Impellizzeri's: Did it Live up to the talk?

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2nd Stop Impellizzeri's
1381 Bardstown Road (In the highlands)
502.454.2711

May 25, 2010
8:30pm
Calzone Crew: Amy, Matt, Fox, Shaun Daniel, & Alf

CALZONE RATING:

                                                 Amy & Matt:         Calz. Crew:
# of Fillings to Choose From:20                                                  
Filling Selection:                8/10 80% B             19/25, 76% C
Sauce:                              7/10 70% C             19/25, 76% C
Crust:                               9/10 90% A             21/25, 84% B
Filling:                               9/10 90% A             21/25, 84% B
Overall Taste:                   10/10 100% A+        23/25, 92% A
Size: 4 of the 5 Tasters thought the Size would be classified as Large, while 1 believed it was More than enough for 2.

Price: Menu price lists a Calzone for 8.99 you can order up to 3 toppings at 1.00 each (create your own style.) We all ordered 3 toppings in our calzone, and the bill had it listed at 7.00 total, we're guessing its due to 1/2 off Hoagie Night which they have every Tuesday evening! Awesome!

Types Tried:

Amy--- Chicken, Green Peppers, & Banana Peppers

Matt--- Pepperoni, Bacon, Green Peppers

Fox--- Italian Sausage, Pepperoni, Fresh Tomatoes

Shaun Daniel--- Chicken, Green Peppers, Mushrooms

Alf--- Pepperoni, Italian Sausage, Jalapenos

Comments: When the calzones were brought out we were all starving! They looked awesome, they looked like a large pizza which has been folded over in half, topped with lots of cheese, and divided into three large pieces. I thought to myself, "now this is the way a calzone is supposed to look! YUM!" We all ate up our calzone pretty quickly, enjoying our fillings and the taste of the calzone overall. The calzone came out hot, it was definitely fresh out of the oven! It seemed filled with lots of the toppings we all chose, and the crust was delicious as well. I personally liked the calzone topped with cheese! While I'm usually not a fan of the sauce being on the inside I liked it this time, because it was just the right amount of sauce. We ordered dipping sauce as well for those who like a little more! The calzone was a perfect size, I think we all ate 2 slices of it, and took the third slice for lunch the next day! There's not too much more to say about this calzone, it was TASTY! On the way home Matt and I described it as... "well it definitely satisfies my craving for a calzone."

Overall Calzone Score: 43/50, 86% B+

PIZZERIA RATING:

                          Amy & Matt     Calz. Crew

Cleanliness:       9/10, 90% A            21/25, 84% B
Ambiance:        10/10, 100% A         22/25, 88% B+

Friendliness:     9/10, 90% A            20/25, 80% B

Service:             8/10, 80% A            18/25, 72% C

Overall Pizzeria Rating: 36/40, 90% A

Comments: Upon walking up to Impellizzeri's you could already get a feel for the ambiance of the pizzeria. It's like any other bardstown road restaurant, music playing, a lively crowd, and people walking up and down the street. The restaurant sits on a corner, and tables and umbrellas line each side of the building. We walked inside to be seated and asked for the open table outside along bardstown rd, Mr. Impellizzeri seated us himself, and we were greeted immediately by our server. Impellizzeri's has $10 bucket of domestic beers (their special) every night, so we ordered up 2 buckets. The weather was just right, okay... maybe a little warm, but the beers cooled us down. There was a flat screen up against the glass window behind us, situated for the customers outside to enjoy, and with the Reds game on and the Lakers game approaching the guys couldn't have been more comfortable. I walked inside to get a feel for the restaurant itself, it looks like a very cute italian restaurant. They have a long bar to the left which is divided from the main eating area. All the tables are covered in red checkered table cloths, with pizza platters in the middle of them, and there are christmas lights decorating the place! For living in Louisville my entire life, I can't believe I haven't been to Impellizzeri's sooner! The atmosphere is nice, the restaurant is clean, and the service is pretty good! I felt like the staff was very friendly, every time I went inside to the restroom the staff would talk to me, and when we left I was asked how everything was by Mr.Impellizzeri as well. The menu is full of pizzas! It has three styles of pizzas you can order along with some of the favorites, they also have pastas, salads, and long list of hoagies, and appetizers to choose from! Pizza's will run you anywhere from $13-$38 depending on the style, size, and number of toppings, everything else on the menu is priced under $8.99.

Pros: Location, nearby and located on bardstown rd, great place to meet up with friends. Ingredients were fresh, great specials on buckets of beer, and the calzone was a great size and tasted awesome! Dining alongside the street was awesome! They also have lots of specials during the week! (Mon-1/2 price Apps, Tues-1/2 price hoagies, Wed- 1/2 price wine, Thurs-1/2 price martini's and cosmos)

Cons: Service could've been a bit better, atleast with the refills.

Suggestions: I was sad they didn't have broccoli as a topping, so thats my suggestion that they could have a few more topping choices! Some of us would've liked for the calzone to come with sauce to dip in rather than sauce on the inside. Alf suggested that the price for calzone include 2 toppings, and anything beyond that you would pay for. And Shaun would like for the green pepper pieces to be larger!

So we're thinking we might have found a match to Slice's calzone....it's hard to tell without a side by side comparison. But its early in the race, and now we're thinking there might just be even better calzones out there...

50 more weeks to go!