Pizzanati: Strong's Brick Oven Pizzeria

We had first tried Strong's Brick Oven Pizzeria a year or two ago. We had distant fond memories of it, and it was about time we made it back across the river to give this place another try.  The owners had struck out on their own a few years ago after working for a large regional chain in the Cincinnati area.  The restaurant is in an old brick house in Newport, and the owners pride themselves on trying to make everything from scratch.

Their focus is pizza, although you will find a handful of appetizers on their menu.  Service was attentive from the moment we walked in. We were going to order 2 different small pizzas, but the waitress recommended that we order one large pizza, half and half. So, we took her advice and ordered half Create Your Own with vodka cream sauce and mushrooms and half Quattro Formaggi (Four Cheese) [$17.45].

It wasn't a terribly long wait until our piping hot, cheesy pizza was brought to our table. Every bite was so flavorful, and this really elevated Strong's in our rankings. I like it because the crust is thinner, so the flavor of the toppings really shines through. Francisco went so far as to say that they were second only to Adriatico's...but that's only because Adriatico's has beer cheese. ;)

Verdict: Francisco's exact words were that this was an A+ experience - although his final ranking is a 9. I'd pretty much have to agree. This pizza was good, and the ingredients are fresh. The crust isn't heavy, which really lets the flavor of the toppings shine through.  At first, I was thinking that $17.45 for a 16" pizza sounded a little high, but they actually seem to be on par with their competitors - and in many cases, the quality is much better! [LaRosa's is $19.49 for a Classic Specialty Pizza and Dewey's is $17.49 for a Large 16".]