Napolese • Tuesday, November 19, 2013

Napolese

8702 Keystone Crossing Indianapolis, IN 46240

We apologize in advance, but you are going to have to use your imaginations for this post as our pictures were accidentally deleted (we blame the cloud). The good news is that we plan to return, so we will update the post with pictures of some of these dishes and also new ones. There are three Napolese locations; the others being downtown and at Meridian-Kessler.  You can only reserve a table via Opentable at the downtown location.

The ambiance at Napolese is modern, simple and dimly lit. They provide you with focaccia and a variety of olives before ordering.  Since they use a gas fired oven for their pizzas, their pies are thin and come with some charring on the crust.

Appetizer

Sean asked for an order of Burrata ($12)— speck, micro salad, and persimmon butter. Burrata is made from the leftovers of mozzarella and cream. The exterior had the consistency of mozzarella and the inside was creamy. It also tasted like mozzarella, but had a slightly silkier texture. We got three slices of speck (smoked prosciutto) that complimented the sweet persimmon butter. Persimmon is a fruit that tastes like a mango or apricot. By itself, Sean didn’t like it, but it went well with the cheese and speck.  Sean layered all the ingredients onto the focaccia they provided and really enjoyed it.
Recommendation: If you are in the mood for a light and fresh meat and cheese plate, this is the way to go.

Salad

I ordered the beet salad ($10). It came with roasted carrots, winter squash, golden raisins, goat cheese and hazelnuts. When they say beet salad, they actually mean beet salad. This wasn’t your typical salad with lettuce and a few beets— it was ALL beets and no lettuce—a nice surprise. It was delicious and the ingredients went together perfectly. The portion was very generous and I had plenty left over for the next day. It also kept very well overnight, which can’t be said for most salads.
Recommendation: This is one of the best beet dishes I have ordered. Definitely an excellent choice for a salad and is enough to share.

Entrées/Pizzas

Sean ordered the BLT ($13), a white sauce pie with Smoking Goose Jowl Bacon, caramelized Leeks, and Taleggio cheese. The bacon was to die for. It was the kind of melt-in-your-mouth topping you’d expect, but it was in cubes rather than strips. The funky talaggio cheese (soft cheese that has a fruit tang to it) melted evenly throughout the pie. We only noticed a few leeks on the pizza, but they helped elevate the dish. Our only complaint (for both pizzas) was that the center of the pizzas were soft and runny, so some of the toppings fell off and it was hard to eat the first bite or two.
Recommendation: Sean is mad he didn’t order another one, or seven, of these to go. If you are a bacon aficionado (and who isn’t) you’ll love this.

I ordered the Hamaker’s Corner ($14). It comes with pepperoni, Italian sausage, provolone cheese and mushrooms. The pepperoni was cut thick and had great flavor. The cheese only covered about 60% of the pie, whereas the thin layer of sauce covered 90% of the pie. The mushrooms were whole, which I enjoyed since they are usually sliced in half and don’t provide much texture. The sausage was probably my least favorite ingredient, but I still thoroughly enjoyed my selection and would happily order it again. I am very picky about the kind of pizza dough I like. Most are either too thick and spongy or way too thin and crispy. This dough was a perfect balance between the two and the slight char distinguished it from your average go-to pizza places. We had pizza left over from both of our meals and they still tasted just as great when reheated the next day.
Recommendation: Provolone, meat and mushrooms on carbs. What’s not to love?

Dessert

We ordered two scoops of the Patachou Premium Gelato ($4)— one chocolate and one pear.  The chocolate was rich and delicious, so the pear wasn’t as flavorful in comparison, but it was still good. The couple sitting next to us ordered the pistachio gelato with espresso (espresso was poured on top) and they loved it.

Overall:

Ben, our server, was terrific. He was very friendly and knew the menu well. By using fresh and local ingredients (as Napolese does), even a basic pizza tastes better. We loved every part of the meal— appetizer, salad, pizzas and dessert. Add that to great service and a pleasant ambiance and you’ve got a great date night.

Rundown:

Food: 4.5/5
Service: 5/5
Price: $$
Location: Northeast (Keystone at the Crossing)
Cuisine: Pizza
Dress Code: Casual