THIS RESTAURANT IS CLOSED.

Following Ron Eyster (who also owns Rosebud and the Family Dog), on Twitter *, I had been eagerly anticipating the opening of his new pizza restaurant, timone’s local pizaa joint, for months.  This evening as I was heading in town and driving through Morningside, I thought it would be a great opportunity to stop in.  Arriving around 5:30, I was given free rein as to seating (inside or out, booth, table or bar) and chose a high top at the back of the bar area.  Immediately behind the bar and straight in front of me (and on the right in the picture below) was a blackboard with draft beers, featured wines and house made sodas.

* I think that you should follow @theangrychef, too – it will give you an entirely different perspective on dining out

I ordered a Diet Coke, found out that they were out and was drawn back to the “Fountain Soda” section of the blackboard.  Deciding on the Appalachian blackberry soda, the server informed me that it was completely organic – made with blackberries they picked and juiced themselves and that they actually dried the cane sugar themselves to make the sweetener.

It was a very interesting and refreshing taste.  And a different color – I was expecting something dark purple.

The menu was divided into starters, pastas, sandwiches, main plates and pizzas, but the pizzas took center stage (and the largest chunk of menu real estate).  Curious, I asked about the pizzas – “all are about 16 inches” – and the server’s first recommendation was the one with clams.  That wasn’t going to happen, so I decided on the River View Farms meatballs with garden basil (I think they actually pick the herbs from the garden they share with Rosebud), chili oil,   pickled jalapeños and red sauce.

Their goal is New York style pizza – the menu explains the dough:

Our pizza dough is a blend of Anson Mills organic Farinadi Pizzaiolo heirloom flour and King Arthur Sir Lancelot high-gluten, unbleached flour with a hint of Savannah Bee orange blossom honey and sea salt. We have also installed a carbon filtration system on the house water which essentially allows us to re-create the exact water found out of the tap in New York City. 

I think that in a ranking of my favorite pizza doughs, authentic New York style would run third (behind Neopolitan and “grandma-style”), but this was really good dough.The ingredients made for an interesting mix – the chili oil gave every bite a little bit of kick and the pickled jalapenos drove that up a notch.  The meatballs were very meaty and I really enjoyed the not-too-sweet red sauce.

Looking at some of the “knocks” on Urbanspoon, I’d note that there wasn’t a kid’s menu and the prices were not family-friendly (pies started at $15 for cheese with add-ons starting at $2).  But being family-friendly is a two-edged sword: for every hipster with a toddler looking for a new restaurant that is “friendly” toward their child, there is a middle-aged guy like me that doesn’t want to eat near your screaming two-year old while you count to three for the third time.  Knowing what you’re getting into (checking out the menu on-line, reading reviews) is a big help for everyone. 

The server was very attentive (he noticed while he was serving another table that I dropped my fork and appeared with another set of silverware very quickly), but having been to Rosebud when it was very busy (timone’s definitely wasn’t) I know that they are not a place where the servers fawn all over you.  They are efficient, with a bit of an attitude, and that’s sufficient. 

I would not hesitate to go back with another person or another couple.