If you search on-line for what locals think is the best pizza in Louisville, Wick’s Pizza Parlor & Pub is almost always at the top if not on top. Will somebody please tell me what I am missing?
I walked by Wick’s last year while making my way to Spinelli’s Pizzeria which is so far the best slice I have found in Louisville. But what I saw Wick’s outdoor patrons eating that day just looked totally unappetizing. Well, this year I decided to see if I could learn what folks liked about this place. After my experience, all I can surmise is that perhaps being an immensely popular bar clouds the fact that their pizza is nothing special.
Whenever I am in lovely Louisville, I spend plenty of time in the hip Highlands area. So the trek over to Wick’s on Baxter was a convenient one for me and my travelling companion, the mysterious but wise Pelikan. We just had a late breakfast and after some gallivanting about, it was time for us to sample some new pizza.
Wick’s has four Louisville locations, and this one on Baxter must be their main event. It was a massive facility with several large rooms on a prominent corner location. We were initially pleased to see the sign that read “Slices from 11 to 3,” but were disappointed when we learned the message lacked a weekday-only qualifier. We would therefore be stuck ordering a whole pie from a menu chock full of specialty pies. We went for an ordinary plain cheese 12 inch ($12.75) which came cut in eight tiny slices.
The pie was unsurprisingly a giant cheesy mess. After only a few bites, Pelikan hit it right on the head calling this one a “close cousin to a Chicago deep-dish.” I just couldn’t believe how much cheese was on this thing! It also had a tendency to get quite stringy and sloppy causing Pelikan, a former physician, to comment on how he had to perform a “partial cheeseectomy” to make his slice edible.
Wick’s pie also had little taste appeal and left quite an unwelcome aftertaste. The cheese was nothing special while the tomato sauce was way too sweet and lacked any of the customary seasoning. Looking down at it, all you could see was this big blob of white cheese on top that didn’t blend in with the sauce. The crust on the bottom didn’t win any prizes either since it was dry and not very crisp. The end crust was a monster–way too thick and doughy.
The more I thought about this pie, it reminded me of something that you would take frozen out of a box and cook at home. This just was not at all to my liking, and I was relieved once we were through. While I feel like I may be in the minority with most of the folks in the great town of Louisville, I am sorry, but Wick’s pizza is not for me.
PIZZA SNOB RATING ** Why Did I Waste Those Calories?
Wick’s Pizza Parlor & Pub
975 Baxter Avenue
Louisville, KY 40204
(502) 458-1828
www.wickspizza.com
