Pizza Making Forum

Reviews & Opinions => Pizzeria & Restaurant Reviews => Topic started by: Wallman on April 10, 2006, 10:27:14 PM

Title: Vinny's Italian Grill & Pizzeria - Manassas, VA
Post by: Wallman on April 10, 2006, 10:27:14 PM

This is a new branch of the growing VA-based chain, open about 2 weeks.  I think it is a franchise store, the managers/owners(?) were a Korean couple who were working the room.  The staff was very friendly, and Vinny was actually there working with the staff. 

I give a mixed rating to the pizza.  The topping were top shelf, Grande cheese, fresh mushrooms, and very tasty sausage.  The sauce was a mild tomato sauce made with 6-1 tomatoes.  However, I follow Peter Reinhart's axiom that pizza is 80% crust and the Vinny's crust was only ok.  The pizzas are made in a deck oven and while the crust was brown on the bottom, it wasn't really charred. While they don't bake in a pan, the pie had a slight pan pizza flavor, I wonder if they put some extra oil on the crust. There also wasn't much cornicone in the crust which was a little bland.

I didn't try other items on the menu except for the Vinny's Red Ale which was pretty good.  All in all, I'd say this Vinny's deserves credit for a friendly atmosphere and staff that is really trying hard, but the pizza could be better.  Extra points for their willingness to sell me a #10 can of 6 in 1 Ground Tomatoes for $8.

Title: Re: Vinny's Italian Grill & Pizzeria - Manassas, VA
Post by: gottabedapan on April 11, 2006, 12:30:59 AM

Give 'em a couple or three of months to get up to speed and then try them again. There's a Vinny's about 8 miles from my house, and I found that the quality of the crust improved dramatically betweeen my first visit a couple of weeks after they opened and my visit a couple of months later, and saw another step up in quality on my third visit, about 6 months after they opened.

Quote

Extra points for their willingness to sell me a #10 can of 6 in 1 Ground Tomatoes for $8.

BTW, it's not just 6-in-1: they'll sell you flour (All Trumps), Grande (by the block, bag, or lb.), sausage, meatballs, OO, or any other ingredient they use.

Title: Re: Vinny's Italian Grill & Pizzeria - Manassas, VA
Post by: gottabedapan on April 11, 2006, 12:34:45 AM

Forgot to mention: check out this thread (http://www.pizzamaking.com/forum/index.php/topic,816.0.html).

Title: Re: Vinny's Italian Grill & Pizzeria - Manassas, VA
Post by: Wallman on April 11, 2006, 11:40:01 AM

Good point on giving them time to work out the openning jitters. It's a little unfair to review a restaurant right after they open. I enjoyed my pizza, it just wasn't the best ever (of course, what is) I'll probably try Vinny's again.  BTW, it was the thread on this site that made me go!