On an uncommonly warm early Sunday afternoon in February a bright red truck sat nestled in the back of Zwei Brewing’s small parking lot. It was a repurposed Fed-Ex delivery truck with a hand-painted logo and a handwritten menu board offering pizza by the slice, whole pies, calzones, Stromboli and salads.
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At the window a cheerful woman began taking orders for several small groups of families and friends. Nearby on Zwei’s outdoor patio patrons drank beer, played ping pong and enjoyed the warmth that shone down over several picnic tables.
As the newest addition to the city’s food truck scene La Pompeii opened for business on Jan. 15, 2017 at Zwei Brewing located at 4612 S. Mason St., a brewery specializing in classic German beer styles.
Those looking for a worthy execution of traditional New York-style pizza to pair with a solid local draft can look no further than the La Pompeii food truck.
Shortly after ordering beers from the inside of the brewery the 16-inch sausage, onion and green pepper pizza we had ordered was delivered to our table. It was served simply: out of a pizza box with white paper plates.
Steam billowed out as we opened the box. It was not the most aesthetically glamorous pizza but it did look like a true New York pie.
A light dusting of flour coated the bubbly, cavernous outer crust. The center looked soft, slightly gooey and overlaid with a healthy dose of Italian sausage.
Picking up the first slice, mozzarella dangled from all sides and fought to stay attached to the rest of the pizza. The sauce was extremely light, characteristic of the style of pizza, but it left us wanting just a bit more. The vegetables were fresh and the sausage, with a lot of fennel, was fairly good.
As it seemed the pizza was soft and floppy in the center while a perfectly crisp crust with an audible crunch composed its circumference. It is the type of pizza to fold in half while you eat.
The pizza paired very well with Zwei’s rye lager, a light, refreshingly dulcet beer that complemented the savory and particularly cheesy pizza.
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Should you try it out? Yes, if you’re already headed to a brewery.
Most breweries in town, like Zwei, do not house restaurants. They welcome and depend on the diverse group of vendors on daily rotations to provide quality pairings for their beer.
La Pompeii offers a small menu with reasonably priced, tasty pizza. As a food truck it does not pose a competition for the town’s established pizza restaurants but it does provide true-to-style, fresh pizza for brewery patrons.
Choices for toppings are few but classic: pepperoni, sausage, onions, green peppers, black olives and spinach.
The truck often serves at Zwei Brewing but to find out where it will be next visit La Pompeii’s Twitter or Facebook page.
