Tomato Pie
9611 North College Ave
Carmel, IN 46280
http://www.tomatopiebistro.com
Pizza is a magical thing. It’s a dish that delights the young and the old and it can be prepared in numerous ways with very different outcomes. And like the saying goes: even when it’s bad, it’s still pretty good. With this in mind, I’m always excited to try a new pizza place. One place I’ve driven by several times on my way to Broad Ripple is Tomato Pie on College Avenue right near the Interstate 465 overpass. I’d read a few good comments about it and wanted to try it out.
What I Got: A friend and I went for lunch and I had a pepperoni pizza ($10.50 for a ten-inch pizza) while my friend had a stromboli ($8.50).
The pizza was a reasonable size for a single person and had a nice thin crust. The sauce was slightly sweet and maybe a bit spicy as well. The cheese appeared to be fairly generic mozzarella and they were generous with the pepperoni. It was pretty good pizza, but not good enough to draw me in again just for the pizza. There are other styles of pizza in town I prefer more, so I probably wouldn’t head here just for that. I also think it’s a bit overpriced for a lunchtime meal. For example, Some Guys has a pizza/salad lunch combo for $7.95. Pizzology also has a lunch special for a measly seven dollars that includes a pizza, salad and a soda. Given a choice, I think I would go to one of those places instead for both the taste and the value.
My friend remarked on how good his stromboli was and that he really enjoyed it. It came with plain potato chips (like a basic bagged Lay’s chip) and appeared to have a good variety of stuff inside it with large chunks of pepper and sausage (heartburn at no extra charge!). They also have a meatball sub in a similar style that I’d like to try in a future visit.
Would I Buy It Again? Maybe. I would go there with someone else if that’s what they had a hankering for, but I think I would try one of their pasta dishes next time. They feature lasagna, meatballs with artichoke, seafood ravioli and several other pastas that looked good. I would like to try one of those because the only thing better than finding a good pizza place is finding a good lasagna place.
Outside of the food, the service was also quick and courteous. There was nothing wrong with the restaurant or with our food, but at the same time, it wasn’t a standout. Given what I had, I’d give them another chance with a pasta dish.
-BigRedEater
