Harvest Pizzeria

Harvest Pizzeria opened last week in German Village. The wood-burning oven turns out great pies topped with high quality ingredients accompanied by small plates and exciting cocktails.

The pizza ingredients are locally sourced when possible. Vegetables come from a Canal Winchester farm in the summer. The hickory and apple wood-fired oven cooks the crust to a perfect well done consistency.

Small plates include lavender honey and ricotta crostini and a seasoned olive plate. It is also possible to exclude meat from the meat-and-cheese plate.

The ricotta spread is flecked with orange zest and drizzled with balsamic vinegar. It has a great range of sweet and sour flavors. The bread adds a toasty element to the dish. The crostini were served with two slices of toasted bread the second time I ordered it, and the first order came with four. Four crostini work much better than two to enjoy the delicious ricotta spread.

The olives picked up the sage in which they were served. The cerignolo olives were mild and firm. The castelvetrano olives were soft and fruity. The giaraffa olives had a beautiful purple-red color and a bright salty flavor.

There are four meatless pizzas on the menu. The choices are Margherita, cheese, mushroom and mixed vegetable. You can also construct your own pizza.

The cheese pizza is made with Canal Junction Lock 21 cheese, mozzarella, provolone and parmesan. The sweet tomato sauce adds a great complexity to this gem of a pizza.

The vegetable pizza is topped with red onions, black olives, oven roasted red peppers and mushrooms. The combination of veggies goes together very well.

The mushroom pizza is made with various 'shrooms, the Lock 21 cheese and truffle salt. The earthy cheese's flavor explodes with the punch of truffle salt.

The cocktails are crafted as artfully as the pizza. The Front Porch tea is a John Daly -- sun tea and lemonade are blended 50/50 and spiked with Oyo vodka. The house margarita is sweet and peppery, made with El Jimador blanco tequila, Cointreau, grapefruit juice and habanero simple syrup. Harvest Pizzeria also has a nice selection of wine as well as a few house taps and beer in cans.

Harvest Pizzeria makes nice use of its space. The open kitchen is a fun view for those who order in. Service was capable if at times a little overbearing. Take-out orders travel surprisingly well.