Pizza on the Road
Inspired by the recent survey of the top 50 pizza parlors in the country (the Seattle area got one, Portland two) we decided to go further on the road to check out the pizza offerings at some summer destinations. We will come back to try out the Seattle and Portland winners later.
While Checking out the Bard (Part 1)
Those of you familiar with Ashland may know that the city’s 25 year old brewpub, the Standing Stone Brewery, closed over Labor Day, 2022. Well, another Brewpub has arisen at that same convenient location (just a block and a half away from the Shakespeare Festival), The Noble Fox Restaurant and Brewery, 101 Oak Street, Ashland, Oregon, https://thenoblefoxbrewery.com/, brought to you by the owners of the Noble Fox in Silverton Oregon who opened that location after more than twenty years of experience at McMenamins. 
Noble Fox is not exclusively a pizza place, but they do feature pizza prominently on their menu. We tried their Prosciutto with fig pizza with pinenuts and a balsamic reduction, very Northwest. It had very strong flavors, perhaps too strong and, for our taste, too many pinenuts. Their crust is between thin and medium, and served soft, not crispy at all. But it was flavorful, and, like many pizzas, it tasted better as leftovers.
Noble Fox has a full brewpub menu, and we also tried their featured cheeseburger and the spicy cauliflower starter. The cheeseburger tasted great with a large patty, cheddar, onions, pickle and tomato. We liked the burger better than others we have tried in the Ashland area and would order again. (It was also more expensive than the other burgers we have tried there.) The cauliflower was our favorite dish that we would definitely order again next time we are there. 
Noble Fox offers many gluten-free options, including pizza, as well as vegetarian and vegan options. And, of course, this is a brew pub and we saw many patrons with Brew sampler sets. We took advantage of the full bar and tried one of their featured drinks with blackberry, mint, bourbon and simple syrup over a lot of ice. It tasted great, but it was more ice than drink.
Just opened this spring and it appears to be off to a good start. Consider reservations during tourist season, even in the bar. They have outdoor dining on fairly large patio, but it was too hot for that when we were there. If you are looking for distraction, they have a small game room with pinball and the like. Noble Fox has a happy hour menu from 3:30 to 5:00 but on weekdays (only). It is a very convenient location for before or after plays and we expect to go back to try more items on their menu (and the cauliflower, again).
Top 50 Pizza in Las Vegas
Las Vegas landed two spots in the recent top 50 rankings for Pizza Parlors in the country. So, we checked one out Pizza Rock, 201 North Third Street, Las Vegas, (at the South end of downtown Las Vegas, just down the street from the Mob Museum). This place is owned by a “twelve time world champion pizza” award winner and it is an institution devoted to pizza, offering multiple styles (Neapolitan, Sicilian, New York/New Haven (they combine them, not us), Detroit, California, and a few more) each cooked in its own type of oven (wood fired, gas fired, electric) at its own appropriate temperature (ranging from 500 to 900 degrees. They also offer a large selection of starters, salads, burgers, sandwiches, pasta and Italian dinners.
We were a bit overwhelmed by the number of options, so we just ordered a California style (baked in a 900-degree wood fired oven, using Caputo 00 flour for a charred crust) Smoke Show, with smoke provolone and mozzarella cheese, millionaire’s bacon, Pizzuti tomatoes, volcano salt and basil. It tasted very good and was easy to eat. But next time we will try one of the award-winning pizzas listed on the menu like the Sicilian style La Regina or the Food Network award winning Cal Italia classic Italian style pizza. The attraction is there are so many more types of pizzas to try. And if you do not want to have a whole pizza, they sell a good variety of (large) slices at a counter as you order (either for to go or to eat in).
Pizza Rock has gluten free and vegan options, although not for all of their pizzas. Pizza Rock has a full bar and a large selection of beer on tap to accompany your pizza. Pizza Rock also has a location in Henderson if you are not getting to downtown Vegas. And, if you plan on catching the Raiders while you are in Vegas, they have a location at Allegiant Stadium.
Overall, we plan to go back to experimenting with how they prepared the various regional styles of pizza and to try the award-winning preparations. There are simply too many pizza choices there to only go once.
Checking out the Bard (Part 2)
A fairly short drive NE from Las Vegas is Cedar City, Utah, home of the Utah Shakespeare Festival, another worthy summer destination. While there, we had heard that some people consider The Pizza Cart, 1190 Sage Dr Suite B, Cedar City, Utah, to be the best pizza in Utah, so we checked it out. 
We sampled a ½ Hawaiian and ½ Chicken Bacon Ranch, yes, ranch dressing on a pizza, but they say it is their best seller. And, both halves had BBQ sauce drizzled on. The pie had a medium thick crust with thick toppings, and it was baked soft — too thick for a New Yorker and too Soft for New Haven style, while not thick enough for Detroit. It was baked in a wood fired oven. And, notwithstanding the above comments and the ranch dressing, it was very easy to eat.
Pizza Cart makes their own gelato if you save room for dessert. We did not, but based upon the samples it would follow the pizza very well.
This establishment apparently started as a portable pizza cart before growing into a brick-and-mortar establishment. It has quite a following and by dinner time on a weekday the line was quite literally out the door. There was a $2 charge for splitting the pizza, but it was still less expensive than we have seen a pizza for some time. Their pizza style and flavor combinations might not catch on everywhere, but we would certainly go back the next time we go to Cedar City. (And, the Utah Shakespeare Festival was worth the stop, also.)
After this extended road trip we will return to Seattle for the next issue.
Dining Out is brought to you by Christopher Howard. Send comments or suggestions to chh@f2t.com or at 206.669.5956.
