Mikey's Late Night Slice - Commons Cafe

Mikey's Late Night Slice is easily Columbus' most colorful pizza chain. Consisting of operations based in ramshackle buildings, food carts and bar kitchens, the pizza shops headed by a team including the namesake Mikey Sorboro feature a variety of New York style pizza slices prepared in such a way to blot out the damage of excessive drinking. Mikey's received national attention after a high profile event where service was refused to a gay bashing customer. It's more fun than fussy.

Each location has slightly different options based on its configuration. The latest spot in the Columbus Commons offers breakfast and sandwiches starting at early morning hours, a nice wrinkle for Downtown workers. The Commons Cafe also has 7-inch vegan pizzas with two toppings for $6.

The main attraction, though, is the pizza by the slice. I'm a fan of the Cheezus Crust, a grilled cheese sandwich made from two slices of pizza of your choice encasing slices of American cheese. There are a variety of sauces available as dips for the pizza, including the slut sauce (which is called Unmentionable Sauce in the PG environment of the Commons).

Pizza by the slice includes cheese with fresh basil and mushroom with roasted garlic. Slices are $3 each, and whole pizza specials run between $12 and $18.

There are three different meatless sandwiches for lunch. The veggie delight is made on a soft, toasted hoagie bun that is piled with tomatoes, mushrooms, banana peppers and provolone cheese. The adult grilled cheese two cheeses pressed Cuban style. 

Side dishes include tater tots, fried mac and cheese balls and fried ravioli. 

The Commons Cafe has been open for a short time. They were working through some patches of slow service during a few busier times when Mikey's first opened Downtown. Service speed has picked up, although it seems that the expanded menu doesn't hum along with quite the same precision as the PizzAssault Truck and the location next to Bodega. If it finally does start firing on all cylinders, it will be another great lunch option for vegetarian and vegan pizza-files.

Savelli's

The Arlington/Grandview/Campus corridor has become quite the place for pizza over the last few years. Old standbys like Adriatico's, Tommy's and Hound Dog's have welcomed newcomers like Bono, Dewey's and Meister's to the neighborhood. Add Savelli's New York Style Pizza to the list of great places to grab a slice.

The place is tucked next to an apartment complex office and the neighborhood pub 14 Twenty Bar and Grill. The quality of the pizza belies the modest exterior and the off-the-beaten-path location.

The star attraction is the floppy New York thin crust pizza, available as a full pizza or by the slice. Prices are inexpensive: a slice of cheese is $2.25, and a whole eight-slice large pie starts at $14.

The pizza is an old family recipe, although the shop has been open in its location for about a year. The crust is soft and buttery, and the sauce is bright and refreshing. The dried herbs dusting the cheese add a punch of flavor. The toppings are high quality. While the pizza is somewhat underwhelming in terms of overall appearance, the flavor more than overcomes these limitations. 

The veggie pizza is topped with thinly sliced green peppers, excellent canned mushrooms and white onions. It is superior to the Margarita pizza, which lacked delicacy because of overcooked basil that should have been added when the pizza came out of the oven. It overpowered everything else on an otherwise well-made pie.  

One or two slices is a reasonable portion, although two people can put quite a dent into one 16-inch pie. 

The side salad is fairly average, a rudimentary iceberg, tomato and onion number with croutons and cheese.

There is a small, dark dining room in the restaurant with a take-out counter. Savelli's also delivers.

New York Pizza Department

New York Pizza Departmentis a by-the-slice pizza joint at the South Campus Gateway. They also offer pizza shop staples that include pasta, salad, sandwiches and fried appetizers.

Prices at NYPD are inexpensive. There is seating for 50-plus inside the dining room.

There is New York style pizza, Sicilian pan and Chicago deep dish pizza at NYPD. The New York pizza was true to style, while the deep dish was about as close to Chicago style as St. Louis.

The New York plain cheese slice was delicately thin. It was a good slice, and two slices for $3.98 makes a pretty filling lunch.

The Chicago style spinach pizza was more like a hand-held lasagna than Chicago deep dish. While the ricotta cheese adds a nice layer of flavor to the spinach, it seems out of place in a deep dish pizza and more at home in lasagna.

The Greek salad was prepared in the Michigan style (i.e. with pickled beets). Romaine and iceberg lettuce, cucumbers, tomatoes, cucumbers, onions, kalamata olives, beets and crumbled feta cheese came with a standard issue Greek salad dressing.

Overall, the New York pizza at NYPD is superior to the faux-Chicago pie. Low prices might still keep them busy.

New York Pizza Department