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Thin Neapolitan style Pizza Lovers

Have any of the Neapolitan thin style pizza lovers here tried Pizzeria Biga in Southfield MI? http://pizzeriabiga.com/photos-videos/ My wife and I are a little fanatical about pizza and are thinking of making the road trip.

It seems like quite a few good, thin style coal and wood burning pizzerias have been sprouting up recently. The downside is it seems like they are all in Michigan between 45 minutes to an hour and a half away. The closest we have located was in Monroe MI called Nick and Nino's though our present favorite is all the way up in Farmington Hills MI which is Tomatoes APizza. - http://tomatoesapizza.com/

If anyone has suggestions for similar, coal or wood burning pizzerias closer to T-town please share.

created by Danneskjold on Mar 25, 2012 at 05:41:43 pm     Food     Comments: 19

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Comments ... #

Mmmmmmm.............Tomatoes APizza.........love it.

posted by Foodie on Mar 25, 2012 at 06:12:41 pm     #  

Biga is outstanding. Very much worth the trip. I believe they are looking at a second location

posted by ahmahler on Mar 25, 2012 at 08:02:32 pm     #  

Well, my wife and I made our first of many trips up to Pizzeria Biga’s. Outstanding! We now have a new favorite pizza location in this area. We went to the Southfield MI location though they have just opened a second location in Royal Oak. It took about 75 minutes to get there. For those familiar with Tomatoes A Pizza on 14 Mile Road Biga’s is less than five minutes away.

The website for Biga’s above does a much better job explaining what makes there pizza different than I could do so I will just repost the link. - http://pizzeriabiga.com/

We tried two pizza’s ordering one at a time knowing that Neopalitano-style pizzas get cold pretty quickly. Our first pie was the Margherita pizza consisting of a paper thin crust charred nicely topped with a little tomato sauce, buffalo mozzarella and fresh basil. I need to read some previous posts on attaching pictures here because I took a few. The pizza was exactly what we enjoyed in Rome and Naples many years ago – it was that good. The pizza size is not huge. My wife and I we split two pizzas and ate desert. If we would have split an appetizer we probably could not eat desert. After eating the healthier Neoplatino pizza though you are not supposed to leave the table feeling bloated which is another reason we enjoy this type pizza – it is a healthier alternative and delicious.

We are usually very simple pizza eaters and do not get very fancy but for our second pie we ordered the Farm Egg pizza which consisted of ricotta cheese, egg white, roasted zucchini, pancetta, house blend mozzarella. This was a White pizza which does not add any tomato sauce. I was afraid the pancetta might make the pizza a little too flavorful or salty but I was pleasantly surprised that I actually found myself grinding a tiny bit of extra sea salt to add some flavor. This was another very good pizza and the crust was again exceptional – maybe even better than the first pie since it was not absorbing any sauce.

We ordered two deserts, the homemade Tiramisu and a scoop of the home made pistachio ice cream. The Tiramisu was good but I prefer mine a little more moist which is probably a personal preference since my wife makes a really great homemade one incorporating fresh pulled espresso shots. The pistachio gelato gets 4.5 stars. It was a very large scoop topped with shaved pistachios. My only regret was that I did not let it sit for a little longer to soften but we really enjoyed it.

A couple pizzas @ $12.50 each… Deserts about $7.50 total so even with tip it was a pretty reasonable evening out especially for pizza this good. We are anxious to try their other pizzas and will probably continue to order one new one in addition to our Margherita standard each time we go up.

Strongly Recommend the restaurant although it is in a congested area where U-turns are utilized so if you do make the trip a GPS or good directions are necessary.

posted by Danneskjold on Apr 24, 2012 at 09:30:10 pm     #  

Ok, here goes... attempting to add pictures. If this works there should be links below showing pics that I took of the Farm Egg and Margherita pizza the other night:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/79529146@N04/7117450569/in/photostream

http://www.flickr.com/photos/79529146@N04/6971373180/in/photostream

posted by Danneskjold on Apr 26, 2012 at 10:38:57 pm     #  

Just an FYI Pizzaria Biga will be opening a location in Ann Arbor in August.

http://www.annarbor.com/business-review/popular-pizzeria-to-open-in-arbor-hills-crossing-on-washtenaw-avenue/

posted by Danneskjold on Feb 21, 2013 at 02:34:42 pm     #   1 person liked this

That's great news since we're in A2 far more than Southfield. However, I happened to find myself in Southfield yesterday afternoon and checked out Yelp for the nearby eateries. Low and behold, Biga was in the immediate area. Sadly, time did not permit a visit - but the menu sure looked interesting.

posted by Foodie on Feb 22, 2013 at 07:24:19 am     #  

Foodie, care to compare Pizzeria Biga to Mani Osteri in AA? I haven't been to either yet.

