Tonight was our first visit to Tommy G's in Midland Commons, but it won't be our last.
The wife and I walked in, and being our first time, were unfamiliar with the ordering process. You come in, you queue up, and eventually someone takes your order. Afterwords, you find your seat and wait for the food to arrive.
I use a walker, and in this case (Saturday night), the place was full. Fortunately, the young lady who was taking our order went out of her way to go and find us a "low" table (there's low tables to the left, high tables to the right), and snagged us a table. Nicely done!
The wife isn't a pizza person. Period. So she ordered plain wings and the dill fries. I ordered the small Margarita pizza.
It's a sports bar feel, nothing fancy, but there's room for a walker between the tables and plenty of space between tables to maneuver. Music is lively, and the general feel is of a nice neighborhood place. They have a full bar, and looked like a decent beer selection which I may explore next time we're there.
It is a rare occasion when I'm surprised by a "pizza joint". Typical fair either fries the crust to a crackly crunch, or doesn't apply enough heat to the bottom so the dough doesn't support the ingredients. Too many places use a veggie spray for keeping the pizza from sticking to the pan instead of semolina flower, so the crust is oily.
When the pie arrived at our table, I was a little worried about the sauce level (a lot of it) and it spilling from the pizza. Sliding it onto my plate, I noticed that the dough was pretty firm to the tip of the slice, easily supporting the sauce, cheese, and basil. Still, I had put a lot of grated parm on the slice to try to soak up the sauce and keep it from dripping.
And it didn't drip.
Didn't budge. The pie was nicely cooked through the whole slice and dry on the bottom, as a slice of pizza should be. The dough has a good bight and chew, and just the right amount of salt to accompany the toppings. A Margarita pizza is supposed to be a celebration of good ingredients in a simple combination, and this pie was all of that.
Once I knew I was in good hands, the other two slices I ate were sans parm and delicious.
My wife's wings came in H.O.T. She's not a sauce person, just plain wings, but she reported they were meaty and the best wings she's had since we've moved to Columbus/Midland. The dill fries were done right; cooked to a nice crisp on the outside but with tender potato inside, and the dill seasoning was a nice light treatment to the potato flavor.
The staff was engaged and friendly and took care of us throughout the evening. Getting closed to finishing what I was going to eat of the pizza, I asked for some marinara sauce and it's delicious. Works well with the pizza bones, and has me interested in trying one of their pasta dishes!
It's always pleasant to visit a new place and have a very good experience. I can highly recommend Tommy G's for pizza, wings, and a chance to explore good food and a wide variety of brews.
Bon appetite. read more