Midway Pizza. Uptown: 4725 Freret St. 504-322-2815.

Written by Tom Fitzmorris November 01, 2012 16:14 in

3 Fleur
Average check per person $15-$25
 BreakfastNo Breakfast SundayNo Breakfast MondayNo Breakfast TuesdayNo Breakfast WednesdayNo Breakfast ThursdayNo Breakfast FridayNo Breakfast Saturday
LunchLunch SundayLunch MondayLunch TuesdayLunch WednesdayLunch ThursdayLunch FridayLunch Saturday
DinnerDinner SundayDinner MondayDinner TuesdayDinner WednesdayDinner ThursdayDinner FridayDinner Saturday

Midway Pizza

Uptown 3: Napoleon To Audubon: 4725 Freret St. 504-322-2815. Map.
Very Casual.
AE DS MC V
Website

WHY IT'S NOTEWORTHY
Midway is the perfect name for this place. Not only is is physically halfway between Jefferson and Napoleon, but the pizza is halfway between New York and Chicago. It's a deep-dish job, with a crust about twice as thick as you're used to. However, it doesn't hold a two-inch stratum of tomato sauce, nor does it take an hour to bake the way a real Chicago-style pie does. But a thin, crisp layer lines the bottom of the crust, just like a good New York pizza would have. Anyone who remembers The Deli's pizza in the 1970s will find this somewhat similar. And better.

WHAT'S GOOD
The house combinations here are much more creative than we find in most other pizzerias. Once you're past the Margherita and multi-meat jobs, everything is unique. For example, the sauce they call "Creole-Fredo" is a brilliant orange from its mixture of tomato sauce and cream. Many pies have more than one sauce. The appetizers are terrific, even though they're essentially reconfiguration of the pizza ingredients. And here is a candidate for best Caesar dressing in town.

BACKSTORY
The old commercial stretch of Freret Street between Jefferson and Napoleon Avenues was bubbling with trendy restaurants when Midway Pizza opened in 2011. It was just in time for the fall term at nearby Tulane and Loyola, and it greeted the students with exactly the menu and premises they seek. This never seems to change, somehow; my college circle frequented just this kind of place forty years ago.)

DINING ROOM
The old commercial building gave the restaurant a long front on Freret, with a correspondingly lengthy dining room. At the far end from the corner is the combination kitchen, bar, and buffet. The latter is in use at lunchtime on weekdays, when you get a salad and all the pizza you want to eat for $9. The bar is not perfunctory; they really can make a good cocktail.

ESSENTIAL DISHES
Starters
»Pigs in a blanket (Italian sausage, mozzarella, tomato-basil relish, Creole mustard-jalapeno sauce)
Bread sticks, garlic oil, parmesan cheese
»»Roasted polenta cake, spinach, mushrooms, creamy marinara
House salad (greens, polenta croutons, mushrooms, champagne mustard vinaigrette)
»Caesar salad
Spinach salad, bacon, egg, Gorgonzola, pecans, red onion marmalade vinaigrette
»Caprese (mozzarella, tomato, basil, balsamic)
Green Charter (a modified Cobb)
Pizza
Made to your order, or house specials. . .
»Smokey Treat (chicken, bacon, green pepper, red onion, blue cheese, bbq sauce)
»King Creole (Creole-fredo sauce, garlic shrimp, tomato basil relish, green onion
Money Pie (spinach, pepperoni, meatballs, roasted garlic, grape tomato, basil)
»Herb Tarlek (Creole-fredo sauce, chicken, mushrooms, artichoke, tomato, garlic, wilted spinach)
Margherita
The #18 (Pepperoni, sausage, mushroom, onion, green pepper)
The Kingpin (meatballs, onion, parmesan)
Don Flamenco (sundried tomato, prosciutto, Gorgonzola)
Slim Harpo (onion, pepper, mushroom, black olive)
»Thunderbird (chicken, ham, bacon, onion, roasted red pepper aioli)
Captain Lou (spinach, bacon, tomato, onion)
Joe Head (sausage, pepper, sundried tomato, onion)
Uptown Meatdown (pepperoni, sausage, meatball, ham and bacon)
»Natty "E" (chicken, bacon, tomatoes, onions, green goddess sauce)
Tiny Bubbles (ham, pineapple, onions, jalapeno)
King Leon (meatballs, pepperoni, mushrooms, onions, extra sauce)
»FD2 (chorizo, green chiles, red onion, cotija cheese, green onions)
Desserts
Peppermint ice cream

FOR BEST RESULTS
One small pizza, plus a salad or a starter, is easily enough for two people. The lunch buffet is so busy that the pies are about as fresh as if they were made to order.

OPPORTUNITIES FOR IMPROVEMENT

FACTORS OTHER THAN FOOD
Up to three points, positive or negative, for these characteristics. Absence of points denotes average performance in the matter.

  • Dining Environment
  • Consistency +1
  • Service+1
  • Value +1
  • Attitude +2
  • Wine & Bar +1
  • Hipness +2
  • Local Color +2

 

SPECIAL ATTRIBUTES
  • Open Sunday lunch and dinner
  • Open Monday lunch and dinner
  • Open until midnight; 1 a.m. FR & SA
  • Open all afternoon
  • Quick, good meal
  • Good for children
  • Easy, nearby parking
  • No reservations