Friday Night Slice, Part 20

Hey, it's the guest host edition! While The Mrs is tending to some other things, I am going to take the next couple of weeks to tell you about the pizza options in my hood of West Meade. I apologize in advance for the photography, which will not live up to the high standard that The Mrs has established in this series of reports. Michaelangelo's Pizza

I guess Michaelangelo's has been around for about 10 years now. It was started by that South African guy who they bring in to talk about soccer on 104.5 The Zone. They started out with a location in Green Hills and a location on Elliston Place. The Green Hills location is no more, but they have replaced it with a location in Belle Meade. There is a website for the Elliston Place location. And another one here. But neither of them mention the other store. Maybe it is under different ownership? The location in Belle Meade, which is the one that I ordered from, is carry-out and delivery only, while the Elliston Place location has a dining room.

Like The Mrs, I prefer my pizza with pepperoni and extra cheese. This one is a large, and it was very reasonably priced at about eleven bucks. It's an attractive looking pie, with the cheese nicely browned and the edges of the crust nice and crispy. About that cheese - at Michaelangelo's, when you order "extra cheese," you get mozzarella and cheddar. The cheddar definitely gives the pizza unique taste, but it cuts down on the "pull-away factor" significantly, as melted cheddar just does not have the same stretchy, stringy qulaity as mozzarella. The pepperoni slices were of average quality, not especially spicy. My biggest disappointment with Michaelangelo's pizza is with the sauce. The sauce lacks any character whatsoever. It is bland, and completely fades into the background. Michaelangelo's pizzas are pan pizzas, which are not usually my perference, but definitely have some redeeming qualities. I like the crispy ring that is formed around the edge of the crust. But overall, the crust has a bready consistency and lacks any degree of chewiness. As a result, their crust always seems slightly undercooked to me. I'm not sure if The Mrs has mentioned this before, but one of the best things about pizza is eating it leftover and cold the next day. In this situation, I think Michaelangelo's pan crust works well. As it cools down and perhaps slightly stales, it tightens up. And out of the refrigerator, or even at room temperature, the crust becomes almost like focaccia, with a chewier texture. The result is a kind of savory pastry that makes for a good breakfast.

Michaelangelo's Pizza

5133 Harding Pike, Suite B-9, Nashville, TN 37205

615-352-8066

delivery, carry out

205 22nd Ave N, Nashville, TN 37203

615-329-2979

dine-in, delivery, carry out 

* * * * * Cold Pizza:

Friday Night Slice, Part 1: MAFIAoZA's and Joey's House of Pizza

Friday Night Slice, Part 2: Pizza Perfect and Pizza Perfect Kebobs

Friday Night Slice, Part 3: Rudino's Pizza and Grinders 

Friday Night Slice, Part 4: Chicago Style Italian Beef 

Friday Night Slice, Part 5: Pie In The Sky 

Friday Night Slice, Part 6: Castrillo's Pizza 

Friday Night Slice, Part 7: California Pizza Kitchen 

Friday Night Slice, Part 8: Ahart's Pizza Garden (Murfreesboro) 

Friday Night Slice, Part 9: New York Pizza Depot (Clarksville) 

Friday Night Slice, Part 10: Matteo's Pizzeria 

Friday Night Slice, Part 11: Angelo's Picnic Pizza (Antioch) 

Friday Night Slice, Part 12: Manny's House of Pizza 

Friday Night Slice, Part 13: Nashville Pizza Co. 

Friday Night Slice, Part 14: Brick's Cafe 

Friday Night Slice, Part 15: Sal's Pizza (Hermitage) 

Friday Night Slice, Part 16: Painturo's (Mt. Juliet) 

Friday Night Slice, Part 17: Brothers' Pizza (Franklin) 

Friday Night Slice, Part 18: Snappy Tomato, Roma Pizza and Jet's Pizza 

Friday Night Slice, Part 19: Geadello's Pizza