Trattoria E Pizzeria Da Enrico, Pizza-Parlor Type Southern Italian on Guilford Road in Columbia

[mhberk]

By the way, as long as we're on the topic of Columbia, I'd like to add Trattoria E Pizzeria Da Enrico in King's Contrivance Village Center.  It's a dive strip-mall place, but the food is really very good.

Cheers,

Rocks

That place is such a treat! Going to high school in Kings Contrivance, I probably ate there 4 out of the 5 weekdays for lunch! ABSOLUTELY the best Italian coldcut I've ever had! High quality meats and they heat the roll in the oven before they construct the masterpiece.

[Pool Boy]

That place is such a treat! Going to high school in Kings Contrivance, I probably ate there 4 out of the 5 weekdays for lunch! ABSOLUTELY the best Italian coldcut I've ever had! High quality meats and they heat the roll in the oven before they construct the masterpiece.

Thanks for the tip. I am usually just hooked on eating their pizza that I often overlook their other offerings.

[mhberk]

Let me know what you think. It's been several years since I've had it. If it's made the same way, the meats are great quality and they heat the roll up in the oven just before serving.

[Pool Boy]

Will do. The one thing I remember trying is their variation of bruschetta, which is a hearty 'breadstick' sliced down the top and then stuffed with tomato-y and serious garlic-y goodness.

[Pool Boy]

I found myself in Columbia yesterday and opted to get some pizza from here, having done so for years when I lived nearby. We normally carry out from Pasta Plus. Neither of their pizzas are amazing or magical, but there are reliable, solid pizzas of a more americanized style.

The pizza we got from Trattoria last night were.....fine. There was a slight odor to the pizzas that was a smidge offputting, but that blew off and they tasted fine. But I think I prefer Pasta Plus by a wider margin when Pasta Plus is 'on'. Having had a couple of trips to Pasta Plus a few months ago being unusually not as good, I was worried, but they managed to hit their stride again.  Kind of bummed Trattoria's pies were not quite what they used to be.

[DonRocks]

I found myself in Columbia yesterday and opted to get some pizza from here, having done so for years when I lived nearby. We normally carry out from Pasta Plus. Neither of their pizzas are amazing or magical, but there are reliable, solid pizzas of a more americanized style.

The pizza we got from Trattoria last night were.....fine. There was a slight odor to the pizzas that was a smidge offputting, but that blew off and they tasted fine. But I think I prefer Pasta Plus by a wider margin when Pasta Plus is 'on'. Having had a couple of trips to Pasta Plus a few months ago being unusually not as good, I was worried, but they managed to hit their stride again.  Kind of bummed Trattoria's pies were not quite what they used to be.

Trattoria e Pizzeria da Enrico has been there for a long time - maybe even twenty years - but then again, Pasta Plus has been there even longer, I believe. Were you randomly in Kings Contrivance, or did you make a special trip there?

The pizza was "okay," but was usually pre-made and reheated if you bought it by the slice. The way to go here was ordering either a whole pie, or something that required baking (lasagna, etc.) that could mimic being freshly cooked, even if it might not have been. Ordering strategy was imperative.

I haven't been here in years now, but they used to allow you to bring your own wine, and only charged something like $3-5 corkage (you should bring your own stemware too, unless you want to be drinking from a plastic glass). I would also call to double-check on this - it used to be owned and run by a couple of laid-back Southern Italian brothers who liked to cook, and the food was pretty good - good enough for an occasional visit from Laurel, especially if you're bringing some wine (this used to be something of a covert operation before the laws were changed).

Honestly, this is the first less-than good thing I've ever heard about Trattoria e Pizzeria da Enrico, about which I have reasonably fond memories, but I must emphasize that I've heard nothing about it in years. Thanks for the update - Frank Ruta has spoiled you!

[Pool Boy]

The brothers are usually somewhat gruff, but they usually put up good, solid food.  I had their pizza last maybe 6 or 8 months ago. It was better back then.  This is by no means bad pizza. I would order it over any of the grunge the major pizza delivery places put out. But it is not as good as Pasta Plus (minus the two bad trips) at the moment. Of course, I may just have hit them on an off day.  I was up by the Wegmans and needed to head home and I decided to give their pizza a try again for mixing it up's sake.

I am pretty sure they have been there at least 20 years. I did not know about them until midway through an apartment run with my wife when we discovered them (and Isella's of Chatham Mall fame was closing). They were our go to place for a cheaper but tasty italian meal and certainly for pizza to go (always in full pie form).

Ah well, I will try them again in 6 months and see how they are.