everything is delicious and the staff is always pleasant get there early - it always get busy.read more

Bettola is a VIBE!!!! The staff are always friendly and fun! I think I pretty much ordered 90% of…read morethe menu and NOTHING has disappoint. My ULTIMATE favorite is the Short Ribs and Risotto. The meat is sooooo juicy, tender and flavorful! Next would be obviously their pizza and their salad! (please note: their salads is topped to the BRIM! And if good enough to share with 2-3 people) Depending on the day in the mood would determine which pizza I get my top 3 are/ Gold digger, the San Genaro, and the Marilyn Monroe/Fign' a (I can't decide LOL) don't let the commotion of Rolfe square Seder you from visiting, there is plenty of parking in the back, the restaurant is such a vibe with the decor (learn some Italian LOL) and hilarious placemats. And lastly, what I think is so cool and unique about this place is their Themed Weekend specials! They always have fun drinks and witty names for the items. Oh and don't forget to swing by the dessert case on your way out- they have LEMON TIRAMISU!!!! You heard right! LEMON TIRAMISU!!

The food was some of the best pizza and weiners O have ever had. Our friends Nick and Kendra…read morerecommended this place, and we were so glad they did. Weiners by far the best in the state. Heavy on sauce and onions "all the way" and their hot honey pepperoni pizza was so tasty with drops of ricotta and hot honey. Their service is top notch. The only drawback was the ambiance. We were there for Karaoke night and I am not a big fan of that. Most drunk people don't realize, yelling into the Microphone is not singing. But overall we will be back for pizza, wings, fries and weiners again

I was heading down to the boat to meet up with hubby & decided to use a gift card to pick up a…read morepizza. Napolitano's Brooklyn Pizza in Cranston was on the way! I ordered the garlic knots, extra garlicky, with marinara dipping sauce & a large pepperoni pizza, extra sauce, well done. The garlic knots were packed with flavor & we loved the extra garlic. The pizza was exactly what we were craving - crispy, cheesy, saucy & loaded with deliciousness. Everything absolutely hit the spot! NOM NOM NOM #YUM

This place is great ... you can tell not too much has changed since the 1970's and unintentional…read moreretro/vintage is my thing. This place could be so perfect with only a couple small changes! - There are white flourescent style lights on the ceiling. This really kills the vibe. It's almost like the top of the restaurant and the bottom don't match. You have cozy, 70's style wood paneling with dark wooden booths and stained glass lights hanging over the tables. Warm, cozy and intimate. Then, bright white lights above. I'd love to eat here with those bright lights turned off sometime. - Probably not economical but red checkered tablecloths, like vintage Italian restaurants used to have would make this place look like a movie set in a good way. That being said, everything else about this place is cool ... you know a good spot by how many regulars are there and everyone seemed to know everyone else by name on a Tuesday night. It wasn't crowded ... but it wasn't empty on an off-night. - The staff is exceptionally good. The waitress and hostess couldn't have been any sweeter and more helpful. Fast refills on the soft drinks and helpful without being intrusive. - The pizza is good. I have to admit, I am not sold on the cheddar cheese vs. mozzarella. I thought it would give the cheese an interesting, sharper taste but it seemed a bit bland. I will do the Italian-style next time with mozzarella. I liked my pizza but there was just something different about it. The crust is Greek-style ... kind of like the old Pizza Hut, when it was actually made fresh. Back in the 1980's and 90's there was nothing better than a golden, buttery light and crisp pizza crust from Pizza Hut, before the brand went to shit. This reminds me of that goodness of 1980's pizza crust. I'm not a thin crust guy ... but if you are, they have a thinner crust on the menu as well. Topping was good, maybe a bit spicier pepperoni would be a bit better ... toppings are a tad expensive for a few slices of pepperoni. A 3-topping pizza adds around $5. The small is good for two-people with light/moderate appetites. I wouldn't be able to eat a small and a salad by myself. Speaking of the salad ... one of the best regular house salads I've ever had. The dressing is amazing ... tangy, salty, perfectly done. I know it's hard to get all worked up over a standard Italian dressing but often the simplest things in cooking are the hardest to get right ... and they get the dressing right! Also, the lettuce was super fresh and the tomatoe slices were as well. The only issue I had was there was no 'side salad' version. There was a 'small' salad for around $8 ... but that could easily feed 2 - 4 people. Overall, this place gets just about everything right. It doesn't change or modernize. It's portions are great ... the food is very good ... prices maybe a bit high compared to other spots ... but you can tell they don't cut corners and everything is freshly made. The bar is where I'd want to sit normally ... but the seats are very close together and I didn't want to be elnow to elbow with strangers, so I snagged a small booth, which was also fine. The customers seemed nice ... but they all seemed very 'Cranston'. If they could deal with the lighting situation and make it less bright, I'd eat here 2 times per week. You can't beat a classic ... and this place is a classic.

