A few nights ago, a couple of friends and I headed to one of the other new kids on the block, backspace, for dinner before a night on the town. Backspace, which I first wrote about here, is chef Shawn Cirkiel’s conjoining sister restaurant to the gastropub parkside. As I have previously mentioned I am a big fan of both parkside and Cirkiel, and I am happy to report that backspace was just as lovely as I expected. It is no secret that I am a big fan of pizza, and backspace’s pizza just about defines my ideal pizza pie. The crust was thick, yet somehow light and airy, the toppings were high quality and copious, and the wood fire oven gives the pizza a rustic, hearty flavor, leaving our table singing its praises. Needless to say, this pizza snob was impressed because if I were to open my own pizza place tomorrow, this is the pizza I would try to emulate. When I went to backspace for my second go around, I knew the pizza was going to be excellent, that was kind of a given. No one puts the time, care and effort into obtaining authenticity with the star of the menu like backspace’s team did and serves up anything but something great. I was most interested to see how the rest of the menu and overall restaurant had come together since my preopening visit. The space is very small and does not take reservations, so most likely you will be waiting for a table. I am sure this can be overwhelming for the bartenders and staff at times, but you wouldn’t know it by their friendly service; while we had a few glasses of wine, someone came by to give us updates and see how we were doing several times, completely unprompted. Also, every staffer in the restaurant seemed excited about the food and the concept. Our waiter was ready with suggestions, descriptions, and favorites and our bartender was seamlessly giving a rundown of the pizza methods and ingredients to a patron who asked him a few questions. Beyond the pizza, everything else we tried was very good as well. My favorite was the ricotta appetizer, which was a simple yet a perfect combination of bright, fresh flavors. The prosciutto wrapped mozzarella was another hit, with each component good enough to stand alone. With the most expensive menu item around $15, backspace’s menu is shockingly well priced compared to other downtown restaurants, especially for the quality. The wine list is all Italian speckled with equal parts low and high so any budget can be satisfied. Our waiter said that each was chosen to go well with the food, which is a plus for sure. The interior is fairly simple, with the main focal point being the open kitchen and custom made oven. The open oven can make the temperature a little toasty at times, which is nice now with the cold weather, but I am not sure about when the dog days of summer arrive! As a mentioned, there might be a wait once the secret is out, but it will be well worth it, I promise! I am not sure if you can do this because I did not ask, but if the bar is too crowded it might not hurt to see if you can go next door to parkside’s bar for a drink while you wait. Not the best for groups, but great date spot or place to grab a glass of wine with a friend.

Roasted Mushroom Pizza – $13. Too good to leave one bite.

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