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Hersh's Pizza & Drinks, South Federal Hill - Chef Josh Hershkovitz comes from Petit Louis


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Late night this past Saturday, I went with a group to the recently opened Hersh's Pizza & Drinks in the South edge of Federal Hill.

The chef, Josh Hershkovitz, who used to work at Charleston & Petit Louis, opened the place with his sister to serve Neapolitan style pizza. They also feature housemade sausage and pasta on the menu.

Their menu features a good selection of beer as well as an interesting array of cocktails. I started with a Fernando, made with Fernet Branca Galliano, & Cinzano.

We chatted with Stephanie, the chef's sister and co-owner, a little. She recommended the cheese pizza with fried eggplant and sausage. We also tried the kale & pistachio pizza and the white clam pizza. The crust on their pizza was outstanding- thin, with a little bite and chewinesss. I read in the City Paper that they do not do lunch as the starter takes 24 hours to be ready.

My favorite was the kale & pistachio with fontina and a lot of garlic. The fried eggplant also makes for a great topping. They had run out of their pasta that evening, but they let us try some of their Berkshire pork ragu- quite good. As this place is a short walk from my house, I look forward to making this a regular hangout.

1843-45 Light Street

Baltimore MD 21230

443-438-4948

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Stopped by this Monday when they have gnocchi nights, and I had their gnocchi with veal ragu which was tasty. Their menu looks to be turning over to spring as I had a great refreshing shredded asparagus salad with pine nuts & grana padano. For the pizza this time, we had the pancetta with onion. For my taste, I should remember to have them make the crust a little crispier when I order, and I found it slightly soggy in the center this time. Still a good chew to it though.

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I swung by last night....they really do have a very nice crust. We had a margherita pizza with some prosciutto added and then the Salsiccia [Housemade Mozzarella and Sausage/Sopressata/Wood-Roasted Red Peppers] and I liked the margherita better - the freshness of the ingredients shone through while the other one had a bit more body and probably wasn't a good choice when I was looking for something lighter, so thats my fault. For happy hour they gave two 12 oz pours of select beers for $5 but I went with the cocktail option instead and received a nicely presented daquiri when I went with the bartenders choice. I'll definitely be going again soon, very delicious meal without breaking the bank.

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The first actual Neapolitan style pizza I've had in Baltimore (when will paulie gees finally open?!).  The crust structure was very good, but it could have been less dense.  But the flavor was GREAT.  Right balance of salt and sour.  If the get rid of the slight density issue, I'd say its as good as Edan at Orso.  Got my standard favorite toppings, but I'll venture out into one of their creations next time.  Minor nitpick, they didn't make it clear which pizzas had tomato sauce and which ones did not (i.e. even the margherita had no mention of tomatoes).

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Stopped by this weekend for some pizza and cocktails. The cocktails are really good and usually seem to get passed over - the Pimm's Cup was incredible, it was like drinking a garden, and the Riverside Fizz (Vodka/Mint/Lemon/Orgeat) hit the spot for me. The standard Fresh Maker (Gin/Sage Simple Syrup/Lime Juice) got rousing reviews from my dining partner. We started off with an order of lamb meatballs topped with yogurt - three homemade meatballs of significant size, probably slightly over an inch in diameter. Pizza was delicious as noted above - I'd highly recommend the clam pizza if it is available and everything else is very delicious, you're just going to have to know your tastes.

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