

ronnie_suburban wrote:Our server immediately nodded his disapproval like a pitcher shaking off a sign from the catcher.

At PAC, the above is probably a sure sign that it is exactly what you should order. From a post of mine a little ways upthread:

Service may be somewhat slow and clueless, and the espresso may be a bit weak. But Pizza Art Cafe is doing way more things right than wrong.

My experience this evening was not as good as my first. I liked the pizza rucola, and I was very impressed with the excellent quality of the cherry tomatoes and arugula which topped the pizza. The crust again had a real nice char on the edges. My only complaint is that I wish the handful of cherry tomatoes had been roasted. Tyring to eat whole cherry tomatoes on a pizza was a little awkward. But overall, a very good pizza.

On the minus side, I really disliked the spaghetti amatriciana (with smoked beef, slightly roasted or sauteed cherry tomatoes, red pepper and garlic). To me, the smokey flavor of the beef (which was as smokey as I have ever tasted) just overwhelmed every other flavor in the dish. The dish was also laden with oil. Also, I don't believe the pasta was seasoned with any salt so most of the dish (other than the pieces of beef) was pretty bland.

But I still like this place based on my first two visits, at least for pizza. I'm one to shy away from thin crust pizzas with umpteen toppings so I have not had any of the issues complained of above, and I really like my crust, which tonight again featured nicely charred bubbles of flavor.

ronnie_suburban wrote:As for ordering the wrong pizzas/items, I blame Dan entirely

=R=

Ronnie, don't you know that as a nobody you are going to be served the "average" food...I thought everyone knew that when dining out you HAVE to have a Plotnitwitcki with you, and I'm sure they even would have brought out the special salt cod...or a wood pidgeon

scanz wrote:

ronnie_suburban wrote:As for ordering the wrong pizzas/items, I blame Dan entirely

=R=

Ronnie, don't you know that as a nobody you are going to be served the "average" food...I thought everyone knew that when dining out you HAVE to have a Plotnitwitcki with you, and I'm sure they even would have brought out the special salt cod...or a wood pidgeon

LOL, dansch told me his last name was Plotnitwitcki, so I trusted him entirely.

=R=

So, I made my third trip to Pizza Art cafe last night and ordered based on recommendations from the board (thanks everyone). It was by far the best meal I've had there.
The highlight was the bruschetta: homemade 'pita' essentially thick pizza dough, more like focaccia than pita, covered in herbs, quality chopped tomato and a very nice, light creamy feta. I would definitely order this again.



We also had the crostini with house-smoked beef. The bread was essentially the same as that used in the bruschetta. The cheese on top was O.K. but the beef was way too salty (and I like salt).


We ordered two pizzas: the pugliese--toppings described as chopped onions, oregano, olive oil, and grated Pecorino cheese, and the Pizza Art--with homemade cheese and shrimp. The waitress pointed out that these pizzas were very similar "both topped with tzatziki instead of tomato sauce" but my friend really wanted to try the Pugliese and I wanted to try to Pizza Art so we got them both anyway. She was right (and we were forewarned) they were nearly identical. The only difference seemed to be shrimp on one and onions on the other. The shrimp on the Pizza Art weren't so great (long freezer time maybe?) so I didn't really enjoy that one. But I really like the Pugliese. I prefer thin crust pizza. The topping to crust ratio on the Pugliese was perfect. Actually, no sag (unlike picture above). And despite the menu description, it did seem to be tzatziki, cheese (pecorino) and sauteed onions. While I wouldn't have thought to put that combination together, it really worked. I like the Pugliese a lot (the waitress said this was her favorite pizza).





Service was good. We were asked if we had a reservation (but not in an unwelcoming way). We didn't but we were still seated promptly after being given a choice of inside vs. outside. The place was full by the time we left. Our wine was promptly uncorked, glasses provided (no corkage) and our bottle of (tap) water was replaced without our having to ask. Pacing was fine.

Overall, two hits, two semi-misses.
Would I go back? Definitely (I live three blocks away).
GNR-worthy? Well, not to me. But my friend who accompanied me thought yes (I gave her my interpretation of what a GNR is). "It's in our neighborhood. I really liked it. I thought the prices were really reasonable. It's not fine dining but it's good." Still not my exact definition of a GNR--for me that means worth a trip across the city, I'd recommend it to out-of-towners with limited time in Chicago.

My $0.02

I had the opportunity to try a few selections from Pizza Art Cafe and thought I would share:

Bruschette:
AWESOME (though it will be better in a few months). They call it a pita, which I find somewhat strange. It's more of a fresh loaf of bread than a pita, at least to me. The tomatoes were OK, that was the only downfall. Once tomatoes are in season, this will surely be a more well rounded appetizer. It's very garlicy and the feta is a nice surprise, it has a very strong flavor that compliments the thick dough well.

Capricciosa:
(Tomato sauce, mushrooms, artichoke, ham*, green olives – topped with an egg, over easy)
There are a few things worth noting in regards to this pizza: I ordered it without mushrooms, there were lots of mushrooms on the pizza. I read the menu on my phone and didn't notice the "*" after 'ham'. I'm not sure what that means, but there wasn't any ham. There's supposed to be an egg on the pizza, there wasn't one. With these missing ingredients, the thing was quite plain. Our focus immediately changed to the Bruschette and Diavola, I don't plan on getting this one again.

Diavola:
(Tomato sauce, mozzarella, salame and hot green peppers)
I wasn't quite sure what type of hot green peppers to expect. When my girlfriend and I got to the restaurant to pick up our food, they were just putting this one in the oven. The peppers used are Pepperoncini. There were three large peppers for the entire pizza, I would order it with extra peppers next time. The entire pizza was covered nicely with salami and it had a nice, rich taste. I was concerned that the salami would be too smoky, luckily that wasn't the case. This pizza was fantastic. I would highly recommend it again. The center stayed crisp, which was a concern. I must admit, I liked this one much better than similar offerings from Spacca Napoli. Pizza Art's crust wins, in my humble opinion.

Notes/Niggles:
This was our first experience at Pizza Art Cafe and I have mixed emotions. The Capricciosa was made incorrectly, and mushrooms were on the pizza even though I requested otherwise. There wasn't any ham, or an egg for that matter, and for a standard menu item I found this to be strange. The hostess and the gentlemen that greet guests were both nice and friendly. The gentleman that puts the pizza's in the oven, and also puts them in boxes for takeout orders, became very flustered with me when I requested red pepper flakes. I found this strange seeing as though there was a large tub of flakes directly in front of him. I understand that that isn't his role in life, but instead of throwing his arms up in shock (I'm being dramatic), requesting the item from one of the other staff would have been a bit more appropriate.

Overall I'm pretty happy with this place. The bruschette and Diavola were fantastic. I'll chalk the messed up pizza and minor service issues as growing pains. The place was jumping on a Saturday at 6:30 and reservations were 'highly recommended'. I'll be going back for sure, I'll also be checking my order before I leave the vicinity.