A Steeler Lunch

Bella Notte Italian Eatery

1914 Penn Ave

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15222

October 11, 2009

2pm ish

To finish up our afternoon on The Strip we decided to share a pizza while we rested up for our drive home (well actually Erik needed to rest up, I actually planned on napping during the drive home).

The day before we had seen a group of friends sharing a pizza from here along the road and we decided it had just looked too good to pass up.

This place had the air of your traditional pizzeria and looked like it had served many pies to fans during home Steeler games. This Saturday the clientele seemed more subdued due to the away game. However, the restaurant was still fairly busy with families, a few fans watching the game, and shoppers like us stopping by during a day of sightseeing.

We could sit anywhere and we decided on a booth where we had an equal view of the TVs to keep an eye on the game and the cook getting orders ready and tossing pizza crust high into the air.
The service was good and our waitress quickly got our drinks (Coke for both of us) while we decided on pizza toppings. This time we went for a peperroni with tomato slices.

Since each pie is hand tossed and made to order, it did take awhile for our pizza to come out, but we didn't mind. It gave us a chance to put our feet up and talk about the wedding.

When the pizza came out is looked like yummy, cheesy goodness! However, we wondered where the peperoni was hidden. We soon found out that they use chopped peperoni pieces (think Totino's party pizza style) instead of slices! I must admit while the rest of the pizza was fabulous with good sauce, nice seasonings, and a great crust; I was really missing the more powerful taste of slices of peperroni.

Overall though, great atmosphere and service. Good crust, spices, and cheese. However, due to the pepperoni, I can't call this the best pizza in Pittsburgh.

Cost: 2 Cokes, 1 large pizza with peperonni and tomato, and tip: $17.63

Rating: 3 buckeyes

However, as we walked back to our car we found just one more place we just couldn't pass up. Fudgie Wudgie Fudge and Chocolate Factory.

Now this place was great! Unfortunately, since we'd just gorged ourselves on pizza and a host of other samples from the strip we felt fudge would be pushing it. But, we couldn't leave empty handed either. We decided to take chocolate dipped marshmallows as a small dessert to enjoy later in the car! While Mon Aimee impressed me, I (and my wallet) felt more at home in this candy store ;)

Ahhh.....after a food filled weekend we were finally ready to head home to the Buckeye state.