Pizza Style: Neapolitan
Venue Style: Upscale, full menu with pizza offerings
Food Orders: Margarita, Guanciale, Meatball & Sausage & Radicchio
Beverage Orders: Cocktails & Craft Beers
Lg Cheese Pizza: $10.00 (14″)
Attendees: Bobli, Ellios, Tombstone & Celeste
Guests: None

Despite a few early inconveniences, which will be addressed later, Babbo eventually delivered. The bottom line, as always is PIZZA, and they definitely have excellent pizza. We started the night with a traditional Margarita that was perfectly balanced with a light tomato puree, fresh and flavorful basil and surprisingly lively mozzarella. We use the word lively because it seemed to dance in your mouth the more you chewed; it was a new experience and a welcomed one at that. We usually save the best for last but who has time for that.

And…onto the star of the night; can we have a drum roll please… It is our pleasure to introduce the Guanciale (pork jowl). Wow! The Guy’s all agreed that this pizza was on another level. The essence of pork existed but without the over-powering presence of MEAT.  It was almost as if the actual meat was missing, but instead, left you with a pork wonderland that was unmistakable.  It was such a strange sensation to eat a pizza with such a distinct porky flavor without having to chew on pieces of pork. The delectable porky pie was additionally topped with an over easy egg and Parmesan cheese that really mixed well together. The flavor profile of the toppings were subtle yet distinguished. Although, everything was harmonious, each ingredient had a moment to say hello. The Guanciale was a truly amazing eating experience, it was absolutely delicious!

As with any Slice Guys event there is always room for more pizza, so why stop there. We also ordered the Meatball (Pickled Chili, Tomato, Fontina), and the Sausage & Radicchio
(with Gorgonzola & Bufala). The Meatball didn’t offer us any surprises – although the main pizza ingredients are impossible to marginalize, the toppings for this particular pie were nothing special.  The meatballs – unlike the Guanciale, where cut into large sections and placed on the pizza.  The flavors were good, but lacked a refined quality we were now expecting after such a stellar first course.  As for the Sausage and Radicchio – much like the Meatball – we were underwhelmed.  The Radicchio seemed misplaced on the pizza.  It was wilted and sautéed (by design), but it removed the crispness that may have brought the pizza to another level.  While we enjoyed both of these pizzas –we didn’t find that they were spectacular creations and that they missed the mark somewhat.

This is one of The Guys’ more difficult reviews. We are all about the pizza, all the time.  Decorations, service, etc. are all secondary to great pizza.  However, all of that being said, there is always an element that must to stated when reviewing any establishment.  We were not impressed by the level of service when waiting for 2 hours for a table, nor with the lack of management presence for the wait time – no apologies, no estimations on wait – just “we are working on it and it’s taking longer than anticipated.”  Furthermore, the second two pizzas were not even in the same ballpark as the first two – quality ingredients aside, and well executed as they were – the Guys didn’t feel like they were nearly as special.

All of this being said there are two very big Pros when reviewing Babbo.

1. The service, once we were seated, we prompted, curious. The food came out quickly, and perfectly executed.
2. Guanciale! Nothing more needs to be said, than Guanciale.

Slice-O-Meter = 6.5