A pizza joint, like pizza itself, ought to have character. Most of the pizza consumed in this country comes to our doorstep from one of the many mega-chains. They offer fast, convenient, and cheap. Obviously, there is a place for that in the marketplace. The one thing they lack, however, is a distinct character. That is where the independents come in. The folks in Crawfordsville are fortunate to have the Lowe Brothers who own and operate Johnny Provolone's.
I had driven by the place on a number of occasions while visiting Crawfordsville on business but I had never had a chance to stop and eat. Last week, I decided to pack up the family and take a short road trip for dinner for pizza at Provolone's. Arriving at about 6:20 in the evening we had no trouble at all finding street parking in downtown Crawfordsville. Stepping inside I was reminded of some of the family-owned pizza spots in places like New York City. The unmistakable perfume of garlic and italian spices hung in the air and the place has a relaxed, family-friendly vibe.
We were greeted warmly by our server and in a dead giveaway that this place caters to families, they were one step ahead of any requests we had to accommodate our small kids - highchairs at hand, drink cups with lids.
As we checked out the menu (available here) I was immediately impressed at some of the more unusual pizza combinations - BLT, Chicken Bacon Ranch, Baked Potato. Pizza sizes range from 10" to a colossal 28" We settled in a couple of 10" hand-tossed pizzas - one with cheese only on half and green olives on the other half and for the other one, the Mobster (pepperoni, sausage, onions, green peppers, black olives, and mushrooms).
After only about 12 minutes we were dividing up pieces onto out disposable plates. The thing that impressed me first was the crust. The hand-tossed crust was light and a good kind of chewy. To often, pizza crust is neutral in flavor. This tasted like great, fresh, Italian bread and it provided a great foundation to the rest of the pie. The sauce was flavorful with a great tomato zip. The meats were mildly spicy and the vegetables colorful and crispy. I also appreciated the fact that the pizza was not drowning in melted cheese, allowing all the flavors to work together. The kids enjoyed their pizza and out five year old, who is usually a light eater, scarfed down four pieces of cheese pizza.
Johnny Provolone gets a big thumbs up from the Hungry Hoosier. Check them out the next time you are in Crawfordsville. They are located at 116 South Washington Street and they can be reached by phone at 765-361-6840.
Look for this Hungry Hoosier Seal of Approval at Indiana restaurants and other food-related businesses
Being of a certain age, whenever I see the word "shack" I think of the love-variety immortalized in song by the B-52s. When I saw the signs for the Mushroom Shack at the Crawfordsville Armory, I just had to check it out. I'm glad I did. This place has the most unusual combination of menu items I've ever seen under one roof, (tin roof rusted or any other). In fact, I can almost guarantee you will not find morel mushrooms, alligator, bluegill, and pumpkin rolls sharing space on any other menu in this galaxy. That and more, however, is what you get at the Mushroom Shack.
