Norvelt Pizzeria - January 21, 2023

We weren't certain whether Norvelt Pizzeria, our Saturday night intended dinner location, had dine in or if it was carryout only. It was hard to tell from either the website or the Facebook page (note to pizza establishments: this is an important piece of information to have front and center for new patrons). So if we weren't able to dine in, we had a backup plan to hit their secondary location in Scottdale.

And then the planned pizza destination almost changed because of an encounter with an employee at Laurel Highlands Meadery, where we stopped for a mead flight before dinner. We mentioned our goal of trying 50 independent pizza places in the county, and she told us all about her favorite (which is on my list BTW). I was slightly tempted, but decided to stick to the plan.

Norvelt has an interesting history. It was a planned community built in the early 1930s and renamed in 1937 to honor EleaNOR RooseVELT. I'm not certain if it was ever a bustling locale, but today there are just homes, a post office, a convenience store, a few churches, a Volunteer Fire Department, and, of course, the pizzeria. The pizzeria had an address on "Iris Drive" but as far as we could tell, the only way to get to it was through the VFD parking lot. Weird.

We pulled up to a small building sitting in a gravel lot - small, but definitely large enough to house a few tables. No one was dining in but there was a table or two, so in we went.

Table or two is an accurate statement. There were two low tables and one high top, but the high top held someone's glasses and notebook, and one of the low tables was covered by soda bottles waiting to be added to the cooler. No one was at the counter when we walked in, but a young woman quickly came out to greet us and asked if we'd already ordered. We responded in the negative and asked if it was OK to order and eat there. "Um, sure" she said, although she looked a little uncertain. Apparently eating there just isn't a thing. 

The menu is small, offering a few appetizers, traditional and specialty pizzas, and a few sandwiches. But perhaps because the menu IS small, the prices were incredibly low. A 14" medium sausage and mushroom pizza, an order of cheesy bread, and a 16-ounce bottle of diet Pepsi came to $19, and that's including tax. After ordering we made our way to the only available table in the pizza box folding area.

They were doing a bustling carryout business, perhaps because restaurant options in the area are so limited. The phone rang every few minutes and folks came in every 5-7 minutes to pick up their orders. In a twilight zone moment, two of the customers who came in while we were waiting for our food were there to pick up orders for "Brown." We guessed we were in the right place.

It was a very young workforce - mostly high school kids and one who looked like he was in middle school. I was eavesdropping (it was hard not to) and heard a conversation about teachers: who had Mr. Craig, who liked Mr. Craig, and who would rather have Ms. SoAndSo. Then from the back an adult voice exclaimed, "Please quit talking about teachers and just get your stuff done." I had to suppress a laugh. 

The employee who took our order estimated a 20-minute wait, but the food came out in 15. At first glance, both the pizza and the bread looked pretty darned good. Thin crust, not too saucy, and plenty of cheese on the bread.

Here's how we know they never have anyone dine in: they brought them out to us in takeout boxes and provided no plates, utensils, or napkins. I asked for napkins, and the "server" seemed surprised but it took just a minute for him to grab a few along with two paper plates.

The first bite of the pizza was good. The sausage had a tiny kick (I'm starting to realize that it will be weird to find a pizza place around here that does NOT have spicy sausage), and the mushrooms were canned, but mostly chopped small enough not to serve as big rubbery impediments (my primary objection to canned mushrooms). The sauce was a nice, middle-of-the-road offering - not too sweet, and not too spicy. And the cheese was good. The crust was soft and foldable, which is how we had to eat it since it was a bit floppy and we didn't have forks. 

The cheesy bread was basically just a garlic butter sauce and cheese on pizza dough. The cheese was nicely browned, but it was pretty garlicky. Chip agreed. We both had to eat it, though; it wouldn't have been fair for only one of us to be reeking of garlic for the next 12 hours.

But here's the thing. After several bites of both the pizza and the cheesy bread, I realized that the crust was a little too doughy, just a bit underdone. It seems like it would be difficult to undercook a thin crust, but I wondered if they pushed the pizza through a little faster than they normally would since we were sitting there waiting for it. (FYI I heated up another piece later in the microwave, and had the same sense of it being slightly undercooked.)

We each ate a slice of pizza and a piece of garlic bread, so we were in and out in about 35 minutes. The carryout traffic was steady the entire time we were there, and as we were walking to the car two vehicles pulled in. Apparently folks like the pizza. 

However, Norvelt Pizzeria is a 30-minute drive during low-traffic times. With no atmosphere and mediocre pizza, this one's off the list.