This Is How You Do Pizza (with Nomad Review)

 

Yes, I am blogging about pizza. This is my 3rd of 5 posts in a series on carbs that started with my low-carb experiences and then touched on my favorite ways to enjoy pasta. While I eat it on a more regular basis and recommend it at home, this post isn’t about garbanzo pizza. It isn’t focused on cauliflower crust pizza either, though, I hear you can get one without any cheese mixed in at Pizza Yeah if you’re in Bucks County, PA.
Remember that dietitians are people too, and often are bigger foodies than you are! I wouldn’t tell you to go out for pizza several times per week and I would probably tell you to skip the local joint you have on speed dial too. I love pizza but if I am going to eat it, it better be damn good. 
While the option most under your control that is quick enough for pizza night may be getting whole wheat dough from whole foods and making your own, I am highlighting where I choose to go out to eat pizza and, other than texture and toppings, reasons why. I do have a special review below on Nomad, though, since that is the last amazingly wonderful pizza experience I had 🙂
Restaurant: Zavino
Location(s): Philadelphia 13th and Sansom and University City
What I love:
You can get wheat dough for any of their pizzas or for their yummy rosemary flat-bread and alter their offerings to get #alltheveggies, especially since they use so many seasonal ingredients. The bake their pizzas in their 850 degree oven so they cook quickly and perfectly. Whenever we go here we always get some veggies to share like their brussel sprouts, spaghetti squash (below) or broccoli! I even had their pizza to carbo-load before this summer’s Philly Tri Rock triathlon. One of my favorites there was this special with asparagus, kale, leeks, garlic rosemary and romesco on whole wheat.

Restaurant: Spuntino
Location(s): Northern Liberties, Philly and Doylestown, PA
What I love:
So the crust isn’t whole wheat or organic but it is the perfect texture. So, if you want to splurge, this is the type of pizza to splurge on. They have a huge menu with lot’s of options but you can mix and match if you want. I recommend getting a red pizza with a lean protein such as shrimp and adding veggies so that it is a balanced and satisfying meal. As with any pizza order, ask them to skip the extra olive oil drizzle. As you can see by Tims meal below, you can also get your pizza as a calzone. I just think that makes portion control harder… so, share with a friend!

Restaurant: 00 and Co.
Location(s): East Village in New York City
What I love:
This place is 100% vegan! Vegan cheese, vegan sausage, and vegan everything else. And I am not talking daiya vegan cheese… it is housemade from nuts! Being allergic to dairy and someone who avoids beef and pork for ethical reasons, this place has it all and it tastes fabulous. They also have vegan ‘meatball’ subs and more!

Restaurant: Molto Pizzeria and Wine Bar
Location(s): Fairfield, CT
What I love:
Another establishment that offers shrimp and other lean proteins as well as veggies to top your red pizzas. Their dough is a little crispier than the above but sometimes you want a little more crunch!
Restaurant: Pepe’s Original
Location(s): New Haven, CT (the original) and other locations in Fairfield & Westchester coutnies
What I love:
It has been voted the best pizza in the US over and over again and, I grew up having it close to home! The thin, crispy crust means you aren’t loading up on extra processed carbs but still are able to enjoy the texture and flavor you want in a pizza. Their tomato pie is to die for and I love to add spinach, broccoli, and garlic!

Now for Nomad…
If you live in the Greater Philadelphia region or Princeton, NJ area, I am sure you have heard of Nomad. If not, you need to get out more. Nomad pizza uses organic flour and wood fired ovens to give you the perfect amount of crisp and chew on their crust and, let’s be honest, crust makes a pizza. What else makes a pizza? Toppings. The fact that Nomad’s toppings are fresh, local, and mostly organic, means they taste sooo much better than the spinach you get on your pie from the 10 pizza places in your neighborhood. They even grow their own tomatoes and herbs in season. How fresh is that? When veggies are local and in season, they not only taste better but have higher nutrient content since they didn’t travel very far to get to your plate, and are eaten closer to harvest. Obviously, this pizza sounds like a foodie dietitian’s dream.
What is great about nomad too is that the pizzas and salads on their standard menu are creative and inventive but they always have special pizzas (and at some locations pastas) and salads, too. Check out the specials here from the Princeton location two weeks ago: Jersey corn pizza and the local pizza both sound so delicious and creative. Even better, they aren’t a pain when you ask for modifications or build your own pizza to make it dairy free or vegan but still bursting with flavor.
Before heading to the new Princeton location, we had already been to both center city Philadelphia spots and the Hopewell. Both Nomad Roman and Nomad South Street have a great vibe – and great happy hour (yay vino) – but the Hopewell until this point was our favorite. It has more of a rustic ambiance and better than happy hour is BYOB.
When we saw Princeton was coming we were excited but it wasn’t until the day we decided to go that we noticed they were BYOB too. It does make you feel a little better when you’re spending more for a quality pie. Being that the Princeton location was in a standard shopping center on google maps, I didn’t think the feel would be better than Hopewell – we were just excited to have one a little closer to home. But, the new building they have with a gorgeous patio, both with a modern-classic décor, was a pleasant surprise. Pair that with the light live jazz music (c/o of a group of three males that were clearly Princeton students), and we were excited just walking up to the hostess stand.
I’ve had several delicious pizzas at the Nomad locations and when I am indecisive just default to the marinara topped with arugula. A standout from the past was probably when I added a farm egg and broccoli raab once (I’m telling you, you can really build your own pizza). But, this time I decided to take a stab and ask for the kale that was on “The Local Pizza” special and caramelized onions. Would you take a look at how much of those veggies made it on my pie? They aren’t just throwing on a few flakes of kale and an onion or two.

When they bring out your pie they ask if you want it sliced (and how many slices) so if you’d prefer to pretend you’re in Europe and eat with a fork and knife you can. They also bring shaved parmesan, crushed red pepper that is actually spicy, and garlic oil. By garlic oil, I mean a bit of olive oil mixed with what looked like 4 cloves of garlic, freshly minced.

If you aren’t convinced to head to Nomad, I don’t know what else to tell you. Just be careful and refrain from a Nutella dessert pizza – you’ll want to eat the whole thing.

{Nomad Hopewell above}

So tell me readers – what’s your favorite pizza? Crust, toppings, locations to nosh? Love recs!

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