WOW! I'm a native NYer who worked at a pizza place for a decade just outside the city. I am usually…read morenot impressed by pizza in New England but Big cheese & pub exceeded my expectations and I'll def be back to try more than just this pizza! I came in for RI food fights and got to pick three toppings for a small pizza. I went with eggplant, chicken and black olives. It was amazing! Honestly I have enough food for the rest of the week! I didn't get my servers name but she was subbing for a sick bartender and she was great! I enjoyed chatting with her. She got me in and out as quickly as she could before my dance class and I greatly appreciated that! Everyone that worked there was super friendly and attentive. I wish i was in less of a rush to have taken in even more. The spot has an old time feel but in the best way possible. It just felt like home. I can't wait to go back for more Italian goodies!

Friendly staff and great pizza. I accidentally ordered the wrong pizza for my kid and they couldn't…read moreeat it, but they made the right one for my kid even though it was my mistake. That's really great service and the prices were super reasonable.

We've been loyal customers for the last 3 years, but unfortunately this isn't the first time our…read moreorder has been late. Today it was 1 1/2 hours late. When I called, I was told they lost the order slip and blamed the "new girl." The owner's solution was to make it now and offer us a dessert. After waiting 1 1/2 hours, a dessert doesn't make up for it. Very disappointing way to treat loyal customers. At this point, I'll take my business elsewhere.

We gave this place a try while in Cranston. I was actually surprised at how tiny it is considering…read moreI've been to Spike's Junk Yard Dogs when it was in this location years ago. Needless to say, they don't need the space to make some excellent pizza. We shared a few different slices. My favorite was the Detroit style with the pepperoni, hot honey, and seasoned mozzarella! We got a slice that we didn't order, as a girl misheard us, but it ended up being a very good slice of Detroit. It had orange chicken on it. I had never had anything like that, but it was absolutely delicious! The Florentine with the tomatoes was delicious. The sauce that's used on the pizza is so good and all the crust were cooked perfectly. Even my wife, who doesn't like Detroit style Pizza said that the flavor of the dough was different than the other ones I've had her try at other places around Rhode Island in Massachusetts. I'm in need of Rhode Islander so I did buy a bag of the pizza chips and I absolutely love them. You have to like bakery pizza that I like these. The girls at the register were absolutely amazing and more friendly than most pizza places I've been in recently. They even joked with us when we sat and ate, which we really appreciated it. I love the decor of the chandeliers, it had such a nice touch. The only thing that I didn't love was how loud the music was. We couldn't hear each other across the small table, but that subjective anyway. If I'm around Cranston, I will definitely go back here and I would recommend that everyone else gives it a try.

Ordered the crispy Brussels, garlic knots, pizza snacks, chicken avocado grinder, and chicken vodka…read moregrinder. Besides the Brussels being very spicy, almost unbearable, the food was delicious. My favorite were the pizza snacks that I got last minute on the counter. Didn't think much of it when I saw it but I was tasty and reminded me of an elevated cracker. We called ahead for pick up and the food was ready when we arrived. The cashier was welcoming and attentive. The restaurant doesn't have a lot of seating in side but def a nice spot for a quick lunch or pick up. Decor is super cute, glad I was able to stop by.

AMAZING VEGE PIZZA !…read more Friends picked this pizza up and we devoured it!!! More veges than I can count on 2 hands ABSOLUTELY DELISH !

I have been dining at Nino's pizza how many years and they never disappoint their customers. They…read morehave consistently prepared the best pizza, no matter what style you choose. The staff is so friendly and right on top of all of your needs. The raviolis, sandwiches, calzones, pizza, and salads are fantastic.

