#150 - Andolinis Pizzeria, Tulsa OK

Last week I was in Tulsa, doing my stewardship visits.  I started these in January, as a way to get out and meet with club seat holders.  It's been great, as it gets me out of the office, allows me to meet our donors and put a face with a name, and has provided me with some great feedback. One day a week I'm in Tulsa, another day in OKC.  It's a lot of driving, but I've really enjoyed it.

I was meeting with Hughla, and we agreed to meet at Andolini's Pizzeria.  There's 2 locations, and we went to the one on Cherry Street.  It's actually right next door to Smoke on Cherry Street, which I had done a blog post about back in December. 

It's a very cool old building, as are many in that area.  It's a long, narrow building, with really tall ceilings.  Everything is brick.  As you walk in, there's an open kitchen on the right, where you can watch them make pizzas all day.  The place isn't huge, with seating for maybe 50.  There's a huge bar that takes up most of the right wall; tables in the middle and on the left wall.  There's also some patio seating outside.  There's also lots of really cool old pictures on the wall.

We decided to start with the mozzarella appetizer.  You can get fried or salted. Of course we got the fried.

These were really delicious.  Freshly breaded and served piping hot.  I'm pretty sure the dipping sauce is their pizza sauce, which is thick and delicious and has tons of flavor.  I love that they topped both the cheese and the sauce with grated parmesan, as that added even more flavor.

Hughla raved about the pizzas, so we decided to split one.  They have regular pizzas; Black Label Admiral's Club Toppings (fancier, so of course an up-charge); and then Purple Label Luxury Pizza. With the purple label there's no half sizes or substitutions.  And they mean it.  We were deciding between the Demarco of Brooklyn and the 1889 Margherita of Savoy.  The Demarco was a lot bigger, and they cook the Savoy directly on the stone (more authentic Italian method) so we went with the Savoy.
Certified DOP San Marzano tomatoes, Italian extra virgin olive oil, fresh hand stretched mozzarella with basil and red rock salt. Baked in the absolute classic process intended for the Queen of Savoy, right on the stone
Wow, this was fantastic.  Thin crust, big slices, reminded me a lot of NY style pizza.  The pizza sat a few minutes while we finished the mozzarella so it wasn't screaming hot, but that didn't detract from the flavor. After this pizza comes out of the oven they drizzle it with olive oil and add the basil.

We each had 3 slices, and then I took the last 2 slices home with me.  Hughla taught me a great method to reheat pizza.  Spray a skillet with a little olive oil or Pam, put the pieces in, and cover.  It's much better than microwaving so the crust doesn't get tough.  I tried it, and it worked!  What a great idea.

Will I go back? No question.  I definitely want to try some of the other menu items, including homemade desserts.  The food is fresh, I love the atmosphere, and the service was excellent.