Zio’s Pizzeria

Friday, November 30, 2018

Zio’s Pizzeria

1109 Howard Street, Omaha, NE

Where we went:

Tonight Eric and Kyle ventured back to downtown to Omaha’s Old Market to do a little holiday shopping. We ventured to both Hollywood Candy and the Imaginarium, both great places to pick up gifts and collectibles for your loved ones, or for a gag gift at the office holiday party. But we started started our night off by having dinner at one of Kyle’s favorite pizza places, Zio’s Pizza, located in the heart of the Old Market.

What we Eat:

Wish so many choices on the menu, we decided to mix and match our options tonight. Eric got an order of cheese bread, while Kyle started with a house salad. For the pizza, Eric got a slice of the New York Deluxe and Original Thai, while Kyle went with his favorite, a slice of Margherita and chose something new for a second slice, the El Taco.

The Food:

Kyle has had some great Margherita pizzas at other pizza joints and wanted to see if Zio’s could hold up, and it sure did. The flavors were rich and dynamic, the seasonings on top were just right to add to, and bring out, the flavors of the toppings. The El Taco was new to Kyle, being a lover of Mexican food, he wasn’t sure how this would turn out, but he was pleasantly surprised. The El Taco tasted just like it sounded, like a taco on pizza crust. It came with spicy dipping sauce that Kyle chose not to use, he likes Mexican food, but nothing too spicy. He was afraid the sauce would make it a bit hotter then he prefers.

Eric, however, has only been to Zio’s a handful of times. He’s used to just getting whole pizzas (and taking home leftovers!), but he wanted to try and sample as much as he could in the name of journalism! His New York Deluxe was a fairly classic pizza. He thought it was a tad heavy on the onions, but Eric only has a limited palette for onions as it is, so others may be fine with it. Eric really loved the Thai Chicken slice he had, though. It came with a small cup of sweet thai chili sauce on the side, that was more than enough to cover the pizza, even with Eric’s tendency to use overwhelming proportions of sauce. And it was glorious. The spices and the ingredients meshed really well together.

The Atmosphere:

Being located in a historic building in the Old Market, this Zeo’s location has a lot of old world charm, with exposed brick walls and steel ceilings. However, their commitment to the “New York Style Pizza, is very evident. With large pictures of New York City, Pillars labeled with NYC street names, and even a replica of the Statue of Liberty just inside the door, there is plenty to look at and enjoy. Should you need more of a distraction, there are several TVs located around, playing sports and news programs.

The Service:

The service tonight was good. Due to the drizzly conditions, Zeo’s was a lot slower than it would normally be on a Friday night. We received our orders much faster then we are use to. Kyle works downtown, so he comes to Zio’s every now and then for lunch. When you eat here for Lunch, you order at the counter and they bring you your food. But in the evening, I think after 4:00pm, you are seated and served just like a traditional restaurant.

In the End:

Zio’s marketing heavily stresses their New York style pizza expertise, to the point of commercial characters sending New Yorkers to Omaha just for the best NY style pizza! While this may be a bit of an exaggeration, Zio’s still delivers some quality NY pizza. While Eric has frequented a few other NY pizza places in Omaha over the years, they all seem to come and go while Zio’s has remained a pillar of the pizza community here in Omaha since first opening in 1985. It is a testament to their quality that they have spread to several locations in Omaha (79th and Dodge, and 132nd and Center) and remain going strong after all this time.

BONUS!

Although it was hard to tear ourselves away from the small, but delicious dessert options on Zio’s menu (especially the Oreo Dream Bars!!!), we chose to get something special since we were downtown. Just a few blocks away, a new rolled ice cream shop, Mixins, just open this past summer. Kyle had been there, but Eric hadn’t, so we headed that way. Eric got the Cookie Monster, while Kyle got the Butter Me Up.

Both Kyle and Eric agree that rolled ice cream is good, but not our favorite. The main reason to go to a rolled Ice Cream parlor like Mixins is to see them in action. They prepare the ice cream right there in front of you from scratch through an elaborate show of sprinkling the various mix-ins as the ice cream literally freezes on a cold metal plate in front of you. The employees chop, scrape, and roll the ice cream with flair, and they even customize your order by writing your name in chocolate syrup before they do the final roll into your cup. We bumped into two friends who were also out for a night of shopping, so that made the stop extra special.