Napa Wood Fired Pizza

It had been a while since my wife and I got to hang out with my sister (the mystery blogger who has failed to uphold her end of the bargain here) and since she offered to pay for our meal, we gave her the choice of restaurant. She decided on Napa Wood Fired Pizzeria, the renovated South Wedge establishment.

The idea behind Napa is right in the name of the restaurant: Wood fired pizza. Browsing the menu, they also offer some fancy appetizers, wrapinis (this word set off alarms in my head) and salads. The beer selection featured Rohrbach's, which immediately was a plus. However, when I inquired into the availability of Scotch Ale, our server said they didn't have it as it was a seasonal ale and I wanted to correct him (but I didn't).

After ordering our drinks, we decided on two appetizers: the Charcuterie plate and the wood fired chicken wings. The Charcuterie plate was described as a "Chef's selection of Cured Meats and Smoked Cheeses served with Warm Flatbread and a House Made Fig Spread". The wings are self-explanatory.

The appetizers arrived faster than we expected and, as I was about to find out, this wasn't necessarily a good thing. Maybe I needed to have different expectations of what wood fired food is but the wings were slimier (think oven-cooked chicken wings) than I thought they would be. I expected a crisp, almost burnt, texture and was taken aback. Again, maybe I should have checked my expectations of what wood fired means at the door. Other than the texture of the wings, the flavors were okay but nothing to write home about. It was your standard, tangy, mildly spicy wing sauce. The meat plate was similarly disappointing. The "chef's selection" that night was prosciutto ham, something that looked like salami and sharp cheddar. On top of being an odd pairing (the three items on a piece of flatbread didn't make my tastebuds cry out for more), the presentation made me feel like they went to the Wegman's deli counter and had them slice out some ham, salami and cheese and then just slapped it all on a cutting board. This was not how I had hoped our meal to start. It was a good thing they had Rohrbach's.

Shortly after our appetizers were finished and the plates taken away, the main courses came out. I ordered a pizza called "The Tasty". It was a simple pizza consisting of pepperoni, sausage, onions, mushrooms and cheese. If they were good, they would nail this pizza out of the park. But, again, my expectations did not match what I got on the plate. The sauce was tomato-y and salty. The cheese was thick and melted. The crust wasn't all that crispy. The problem was that the melted cheese floated on the sauce and trapped the other toppings within it. Thus, with each bite, the cheese and toppings slid off and I ended up using my fingers to break off the cheese and place the remainder of the cheese/toppings back on the slice. To me, this is a rookie mistake. I expected much better.

I polished off all I could and, while tasty, it wasn't a revelation in pizza. The appetizers left something to be desired. The best part of Napa was the service and the beer. Would I go back? Maybe... But only if someone else suggested going there. Until then, I'll stick with my Pizza Stop.