Receiving a text message from Keith on a Friday afternoon which
asks "surprise dinner tomorrow night?" is a great way to end the
week. I really had no idea but as we were driving from Northern Liberties
heading south, an inkling came over me that we may be trying a new pizza place.
As we made the left onto 8th off of Walnut, he finally told me we were on
our way to Nomad Pizza, on 7th, between South and Bainbridge. Earlier in
the week Keith told me his boss raved about it and I had read a blog about
their recent addition of movie nights so I was very excited to sink my teeth
into some hot, fresh pizza, or "za" as we affectionately refer to the
amazing culinary masterpiece.
Walking in on the first floor, there is a small dining area and
beautiful copper pizza oven with three to four guys rolling dough, adding
toppings and sliding the circle of love into the oven with speed and precision.
The host was extremely friendly, asking if we wanted to sit at a communal
dining table or private, I chose private and we were taken upstairs.
A long bar with candles, many wine bottles, a shiny new tap system and a
relatively extensive bottle beer selection was attractive and my immediate
"judging, searching, scanning bartender eye" did the once-over and it
was clean, crisp and charming.
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| Working Hard! |
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| Upstairs Bar |
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| Want one in my kitchen |
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| Margherita |
I ordered an Allagash
White, one of my favorite wheat beers brewed in Maine, and it came out in an
ice-cold frosted glass - a nice surprise for me as I do enjoy freezing cold
beer. Keith selected the Birra Moretti, an Italian lager that's been
around for over 150 years. The menu was simple - beer, wine, salads,
pizza. No liquor, no side dishes. We started with the Arugula
Salad, consisting of fresh arugula, toasted pecans, organic cherry tomatoes,
organic goat cheese and finished with a lovely lemon-thyme dressing. It
wasn't huge but was plenty to share and a great start. Now for the za!!
Of course, we ordered our all-time favorite, Margherita, with San Marzano
tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, aged parmesan, fresh organic basil, organic olive
oil and sea salt. Absolutely delicious. You could taste the
freshness and the sauce had a slight sweetness which was very, very yummy.
Next up was the Spicy Sausage with all of the above ingredients plus
"Simply Grazin' Sausage" and caramelized onions. This was the
hit. The sausage comes from Renaissance Sausage - all-natural and handmade in South Philly. Not too spicy, not too greasy, just
plain good. Nomad Pizza was open for one week when we went and they also
have a location in Hopewell, NJ and have a very successful food truck.
Renaissance Sausage is also a hit food truck roaming the streets of
Philly which Keith and I are going to hunt down in the near future. Nomad Pizza utilizes organic, local farmers, grow their own produce when the weather permits, use bioplastic and compost their waste.
We finished up with sharing a glass of red - in a stemless wine glass for $6 - while the table next to us were digging in to their dessert pizza - nutella and banana! The service was great, atmosphere warm and the great location between Queen Village and Washington Square West will serve them well. The dining room upstairs has a large white wall used to show movies on Sunday nights - and honestly, who doesn't love pizza and a movie?
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| Note the wall in the back used for movies! |
Nomad Pizza Company
611 S. 7th Street
Philadelphia, PA 19147
215-238-0900
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