Tarrant’s, the popular downtown eatery expanded into the former Outre gallery space after being in business for less than a year. The bigger space also brought a new pizza venture, Tarrantinos, featuring gourmet pies and calzones. Surely this is a sign of a booming business, at least one can hope, since they offer an extensive menu, good service, and consistently tasty food. Their cobb salad is one of the best in town. I was curious to try the new pizza upon a reader’s recommendation post-Sette. I’m on a kick lately.
A committee meeting was moved to Tarrant’s at the last minute this evening, so I took this as a sign. I typically don’t indulge in the carb-filled treat very often, so when I do, I want wow. Tarrantino’s was certainly an indulgence. I’d been craving white pizza, so I tried the Quattro Formaggio - a blend of ricotta, asiago, mozzarella, and parmesan. The base layer of ricotta added a nice texture. All of the flavors mixed well, especially with the red pepper flakes and pizza seasoning that are served on the side.
The crust was tasty and soaked up the greasiness of the cheese as expected with a four-cheese pizza. The only setback was the unnecessary drizzling of EVOO on top of a pie already loaded up with fat and oil. The simple sauce underneath was just garlicky enough.
Compared to some of the other menu items, the pizza lacks a little of the Tarrant’s pizazz, but it’s a good pie, and certainly good enough to make it your neighborhood pizza place if you are in the proximity.
Kevin
when we were at sette, i also noticed the soggy-ness of the pie. and here it seems that may be a factor also due to olive oil additions. did i suggest 8 1/2 to you when we were out? it has some of the best pie in ric. seriously if you are looking to carb up - yet a third time - this might be the way to go.
soggy is bad in a pizza, how bad depends on how soggy and how hungry I am. I am so happy to have another neighborhood joint, I am not very objective. all in all I have been happy with the product at Tarrantino’s. I’m not above giving specific instructions on how I like my pizza. Prebaking the crust a little bit helps crisp it up. I also like popping my take home on top of a hot iron skillet for a couple minutes.
I think the pizza at Tarrants is pretty bangin. Speaking of bangin, i’d sure like a piece of one of those pizza boys. lets just hope they’re not as cheesy as the pizza!
god… those were the worst puns ever.