Grimaldi's originated in NYC, with 3 locations. Now they've got locations across the country. Once we got there I feel like I've eaten there once before in my life in Manhattan. But if I did it was a million years ago.
It was about 7pm on Saturday night so of course the restaurant was packed, but the wait really wasn't too long. There's a great outdoor patio with about 15 tables, and half the bar is also outside. It was super windy and there's nothing to protect from any of the wind, so I would have preferred to sit inside. But Joni wanted to sit on the patio, so I just went with it.
The restaurant itself is very New York: red & white checkered tablecloths, Sinatra playing in the background, inside tables close together so its loud and boisterous, but fun. We started with the spinach salad, and got a large to share.
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| Baby spinach, tomato, bacon, red onion, vinaigrette
PHOTO COURTESY OF FOODSPOTTING
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The "personal" pizzas are 12", way too big to eat at one serving. But we each wanted something different, so got our own. I do like that they offer a choice of 3 sauces... red, white, and pesto. I don't like that the toppings are priced a la carte, and are pretty pricey for being toppings. But obviously it works. Joni got the plain pesto, and I got white with garlic, and added pepperoni, green peppers and onions.
I'm not normally a big fan of thin crust pizza, but this was absolutely fantastic. The white sauce was delicious. The garlic was definitely there, but not overpowering. The pepperoni was thicker cut, which I really liked. Joni's pizza came out first and I had a piece of hers. It was so good as well. The pesto was really, really good. I stopped myself after half the pizza, and has the rest for breakfast the next morning.
Will I go back? No question. I really enjoyed the atmosphere, even with all the wind. And I could eat that pizza regularly.
