An array of pizzas and sides at Quarantino's. Photo by Amanda Kamppinen.
On a dark Friday evening, after three months of recovering from a broken ankle, I was ready to rejoin society once more.
My late-night comrades were engrossed in a rousing session of Magic: The Gathering, but had worked up an appetite for pizza. Being a problem solver, I was off to Quarantino’s!
As their name might indicate, Quarantino’s began during the COVID pandemic as a pop-up restaurant. It was originally supposed to wrap up once the pandemic ended, but the public loved the food too much to let Quarantino’s fade away, and they expanded from take-out only into a full-fledged piz-zeria and bar.
They specialize in Detroit-style pizza. For those unfamiliar, Detroit-style pizza is made in square pans with a foccaccia-type dough, plus Wisconsin brick and mozzarella cheeses. The cheese crisps up around the edges, making the corners a special treat. Once toppings are added, the pizza is sauced on top either before it goes into the oven, or after it comes out (which is the Quarantino’s way.)
Their menu features appetizers including meatballs, fried chicken wings, and beer cheese, an armada of specialty pizzas with monikers like “Shroomer,” “Roni Boi,” and “The Nene,” with the option of customizing a “Choose Your Own Adventure” pizza. They also offer a vegan menu and glu-ten-free cauliflower crust options.
Pizza choice number one was the “Quentin Quarantino Deluxe,” featuring mozzarella, brick cheese, pepperoni, fennel sausage, smoked ham, mushrooms, peppers, and onion. If you add a dusting of the hot red pepper flakes included, the Quentin Quarantino Deluxe becomes pizza perfection. We went a little more off-book with second pizza of the night, “It’s All Greektown To Me,” also with red sauce, mozzarella and brick cheese, plus spinach, artichoke hearts, kalamata olives, and herb mar-inated feta. Opa!
Both pizzas went over like gangbusters with myself and all four of my dining companions. I can’t say enough about how good this pizza is, seriously delicious. Find Quarantino’s at 1444 Lake Drive SE, Grand Rapids, MI 49506. They are open every day from 12pm-9pm for both dine-in and take out. Do not miss this GR gem!
