La Piazza’s menu is pretty standard as far as Italian take-out is concerned. Pizza, subs, calzones, lasagna, salads, a few sides and wings are all available for delivery, but feasting on their fancier fare requires a sit-down experience. While I have never actually dined on location, the overall quality of their delivery food fills me with confidence. Naturally, this more gourmet cuisine boasts a more daunting price tag, but the transitive deliciousness property (Deliciousness of Transitive Food (delivery/take out) < Deliciousness of Food) virtually guarantees a good meal.
As for food that I have enjoyed on a non-hypothetical level, the subs at La Piazza are definitely the highlight. Subway offers five dollar, foot-long subs, as though we are supposed to be impressed. It is purely ironic that the sandwiches put forth by this heartless chain are in many places referred to as “heroes.” For only one more greenback, making the total a paltry 50 cents per inch, La Piazza will give you a foot-long hero that is more than worthy of the title. Simply put, these sandwiches are massive. A sausage parmesan sub is triple-layered with the sweet meat, drowning in melted mozzarella and delectable sauce, with just the right selection of vegetables tying it all together. My personal favorite sub is their steak and cheese, which, thanks to the plethora of available free toppings, can be done up like a foot-long cheeseburger. Taking a more Philadelphian route is also a tasty alternative, but for me nothing compares to a steak and American cheese sub with lettuce, onion, tomato, mayo, ketchup and a hint of green peppers for some extra zing.
La Piazza’s pizza is definitely above average, but if you are truly desperate for a quality pizza fix, Antonio’s, the Shark, or Bertucci’s are your only real options. In fairness, no pizza that isn’t either New York style or brick oven baked will ever crack the upper echelon in my book, but La Piazza comes about as close as possible. Their ingredients are top-notch, but the final product is just a shade off of true greatness. Although it is spectacularly chewy, the crust is just a little too thick for my liking. Of course, a heavy wallet makes any meal taste that much better. A large pie with sausage and ricotta cheese, which is called a Sporkie at Bertucci’s and costs around $20, is only $11 at La Piazza if you ask for the coupon. The Sporkie is clearly a cut above, but whether or not it’s worth the extra cash depends equally on the refinement of your taste and the size of your checking account.
For a restaurant that is very much defined by its affordability, there is still one dish that is bafflingly inexpensive. La Piazza will give you ten decently sized mozzarella sticks, with some wonderfully tasty side sauce, for only four dollars. I would run out of fingers and toes if I tried to count number of times I have seen mozzarella sticks on sale for more than a dollar apiece, but somehow La Piazza has completely upset this paradigm. They have rescued mozzarella sticks from the realm of decadent luxury, and returned them to their rightful place as a cheap and delicious add-on that’s perfect for sharing.
Thrifty, tasty, and open late for delivery, it is hard to find fault with La Piazza. That is, unless you order a BBQ chicken calzone. The BBQ chicken calzone from La Piazza is undoubtedly the worst piece of “food” I have ever had the misfortune of ordering. The BBQ sauce was so sickeningly sweet yet bland in all the wrong ways that I thought I was being Punk’d. I offered my roommates a bite, thinking that there was no way something could actually taste that terrible, but they were equally repulsed. This calzone was literally inedible. Fortunately for those who could be held accountable for this atrocity, an Italian restaurant’s reputation need not hinge on the quality of their BBQ sauce. I am willing to overlook this most unholy of transgressions against the gustatory gods in light of their otherwise ubiquitously quality offerings.
Overall, La Piazza offers a great dining experience. Those who have read my columns in the past know how much I stress the importance of putting love into food, and La Piazza passes this test with ease. Clearly, the chefs have a passion for their work that perfectly complements their restaurant’s fiery conception. Although they have missed the boat completely on their BBQ sauce, I can’t stay mad at the saviors of the mozzarella stick, the heroes of heroes.