Touch of Italy

A restaurant is a funny thing. While a business with a normal name isn't going to sway me one way or the other, in terms of wanting to eat there; a good or bad name can. Death Row Pizza in Williamsport, PA, ended up being totally disgusting - but I loved the name. Touch of Italy would fall under the "not so good" category. Really? Just a touch? What country comprises the other 99% of the food?

Touch of Italy is a little restaurant that sits in the strip of stores near the corner of Chagrin Blvd and Lee Rd. Until last fall, I had driven past it a million times and never stopped - simply because I didn't like the name.

9" Pepperoni and Sausage

I'm not going to paint this place out to be the best pizza I've ever had, but for being as close to my house as it is, I thought it was pretty damn good. The crust is a pan style that is remarkably light when you consider the volume the crust has. It looks much beefier than it actually is. I've had pies that I had to finally just tap out, because the dough was heavy and aplenty. I ordered a small 9" and didn't feel the least bit stuffed.

The ingredients on top of the pizza are of decent quality. I thought the sauce had a pretty good balance of tomato versus spice, which I think can really ramp up the flavor on the rest of the pie. I opted for the pepperoni (which looked like the pepperoni everyone else uses) and bulk sausage (the amorphous big chunks, which I like).

It's pizzas like these that keep me scratching down the name of places I see whenever I'm driving around Cleveland. If you do want to try Touch of Italy, I would suggest carry-out. There is more of a bar feel to the space than anything else. If I were to judge the pizza based on the interior, I would have never thought they were serving anything close to this quality.

If you happen to be coming through these parts - give it a shot. It's one of the better pizzas in the Shaker/Cleveland Heights area. Just make sure you get it "to go".

A Touch of Italy
16822 Chagrin Blvd
Shaker Heights, OH 44120
(216) 991-8282
thetouch.biz