We've been hearing a LOT of great things about this unique restaurant in nearby Attalla. Is it one of those nights where your family or friends can't decide what exactly they want to eat? Pizza? Sandwiches? Strombolis or Calzones? Louie's has got you covered!
Who is Louie you may ask? Here's our new friend ready to start working his magic. Thanks to Greg Bailey/Gadsden Times for the photo. We meant to have a photo op, but we got too busy chatting and forgot!
Before I get to our meal from today, let me tell you a little about what makes this restaurant (and the food!) so special.
Louie makes the dough for the pizza, sandwiches, strombolis, and calzones fresh each day. Based on the humidity and the temperature on any given day, this expert knows exactly how to adjust the ingredients of the dough to make it perfect each time. Also, there are 100 balls of dough made each day. When they're gone, they're gone.
Louie also has a greenhouse which means that there is always fresh basil! The Italian Sausage is house made from a family recipe. The ricotta is seasoned before being used as an ingredient. Are you picking up on the love that goes into each BITE of food you're getting here? Trust me, this attention to detail makes a huge difference in the end product that you're purchasing.
Earlier today, Louie decided to make a "Grandma's Pie" just like his grandmother made for him. While we're waiting on our food to be prepared, what did he do? He offered us a couple of slices!
The dough is light and airy. The sauce has an amazing depth of flavor: rich tomato, fresh herbs, garlic all combined for sauce perfection. The thinly sliced onions with a light cheese topping made this an ideal start to our meal!
We decided that we wanted to try a calzone AND a pizza. For our calzone, we selected ham and cheese: ham, ricotta, mozzarella cheese.
We were able to sit at the bar and watch our masterpieces being freshly prepared.
and into the pizza oven and voila!
This calzone is what calzone wannabes dream of being. The dough was nice and chewy and had a delicious flavor. The ham and mixture of cheeses melted into an ooey gooey filling and the seasonings in the ricotta were spot on. That marinara for dipping was not wasted!
The Meat Lovers Pizza was loaded with toppings: sauce, mozzarella, pepperoni, Italian Sausage, smoked bacon, ham, and parmesan cheese.
And here is the result!
Each ingredient paired perfectly with the next. No seasoning overpowered another. The ratio of sauce to meats to cheese was balanced.
Upon Louie's recommendation, we added a drizzle of his homemade hot honey. Well, that took perfection into the realms of heaven. Make sure you ask for the hot honey! You can thank me later.
Did I mention that Louie also has house made pickles in a variety of flavors? There's double dill, garlic dill, hot dill, suicide hot dill, sweet heat, bread and butter, sweet ginger, sweet horseradish, green tomatoes, hot green tomatoes, barrel aged sauerkraut, mini garlic dills, giant garlic dills! Yes, we brought some home.
Here's a picture of the menu board.
If these kinds of things mean something to you, and yes, they should.....
We can't wait to return to try the Philly Cheesesteaks and Strombolis. If you're looking for a cozy place to grab a great meal with wonderful owners, look no further than Louie's.
Louie even invited me to be in one of his famous FB videos. Yes, you can find it on either their FB page or at Fleur de Lolly's FB page.
What a fun afternoon!
Wow, amazing looking food. What a great place.
ReplyDeleteIt really is!
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