Apparently Lauren's birthday is a pizza festival now…read more For Day Two, I met up with her at The Pizza Nomad in the Center of New England because they have a new pizza called the Detroit Slim. I had questions. Mostly about how something this thick gets to call itself slim. We ordered one cheese and one pepperoni and settled in. Then we saw the pizza, and suddenly Detroit Slim made sense. The answer is geometry. It isn't slim from the side. Not even close. It's slim from above. Instead of the big rectangular Detroit-style pizza most of us know, this thing is long and narrow, cut into four substantial pieces. I immediately loved the size. It gives you everything I want from Detroit-style pizza without requiring what sometimes feels like a contractual obligation to an enormous pan of it. Four pieces. Manageable. Plenty of pizza. But the crust is what got me. Look at the picture of Lauren holding up that cross-section. That's the story. The inside is almost absurdly soft, smooth and airy. Big pockets run through a light, pillowy structure that looks nothing like what you're expecting from the weight of the slice in your hand. Then turn it over. The bottom is golden brown, blistered and crisp enough to make noise. That's the trick. You bite through this loud, crunchy shell and immediately hit something soft, smooth and almost delicate inside. Crunch, then pillow. The two textures shouldn't occupy the same piece of dough this comfortably. But they do. And around the perimeter, things get even better. Cheese escapes down the sides and meets the hot pan, leaving behind those dark, crispy pieces hanging off the edges. The stuff that looks almost burned in the pictures? That's treasure. The sauce has enough presence to survive everything happening around it. You still taste tomato beneath all that cheese, crust and rendered pepperoni. The cheese itself is really good, with enough flavor to be more than just the thing holding everything together. And that pepperoni was fantastic. Some cups. Some curls. Some lies flat against the cheese. The edges go dark and crisp while the centers render their fat into everything underneath them. There is a point with pepperoni where "burned" and "perfect" become separated by about thirty seconds. I like living dangerously close to that line. Pizza Nomad does too. There is also, for reasons I cannot explain, a full-sized medieval knight standing guard over the pizza. I respect this. If you're going to make an inch and a half thick pizza called Detroit Slim, there is no reason a knight can't stand guard over it. The Detroit Slim is a collection of contradictions. It's thick without being heavy. Soft and seriously crunchy. Small enough to feel manageable, substantial enough that nobody is going home wondering what we're having for lunch tomorrow. But I keep coming back to that crust. That soft, smooth, airy interior. The blistered bottom. The cheese cooked hard against the edges. Crispy pepperoni on top of all of it. Every layer has a different job. And somehow, every one of them makes noise. Day Two of Lauren's birthday pizza week is in the books. At this point, I've accepted that her birthday lasts a week. I see no compelling reason to challenge this.

I've been to the other Nomad in West Warwick and this is just as good. They're both about the same…read moredistance from my house, but I'll probably go here more often as parking can get a little tight at the west warwick location when boomerangs is busy. Anyway, both are pretty consistent and are good. People have always been friendly too.

Saturday is not the usual day I break my parents out of where they live…read more That is a Sunday tradition. We go to lunch, get groceries, take care of whatever needs taking care of, and spend a few hours together away from their usual routine. This week, I changed the schedule for Catanzaro's Pizzeria. I wanted to see Anthony and thank him in person for the generous donation Catanzaro's made to The Pizza Principal Kickstarter. That donation helped get us over the top earlier this week. I also wanted my parents to experience the food at a place so many people in this community consider THE BEST. We ordered a caprese salad, meatballs, and a cheese, pepperoni, and olive pizza. The family order. My mother is pretty renowned for her meatballs, so restaurant meatballs have a difficult assignment when they arrive at our table. My family has opinions. Strong ones. My mother took a bite and immediately started comparing them to her own. "These are exactly the same as mine." "I'm so excited." "This is amazing." "I can't believe it." Then my father tried one. He looked at my mother. He looked at me. "The best meatballs I've ever had." That is not a sentence my father hands out casually. The pizza had to follow that, and it did. My parents, like me, have spent six decades believing that another very established, iconic Rhode Island pizzeria unquestionably makes the best pizza in the state. But then Catanzaro's made their case. By the end of lunch, my parents were willing to admit that Catanzaro's can go toe to toe with anybody, anywhere. They loved the food. They loved the service. They loved Anthony. And I loved watching them discover something new together. That is the part I will remember. Not just that the food was outstanding, although it was. Not just that Catanzaro's helped get The Pizza Principal over the finish line, although they did. I got to sit across from my parents while a restaurant they had never tried changed their minds about something they thought they had already settled decades ago. That is a heck of a Saturday. Thank you, Anthony. Thank you to everyone at Catanzaro's. You fed my parents, helped make a film happen, and gave our family a new chapter in an old argument. I could not be more grateful.

