Pizza, Pizza and more Pizza!!

It’s that time of year again – Cincinnati Pizza Week 2018. WOW, it has come and gone, that quick! Who can ever say no to pizza?! If you did say no, that is alright because Tiff Squared has you covered.
This being our second year in a row that we participated, we wanted to share our 2018 Pizza Week journey with all of you. For seven days (Nov. 5 – 11, 2018) pizzerias across southern Ohio and Northern Kentucky baked up their spin on the traditional Italian dish. From signature pies to specialty menu items, each pizzeria brought a uniqueness for everyone to try. During Pizza Week, the Pursuit of Delights was able to try and feature 3 pizzerias of our choice to present here on the blog. While Cincinnati Pizza Week 2018 has come to an end, it can be the beginning for one of you. Now dive in and see where we stopped during Cincinnati Pizza Week 2018. OOOHHHH, and this year we have partnered with the three pizzerias we stopped by to provide one of you lucky winners with a chance to win a gift card to all three pizzerias. Can you say PIZZA BUNDLE?! Pizza, pizza, and more pizza!!

Our first stop in our journey was Alto Pizza Kitchen + Bar. This establishment is located at 43 W 7th Street, Covington, KY 41011. The word Alto is the Italian translation for the English word high caliber. The idea of the owner, Bob Dames, when he opened this pizzeria was, he wanted bold flavors, bold combinations, and bold ingredients. Go big or go home! He saw his pizza being a degree of excellence – high caliber. They opened the weekend of July 4, 2018 and have been doing well ever since. At Alto, THEY LOVE FLAVOR! This is what was fun about this pizzeria. They offer big bold flavors and combinations that are fun, but are still familiar. However, for those of you who like things a little more traditional, they offer cheese, pepperoni, sausage, and more. In fact, pepperoni is their top selling pizza. They also have other great menu items. If you are not in a pizza mood try ordering some of their other dishes such as: Pimento Cheese Dip, Hot Honey Goat Cheese, Brisket Mac & Cheese, Caprese-Stuffed Mushroom, Roasted Acorn Squash, a Side Salad and many more.

One of the pizzas that we tried that was being featured during Pizza Week was the Wild Boar. The Wild Boar was made up of smoked wild boar cheddar jalapeño sausage and roasted jalapeños served on top of smoked gouda, shredded cheddar cheese and their house mozzarella and provolone blend. ALTO house made pizza sauce base and finally a drizzle of hot honey on top. WOW, that is a mouthful, but boy was it good! Believe it or not the pizza and sausage were not that spicy. It had a little kick, but it was perfect. This pizza was definitely bold in flavor, great quality and amazing! If there are any pizza heads that love bold fun flavors and sausage, this is for you!

Our next stop on our journey was Incline Public House located at 2601 W 8th Street, Cincinnati, OH 45204. Talk about great pizza and awesome scenic views. As you may be able to tell by the name, this establishment has a wonderful scenic view. Their dining room features panoramic views of the Ohio River and Downtown Cincinnati. The Incline Public House is named after one of the famous Cincinnati inclines that traveled to Price Hill. The Incline started operation in 1874. Not long after the incline’s opening, William Price opened the Price Hill House a restaurant located at the top of the hill. The restaurant closed in 1930s. The Incline Public House sits on that spot today providing a unique and dynamic experience for their guests.

Now let’s talk about delicious food and more. Their kitchen makes everything from scratch. They utilize both an in-house smoker and brick oven. The pizzas that we tried that were being featured during Pizza Week at this establishment were the Grippo’s Mac & Cheese Pizza and the W 8th Street Pizza.

The Grippo’s Mac & Cheese Pizza was made up of five cheese sauce, cavatappi pasta, caramelized onion, bacon, house blend cheese, finished with Grippo’s crust and BBQ swirl. This was certainly a fun and flavorful pizza. It was basically BBQ Bacon Mac & Cheese on a pizza. It was bold, fun and yummy! This was honestly one of the best Mac & Cheese pizzas we probably have ever had! The dough was also perfect. Yummy yummy!

Now let’s take a walk down W 8th Street. This was your traditional sausage and pepperoni pizza. It had red sauce, pepperoni, Italian sausage, and house blend cheese. The flavors of this pizza were simple but full of flavor. If you do not like your pizza as crazy as some of us, then this pizza is perfect for you. They also have amazing salads with homemade dressing. We tried their IPH House Salad. This salad was amazing and the homemade Ranch Dressing it was served with was the cherry on top. Also, try their Cherry Pepper Poppers. They were bursting with flavor. These little babies were even featured on the Food Network Channel on the show Burgers Brew and ‘Que. Now that’s popping!!

Our last and final stop of Pizza Week 2018 was Zablong…Not Just Pizza. This establishment is located at 23 East 6th Street, Cincinnati, OH 45202. Zablong – a funny name but great pizza! ZA (ZAH) is slang for pizza + BLONG (Blawing) Belonging, bringing people together across worlds, cultures, ages, and in real time. Now how is that for a motto?! Food brings people together and why not do it over pizza?! Zablong is reshaping pizza both literally and metaphorically. We can attest to this, as their pizza is yummy, and their location is bright in color and very vibrant. As they say, Peculiar Pizza and that it is!!

The pizza being featured at this location was their 16” Oblong ZA-PREME Week Pizza. It is made up of homemade classic tomato sauce and mozzarella base. Topped with Pepperoni, Mushroom, Red Peppers, Greens Peppers and garnished with Fresh Grated Parmesan. Tiff B. added onions to her pizza. While it was fun to try all the fun and whimsical pizza creations during pizza week, it was nice to end it with the classic “supreme” pizza. The curst is thin but it is loaded with toppings, just the way we like it. Another cool thing about this location is, they make your pizza to order while you wait within 3-4 minutes. Not in the mood to dine in? You can run in, order, and be back out within minutes. You start at the ordering counter, give the sauce you want, with the toppings you want, they put the pizza in their oven that the pizza runs through for 2-4 minutes. WAH LA, now you have your fresh hot pizza to go or dine in if you choose. We love their fast-casual concept for pizza.

Although pizza week has ended, that doesn’t mean the pizza fun as to stop there. Remember, this is just the beginning for you! Stop by each of these locations and give their pizza creations a try. We promise you will not be disappointed. Grab your pizza eating friend, get out in the city, and remember

PIZZA, PIZZA, AND MORE PIZZA!!