My choices of pizza places are intended to be in line with where I’ve been recently, the flavor I’m in the mood for, or the season.  And everything in between.  Sometimes it’s not always met with consistency.  More beach pizzerias and the like are coming.  But we’re officially into Summer and an outdoor bar or two seems right.

We ate at Hightopps Backstage Grille recently, and have to say we were pleasantly surprised by their pizza.   They make it hand tossed style as per the menu.   And a credit to them, it’s served for lunch, dinner, and late night. Late night is when this place can get nuts.  Especially when the weather gets glorious as it is now, it gets really crowded in the patio and deck areas, as well as the bars on the inside.

So what’s the appeal?  I really don’t know.  It’s in Baltimore County and it’s an outdoor bar.  People like myself tend to flock here for their happy hours and random nights out when the weather is nice.  The crowd isn’t always the best and the food hasn’t always been a positive. But we ordered the white pizza and it came out on a beautiful white service plate with spatula in tow.  I love how it was presented.  It’s the little things.

We were there on a Sunday afternoon, after a wine festival, so it wasn’t overly crowded as if we had been there the previous night.  The bartender was friendly and everything came out to us real fast. The white pizza was simple yet very good.  We had nothing added to it and didn’t order anything else.

A good friend of mine suggested that I focus more on how a restaurant’s cheese or white pizza is, as it’s a strong barometer for how the rest of their pies will most likely turn out. Well if that’s the case, I may have to try a Hightopps pizza again.  In all the times I’ve been there I’m surprised it was my first.  Or maybe I’ve had a few libations, and not recalled, or the pizza just never stood out for me.

In this instance, I really enjoyed it..  I wish I had snapped a picture of all the cheese stretching out from the spatula when we got our individual slices.  It was a thing of beauty.

The crust had the right amount of soft crunch that I appreciated each bite immensely.  And if you look at the bottom of the pie or the slice, you can see just the right amount of burnt crust.   It might be through experience, but I love when it’s cooked just right.

I don’t know what else to say.   I’ve said enough.

See you sometime at Hightopps.

Best,

Ideen