Not so amazing tonight I just paid $16 for a Greek salad. I…read moredon't know what they did to this lettuce but is a lot of roughage and I cannot eat it or chew it. I normally don't have any complaints about this place cause the food is excellent, but this was the worst Greek salad. Please go back to your Romain lettuce or whatever you were using before I can't eat this

love this spot, owner is really nice and so is all of the staff and that's not a surprise when the…read moreowner is such a upbeat guy, best spot in Cranston IMO

Small strip mall wings joint with some Buffalo sports memorabilia for street cred, but their…read moreBuffalo wings have so much credibility on their own that they could put up Captain Kangaroo decor, and I'd still come running. It's over-the-counter ordering, with pizzas another option, and more importantly, you can also get beer to complement your wings. -- Buffalo Wings: From the first visit, some of the best I've had in a long, long time. Not the biggest (I'd say right around average size), but they nailed every aspect, from the piercing tartness of the sauce to match the spice, to the butteriness, to the crispness of every surface, to the tender and juicy interiors on every piece. If that weren't enough, the blue cheese tipping sauce was also spectacular, with noticeable sharpness and lots of chunks of real cheese to go along with the creamy liquid. They matched the buffalo sauce nicely. -- Loganberry Wings: From the second visit, a Buffalo regional sauce mixing raspberry flavors with barbecue sauce. The result is a mix of sweet and savory in a rich, full-bodied sauce with plenty of oomph and plenty of cling. It's sweet for sure, but its barbecue sauce component cuts it and a dip into some ranch cuts it more while adding a little something. I loved the sauce. The wings, though, were a little bit smaller and a little bit dryer this time. Still very good. -- 716 Mulberry Chicken Fingers: Also from the second visit. Nothing like Chinese chicken fingers; more like a chicken tender, and more still like a chicken cutlet. Three flat pieces in the small order provided minimal thickness, but a decent amount of meat, spread out. The Mulberry sauce has a Buffalo base with some additional secret seasonings and other ingredients to change the flavor a bit. Not bad, but I think I'd go straight Buffalo next time. Tender inside, but no crispness outside. This includes fries, which were a very solid McDonald's facsimile. Notable: Easy parking in their own lot. A minimum 25-minute wait for wings, so plan accordingly. Friendly, helpful counter people. So two visits, one great, one very good. Some memorable sauces and some memorable presentations. I'll be back to see if they hit great again and get bumped to a 5.

Maria's Pizza And Wings on Pontiac Ave in Cranston is a neighborhood spot, the kind that's easy to…read moremiss if you don't already know it's there, tucked in and going about its business without asking for your attention. Because I know about this little hidden gem already, I was driving home after a long day and I wasn't going to pass it without stopping. This is what I'd call emotional support pizza. Not a pilgrimage. Not a revelation. Just a really solid pie from a place that knows what it's doing and doesn't need to make a fuss about it. Pepperoni and black olive for me today. The crust had that chew you want, cooked through, some golden brown color on the bottom. The sauce was rich tomato with garlic running underneath the cheese, present enough to know it's there without fighting for attention. The olives were generous and distributed like someone thought about where they landed, not just dropped from a height. The pepperoni is cupped and charred slightly at the edges. The toppings-to-cheese ratio was right. It arrived fast and it arrived hot. This is what a revered neighborhood pizza place is supposed to be. Maria's does it. It's primarily takeout, four tables, busy foot traffic in and out the whole time I was there. They do good business and they know what their business is. I sat down anyway because I tend to be an iconoclast, and it was a fine visit. If you live nearby, you already know about this place. If you don't, that's between you and your neighborhood. Maybe you should move.

I am hooked on Maria's pizza. I stopped in as the are a contestant in the RI Food Fight's Lord of…read morethe Pies competition and got a small pizza with sausage. I ordered over the phone and was told it would be ready in 20 minutes. I walked into the shop twenty minutes later and it was ready. The staff was very courteous and the whole ordering/paying process was as it should be - easy! I took it home and it had just cooled enought to eat it. This is the type of pizza I love. A thinker crust, loaded with mozzarella, and a nice sauce that was not overwhelming. The sausage had a nice spice to it. (For the record, I am not a fan on New Haven style pizza, which seems to be popular in RI - this is not that. Nor is it New York style - which I do like BUT not over the style that Maria's serves.) I aslo added some wings to the order (this time spicy BBQ). Those were good as always. It also should be said that I had left over pizza and it reheated nicely! They now are my go to pizza place.