posted by JnJ on Feb 22, 2013 at 01:14:31 pm     #  

Biga has a slightly better crust, Mani has a more inventive approach to toppings, and the rest of their menu is just as good. They may be inspired from different regions, I'm not sure. They are both so far above the #3 pizza place in Ohio or Michigan that the difference is negligible. I've heard a Tavola in Cincinnati is in the same league, but you can't get near the place. 4+ hour wait on the weekends.

posted by ahmahler on Feb 22, 2013 at 01:40:55 pm     #  

Sorry JnJ, but neither have I. Danneskjold has been to Biga but don't know if he's been to Mani Osteri.

posted by Foodie on Feb 22, 2013 at 01:41:53 pm     #  

I have not yet been to Mani Osteria but it is tops on my list of places to explore. I waver between which is my favorite right now - TomatoesAPizza's coal fired location in Farmington MI or Pizzeria Biga. It really depends on the day. Last Saturday we were planning on going up to either Biga or Tomatoes but the weather turned nasty so we stayed closer to home and went to Nick and Nino's in Monroe MI. I used to enjoy Nick and Nino's more but it has fallen down the list a bit since the first opened.

Because my favorite is always the Margarita Pizza toppings aren't too much of a factor for me but crust sauce and simplicity are key.

Oh... if anyone goes to Biga's be sure of your directions and avoid rush hour times. The Southfield location is in an extreme high traffic area and Royal Oak's parking can be confusing. Not places you want to go when jacked up on caffeine or in a hurry as I learned the hard way. But oh... definitely worth the hassle. I just Google'd images for Pizzeria Biga and made my mouth water!

posted by Danneskjold on Feb 22, 2013 at 02:30:16 pm     #  

Ever since going to TomatoesAPizza, I have been on a quest for Neapolitan style pizza that closer than a 70 mile miles from home. Nina and Nino's in Monroe doesn't do it for me either. I am really anticipating the opening of ZsaZsa's on Secor/Executive Pkwy.

posted by JnJ on Feb 23, 2013 at 12:11:34 pm     #  

Biga is pretty good wished it was closer. I was told the ZaZa or ZsaZsa on Secor/Executive Pkwy is the owners of Oasis on campus.

posted by EvilFoodie on Feb 23, 2013 at 05:47:41 pm     #  

Went to Mani Osteria in Ann Arbor last night all i can say is wow if this new place is 3/4 as good as Mani I'm going to be happy.

posted by In_vin_veritas on Feb 24, 2013 at 03:05:12 pm     #  

In_vin_veritas posted at 02:05:12 PM on Feb 24, 2013:

Went to Mani Osteria in Ann Arbor last night all i can say is wow if this new place is 3/4 as good as Mani I'm going to be happy.

Don't get your hopes to high. Better to think lower that way it passes your expectations. Considering the owner of this place owns Oasis not expecting much but i hope to be wrong here.

posted by EvilFoodie on Feb 24, 2013 at 03:45:44 pm     #  

We stopped and had pizza on the way home from Nick and Ninos in Monroe, Michigan and it was very tasty! Coal fired pizzas.

posted by stooks on Feb 25, 2013 at 08:18:39 am     #  

Drove by Mani Osteria on Saturday afternoon on our way to this place http://www.tasteofindiaaa.com/ (which was very good) so at least I know where it is.

posted by Foodie on Feb 25, 2013 at 09:54:23 am     #  

@EvilFoodie: Don't get your hopes to high. Better to think lower that way it passes your expectations. Considering the owner of this place owns Oasis not expecting much but i hope to be wrong here."

If the Oasis is the same as the one in today's list of rest. inspections published in the Blade, I think your observation is spot on. If ZsaZsa's is indeed owned by the same person(s), I believe I'll pass even before they open.

posted by Foodie on Feb 25, 2013 at 10:12:44 am     #  

NeoPapalis in Ann Arbor has great Neopolitan style pizza. They opened up last year. They are owned by the same company that owns Pizza Papalis downtown and the manager of that store opened up the Pizza Papalis here. I wish Pizza Papalis would serve Neoplitan style instead of chicago. They have a great selection of toppings and the pizzas only take about 10 minutes for them to cook

posted by classylady on Apr 18, 2013 at 04:16:21 pm     #  

NeoPapalis in Ann Arbor has great Neopolitan style pizza. They opened up last year. They are owned by the same company that owns Pizza Papalis downtown and the manager of that store opened up the Pizza Papalis here. I wish Pizza Papalis would serve Neoplitan style instead of chicago. They have a great selection of toppings and the pizzas only take about 10 minutes for them to cook

posted by classylady on Apr 18, 2013 at 04:17:12 pm     #  

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