Bertucci's

Columbia, MD

Price:$$$

Decor: Casual family style

Summary: Brick-oven pizza with service that ignores

(2 crabs out of 5)

Paul: Bertucci's is poo.

Karen: Welll.... that isn't exactly the word I would use to describe it. Bertucci's is good for what it claims to be--a gourmet, brick-oven pizza restaurant. True to its mission, it manages to elevate the ultimate in everyday simplicity and bring it to Hoity Toity heights. You can get pizza with mozzarella innovatively placed in globs instead of spread, you can get Basil (or, as the Ultra Chic Naked Chef says, "bazhil")--you can even get cute little shrimps sprinkled all over. Being a toppy that does not normally reside in the plastic tubs of Pizza Hut, we decided to go for the last option.

Paul- Fine Bertucci's is not poo but it is certainly not gourment. I admit they try to put you in that atmosphere and they have some creative ideas on their menu but their execution comes up short. Take our appetizer of foccaccia...which turned out to be pita bread with cheese. It didn't taste bad but it wasnt the higgher tier bread we were expecting.

Karen: Absolutely--they do the whole "gourmet pizza" thing but don't look here for a fine Italian restaurant. "Foccacia" like that would be chased out of Little Italy by an angry mob. I liked the cold tomato paste that accompanied it, but otherwise I could have done that easily with a Microwave on high.

The pizza was something of a different story. Its asymmetrical shape certainly told tales of its wild and untamed visit to the Brick Oven, and the nonstandard trendy toppings made gave it quite the spark of pizzazz. More than a spark actually--the pizzazz was so powerful that my eyes watered. A warning in the menu about the spiciness would have been appreciated.

Paul: I was disappionted with the crust. When I hear brick oven I think crisp hearty crust, this crust was half crisp half soggy. Soggy pizza can be really good sometimes but not in this case. The toppings were indeed pretty tastey and spicey.

Karen: Of course, as is wont to happen to those of us with a certain dirth of class (and for once, it wasn't me!), Paul's glass of Iced Tea spilled on the table. This wouldn't have been particularly notable, expect for that the waiter spotted our frantic battle against the encroaching blob of Tea spreading and dripping, and seemingly ignored us completely. Even unaided, we did win the battle--with casualities of my damp shorts and purse.

Paul: Ok, I was a big doofus but it was puzzling why the waiter didnt come with a rag to clean up. Eating a meal on a wet table is not the best way to enjoy a meal. But Karen and I did a pretty good job containing the spill and we had a nice time anyway.

Karen: Indeed we did, and a hazelnut "tartufo" was a nice finale. The dish came in a tall little dish and involved working through a thick sugary chocolate layer to come to a creamy hazelnut inside. The end result in the mouth was the same as many desserts--a pleasant mix of chocolate and cream textures. Still, it was a sweet end to a meal that, at under $25, was a reasonable and nearly practical way of experiencing pizza gone foo-foo shee-shee.