Open less than two weeks, Mandolino's Artisan Pizza has brought a great new addition to Davidson's Main Street. That was probably a foregone conclusion for most people since the operation comes from the same folks behind Flatiron just across the street. Based on that, you just knew the quality of the food would be top notch.
What may be a little unexpected for some is how family friendly the new place definitely is - both in atmosphere and on your wallet.
aShortChronicle has had the pleasure of stopping by Mandolino's twice already. The first time was after dinner on opening night to meet a friend and to check out the newest place in town. No pizza was had that time, but the best root beer float ever landed on the table - served in a mason jar for a nice bit of southern flair.
The second trip was just this weekend for a Saturday evening dinner and a little father daughter time.
Myself and my ten year old daughter got there for a late afternoon early dinner and were fortunate to be seated right by the serving window. That gave us a great view of all the food that was coming out. When we walked in, there were only a couple of other tables seated, but by the time we left 45 minutes later the main floor was almost full - mostly with families and kids of all ages.
As for the food, we just went with the basic cheese, or "Red", pie - nothing but red sauce, cheese, and a little fresh basil - a true test of the standard "kid" option. Dad particularly liked the crust on the rectangular grandma style pizza. It was a medium thin crust and very crispy. The sauce was also very, very good - a little bit sweet and a lot of flavor.
And the "kid" rating? My daughter initially gave it an eight on a scale of 1 - 10. Not bad at all. However, with every few bites that number enthusiastically went up. By the time she was done with the first piece, she had raised the score to a perfect 10!
For desert we had chocolate gelato that was also delicious - more than enough to share unless you have a serious sweat tooth.
As for the cost? A very reasonable $25 plus tip covered it all. We also took home a few pieces, enough for one more meal for someone. A pie is enough for 3 people, definitely for an adult and two kids. You might get 4 out of it if Mom and Dad also split one of the big salads on the menu. At just $14 for a "Red" pizza, that's pretty hard to beat - especially for a nice sit down dinner experience here in Davidson.
Having passed the "kid test" with flying colors, it has to be said that the "grown up" specialty pizzas all looked delicious as well as they came out of the kitchen, and Dad is looking forward to heading back to Mandolino's and trying them in the near future.
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