Typically "pizza" and "Columbus" are two words I don't like to use in the same sentence, unless said sentence is completed with an exclamatory "sucks".
Regina and I had to Indianapolis for the weekend and decided to stop in Columbus for dinner. After a quick search of newly opened pizza spots in the city, Harvest Pizzeria won out over Element Pizza Bar and Bono Pizza. Obviously future trips to CBus will include a stop at these other two new additions, but Harvest looked like the most interesting of the three.
This little restaurant in German Village pretty much caught me by surprise. Going in I was totally expecting some half baked, bland ass, CPK wannabe. Instead, I got pizzas that had an interesting dough, local ingredients, and well thought out toppings, and nice bit of char.
Right now the indoor dining is fairly small. Fall was still in its infancy when we went, so the tables outside were full as well.Without the outdoor seating, this wildly popular pizza spot is going to positively jammed in the winter. The interior is a very simple, light colored space with a full view of the kitchen from almost every seat but the bar.
Since we were late to the game and needed to get back on the road ASAP, we took two open seats at the small bar. In hindsight this was a blessing because the bartender - Erin - pretty much kicked ass and told us about a Yerba Buena taco truck and what to get at Ray Ray's Hog Pit when we came back through on Saturday.
Our quick dinner included the Spicy Yuma included Canal Junction Gouda, chorizo, jalapeno (I subbed this out for red onions), corn, roasted red pepper, chipotle-spiked tomato. With so much on the actual pizza, I thought the dough would be an undercooked mess. I was wrong. The whole thing works - very well. No one ingredient stood out, and for me that is the hallmark of a good pizza. The crust was light with a small amount of chew. The flavor of the char mellowed out the bold flavor of the toppings.
Regina ordered the Mushroom (Gouda, variety of mushrooms, truffle). Although she loves mushrooms, she would rather have canned mushrooms over freshly cut raw ones. In an ideal world, the mushrooms are actually sauteed like they are at Noce Gourmet Pizza. You're probably wondering where the truffles come in. They actually saute the mushrooms in a truffle paste. When you think about it, it's a pretty neat idea. My wife was also gushing over her selection.
The owner - Chris - was nice enough to come over and talk to Regina about the truffle paste. The place was packed to the gills and he stopped what he was doing to answer her questions, which I thought was pretty cool.
There's a good selection of salads, pizzas, desserts, and booze. The Harvest Pale Ale is brewed locally by Elevator Brewing right there in Columbus.
If you're in the area, you've got to stop in. I've always firmly believed that the pizza in this town is absolutely horrific. Obviously the people at Harvest Pizzeria recognized this and filled a massive void. While I haven't eaten any pizza in Cincinnati, I have eaten most of what is considered good in Cleveland, and Harvest is the best I've had in the state.
Harvest Pizzeria
495 S. 4th Street
Columbus, OH 43206
(614) 824-1769
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