Sometimes, restaurants can exaggerate something about themselves in their name.
The name can be more grandiose, or more substantive than the restaurant actually is. Other restaurants get their name exactly right. The Nook by Northside is one of those restaurants.
Located on College Avenue in Broad Ripple, The Nook By Northside really is small. Located in the elbow of an L-shaped building, the Nook sits no more than 31 people, counting the bar stools.
The Nook is an extension of the Northside Social, which is located just a few doors down. The Nook is a primarily pizza-focused restaurant, while Northside Social specializes in American cuisine.
While it may be small, the quality of the food is exceptionally high. The food is actually made in Northside Social. It then leaves the building and is walked in through the front door of the Nook.
The Nook offers a selection of 6 different pizzas, or “pies.” The Nook also offers choices of pastas or sandwiches, but their bread and butter is pizzas.
The “Piggy Smalls” pizza is described as a meat lovers pizza. Topped with nduja sausage, pepperoni and country ham, there is certainly a lot of meat on this pizza.
All the pizzas are made in such a way that the dough in the middle of the pizza is thinner, so taste of the toppings is more prominent. This design definitely helps the sausage, pepperoni and ham stand out if you eat a pizza crust first.
The second pizza, “In Cheese we Crust,” has lots of cheese on it. Specifically, the pizza has goat, ricotta, romano-parmesan and house-blended cheeses. Ricotta is the best kind of cheese to have on pizzas. When baked in the oven with the rest of the pizza. The cheese turns into a warm pouch of heaven in a pizza. The creaminess of ricotta is exactly what every single pizza should have on it.
All the cheeses work really well in the pizza. There is no tomato sauce on the pizza, so it does not feel heavy or like there is too much on top of the pizza.
The Nook is definitely a go-to destination if you want real, quality pizza. 9/10
-Ian McCormick
