Pizza Party

Kristen North and Paul King are nothing if not fans of kitsch—first they launched Boobie Trap, a neon-lit, breast-themed watering hole slinging canned beer and down-home barbecue in September 2014. Now the pair is at it again, kicking off an across-the-street pizza parlor decked out in 1980s pop-culture paraphernalia (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles posters, Magic Eight Balls). Brother-chefs Miguel and Brent McDaniel (Jojo) pull Sicilian-style pies from a century-old coal oven, giving them punny names like the Can You Fig It?, layered with jalapeño-jolted green-veggie sauce, seared sun-dried figs and Swiss chard, and a chef's choice called Brent Is Just So Special (Brie-strawberry-proscuitto, squid-spinach-béchamel). Along with za, the chefs also turn out sandwiches (slow-cooked Chicago-style Italian beef, pastrami-pepperoncini), antipasti (house-made meatballs, bacon-crab ravioli), and salads like a kale cobb and chicken Caesar. At the bar, four taps highlight local beers like Braven White IPA, while the bottle list features both American craft (Dogfish Head 90-Minute IPA, Ithaca Daydreamer Kölsch) and big-label brews(Tecate, Miller Lite). King's cocktails are spiked with shochu, the Japanese rice-wine liquor, such as a bend on the margarita (lime, orange juice), but his wine list sticks to Italy, offering bottles and glasses of prosecco, montepulciano and merlot, plus pitchers of syrah sangria. Booze also makes its way into house-made ice creams (chai-malbec, grapefruit-IPA), cut into triangles to mimic slices of pizza.