Powder Witch & Company

I had some errands to run near the Carnegie business district and it hit me that I haven't had the chance to walk around there in a few years, because no busses near where I've lived went out that way (Well, ok, 31 did. But for the distance I had to drive to catch 31, it made as much sense to just drive the rest of the way to Carnegie). And all their public parking is metered. But I had errands to run and I wanted to eat while I was out so I decided to gamble on the cost.

Turns out it's only 50 cents an hour, to a limit of two hours. More than enough time for what I wanted, though I have to wonder where the people who work here end up parking because I'm sure they don't all live within walking distance or bus lines of here.

Either way, my errands were swiftly wrapped up and it was time to eat. There's a place in the square there, Slice on Broadway, which looked interesting.

Now, I can be a little picky about my pizza. I started baking more seriously about a decade ago so I could have fresh pizza, exactly how I liked it, whenever I wanted (usually for cheaper than ordering out). And I feel like I've gotten pretty good at it. I'll include a picture of my latest if I remember.

All of this to say, that I wasn't getting pizza, not this time. It's not that I never order out, or that I won't be doing pizza for this series at some point, but that wasn't what caught my eye this time.

When I looked on their website, the menu included pesto breadsticks. No description, just 'pesto breadsticks.' I had to know. Did they mean grisini style? Thin and crunchy, almost like a pretzel. Or more American style? Narrow squishy bread loaves.

They also had garlic knots.

The store front is a narrow space, and painted in dark tones that make it seem even smaller. It was nearly empty when I arrived, so this lent the space a cozy feeling that was only marred by the slot machine tucked up by the door.

The counter is set up similar to a place I used to visit regularly when I lived near Youngstown. A bunch of pizza and other treats are already made and out on display (and probably only parbaked), you pick out what you want and they heat it up in the oven for you.

They had the garlic knots out, ready for the taking, but the breadsticks are made to order. This should have been my first clue that the breadsticks were not what I expected them to be. But off I went, completly clueless.

The garlic knots arrived with the lunch rush, piping hot and massive. Each was about the size of my fist, brushed with olive oil, and coated in grated garlic and some mild spices. They're fluffy and taste amazing, especially dipped in the herbacious pizza sauce that comes as a side.

The pesto breadsticks turned out to be pesto cheese bread. Effectively a mini pizza with pesto for sauce and sliced into strips. Delicious, and crispy at the ends, but I ended up bringing most of it home to split with family, who all really enjoyed it.

Eventually I'm going to have to go around and try out a bunch of different Pizza places, and see how they compare. Slice will defineitly be on the list when I do.