| Don't call them until the phone is working again |
Yesterday the telephone number for Pizza Bella went directly to a phone company recording that said it was "not a working number." That was still true as recently as last night, but it turns out there's a reason for that. The restaurant has a new phone number: 816-471-3300.
The new number (which has yet to go up on the restaurant's Web site) was given to me by a woman named Hilary Glynn. She is connected, she explained over the phone today, to Pizza Bella via her husband who "is one of the people involved in the sale of the restaurant."The primary reason for Hilary's phone call was to tell me that Pizza Bella, the last remaining venue in Rob Dalzell's once-promising mini-empire,
is still open for business. The people who are "involved in the sale of
the restaurant" had tried to keep the old Pizza Bella number, but when
that proved too complicated they decided that the new number was easier
to remember anyway.
Glynn was more guarded when I asked about those mysterious new
owners -- she wouldn't say who it is because the sale is still pending.
But she confirmed that chef Spencer Whittaker has left the building --
to pursue other opportunities -- and a new chef (who is "not really a
new chef," says Glynn, "although I can't reveal any more than that")
will be taking over the kitchen but keeping things exactly as they were
during Dalzell's management.
"The restaurant has never closed," Glynn assured me. "We're open
tonight. There is a sale pending. That's all I can say right now."
So, that's the latest.
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I guess that we will just have to agree to disagree about PizzaBella and among other issues the pizza crust.
I wasn't nearly so critical as I could have been. The one warm item in the interior is the cheery glow from the oven. Concrete walls covered with chiffon, chairs that feel like a prelude to waterboarding and all that kaka Ipe' wood
:it adds up if you are the least bit alive to your environment.
This is the iteration of contemporary taste as an essay in pain. Pain--visual and physical-- is the spatial and metaphysical subtext in this horror show of over-used minimalist aesthetic tropes.
The crust: it tastes like hardtack on a meth binge. I do not require an excess of cheese or any other ingredient. I merely want to enjoy a level of emotional satisfaction only a good meal can supply.
I guess that we will just have to agree to disagree about PizzaBella and among other issues the pizza crust.
I wasn't nearly so critical as I could have been. The one warm item in the interior is the cheery glow from the oven. Concrete walls covered with chiffon, chairs that feel like a prelude to warerboarding all that kaka Ipe' wood. It adds up if you are the last bit alive to your environment.
This is the iteration of contemporary taste as an essay in pain. Pain--visual and physical-- is the spatial and metaphysical subtext in this horror show of over-used minimalist aesthetic tropes.
The crust: it tastes like hardtack on a meth binge.
Perhaps John is a fan of those cheesy pizzas (almost anything out there)with no character.
Anyway, I LOVE Pizza Bella. It is all about the crust. I hope it can survive, but with the owner and chef gone, I think its chances are less than 50-50. Prove me wrong, please, Pizza Bella!
I love Pizzabella and everyone I know is so excited that it's still open!
John,
I think you are the minority here.
I wonder what your pizza tastes like?
I am so pleased to hear that Pizza Bella will remain open. I completely disagree with the first comment and wonder - "John" how you can possibly compare the beautifully modern and warm interior of Pizza Bella with anything so utilitarian and gray as a commie bunker.
Compared to many a restaurant endeavor - from what I've humbly experienced having lived in small burgs such as London, NY and Washington DC, this little pizza joint is anything but full of pretense. I love the simple, but "substantive" menu concept (the brussels sprouts are amazing). We've also loved the huge open front and sitting in the patio area on nice fall and summer days for lunch.
Pizza Bella is a little gem in the Crossroads. Especially for anyone who wants a pizza that is more reminiscent of true rustic Italian pizzas along with some really tasty and lovely accoutrements. My friends and I would be so sad to see it close.
it is sad to see any downtown restaurant close its doors. I hope both 1924 and PB enjoy a successful reincarnation with their respective new owners.
I never could embrace Pizza Bella. With an interior that could only be described as 'Stalinist bunker chic' and pizza crust that tasted like it came out of a wood-chipper: why go there?
Less pretense and more substance--at every level, might turn things around for PB. Good luck!
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