Dining Adventures 2025 -- Falls Firehouse Pizza

 Lil' Bro suggested we needed to try Firehouse Pizza in Sheboygan Falls. We aren't always down in that area for dinner that often. We finally got the opportunity to stop and try it.

Falls Firehouse Pizza is downtown Sheboygan Falls. It is open 4-9 Friday and Saturday and 4-8 Sunday, Wednesday, and Thursday. It loos like it might be open for lunch on Fridays too. There is plenty of street parking in the area. As the name suggests, it is an old fire house.

In typical APL style, we ordered a cheese and sausage pizza plus cheese bread. They had several varieties of specialty pizza such as taco pizza. While we had water, they do have a variety of soda and beer on tap.

The cheese bread was good. It was nothing special but it was still good. 

The pizza was very good. The crust is unique and reminded us of the crust from the pizza we had when we were in Galesburg, IL. It is cracker thin and has cornmeal on the bottom.  The sausage wasn't too spicy or sweet. It was the perfect twist. The sauce wasn't too sweet either. 

We definitely will be back. Our waitress did give us a suggestion for fish in Sheboygan. She was very friendly and was surprised that we travel all over and try pizza. 

If you are in the Sheboygan or Sheboygan Falls area, definitely check out Falls Firehouse Pizza. Andrea even recommends it. 

Pizza Snob Adventures: Bearno's

 One of things I wanted to try to do was get pizza in Louisville so I could color pizza in Kentucky on my map. I tried to do a search but didn't really find any close to the Slugger Museum or Slugger Field. I did one but we weren't overly keen on it. As we were leaving the Slugger Museum after getting my stamp, I stopped and asked the information desk people where to get pizza. Initially they suggested Luigi's (the place I looked at) but they were only open until 4. They suggested Bearno's which was just over a mile away. We opted to drive and try to find parking. 

Bearno's is a local chain with 14 locations around Louisville and Southern Indiana. It has been around for almost 50 years. The downtown location on Market Street is open 11-9 daily and until 10 on weekends. 

They are known for their Louisville style thin crust pizza and stromboli steak sandwiches. Since it was so warm out, we opted for a 14 inch cheese pizza and a couple of waters. 

The pizza was fine. It was nothing to write home about. The crust was nice and chewy. It did have a little too much sauce on it for me. I would have liked some meat on it but the hubby just waned cheese. It kind of remembered me of Luigi's here in Wisconsin. 

We are definitely pizza snobs. It takes a lot to wow us. The hubby says we have the best pizza here in the valley so it makes it hard to find great pizza when we travel. Orsi's in Omaha, Sal's in Cooperstown, Arris in Jefferson City, and Luna Rossa Winery and Pizzeria in Las Cruces are probably our favorites we found so far. 

If you are in Louisville and craving pizza, Bearno's is a good choice. It is good pizza and offer a variety of choices. We are just that picky. 

25 in 2025 -- Try One New Pizza Place -- Tony Capony Pizza

 When our friends invited us up for St. Patrick's Dinner, they invited us up a day early and said we could have a pizza and pajama party. They also said their friends brought pizza from a new place so we will order from there. We are always up for good pizza.

Tony Capony has been serving up pizza for more than 20 years in Eau Claire. We just found out about them. They are open daily from 11-9. I surprised we've not heard of them before. 

We ordered 3 large pizzas. 

The Five Meat Combo Classic which was Pepperoni, Canadian Bacon, Beef Sausage, Italian Sausage, and Bacon

The Humble Pie Classic which was Pepperoni, Italian Sausage, Onions, and Green Peppers -- no onions. 

Sausage and Pepperoni.

We wanted thin crust but ended up with hand tossed. 

The pizza was very good. We definitely would order again especially if we can get thin crust. On the Five Meat Combo it said bacon bits it was chunks of bacon. The 5 meat was definitely my favorite. The hubby favored the pepperoni and sausage. 

Tony Capony is definitely worth the price. I know this may be our new pizza place when we go to Eau Claire or at least on the south side. 

Pizza Snob Adventures 2024 -- Wild Tomato Wood-Fired Pizza & Grille

 One night the hubby said we had to try Wild Tomato Pizza in Door County. I was surprised by this since it was wood fire and I thought he wasn't a fan. Since his buddy recommend Wild Tomato, he was all about trying it. 

Wild Tomato has two locations in Door County, one in Fish Creek and the other in Sister Bay. Fish Creek is the original location. They are both open year round with limited hours in winter. Neither location takes reservations so in peak season be prepared to wait. They also do carryout.

We went to the Fish Creek location. The parking lot is small in front but there is more parking in the back. The Inside dining room is not large. We got there by 4 PM and still had to eat outside. It was a blustery day so it was a bit chilly. I'm glad I had my sweatshirt with me.

The menu consists of some appetizers, a few salads, and pizza. We found the appetizers to be pricy for our frugal budget but reasonable for Door County. Cheese curds, which looked amazing, were $12. We just ordered a sausage pizza.

The pizza was perfect. As the hubby would say "it had the right amount of wood fire on the crust". The sausage was good. It wasn't too saucy for me. I am not sure why we waited so long to check it out.

Wild Tomato is a definitely dinner possibility for good pizza. It is wildly popular even with the chain in owners. I would recommend if you do go, go early or be prepared to wait. It is that good and the wait staff is friendly.

I wonder where our 2025 pizza adventures will take us. Maybe I will finally cross Calumet County off or maybe the pizza gods will be in our favor and we will explore pizza in a new state or at least a new pizza joint in Arizona.

Pizza Snob Adventures 2024 -- Cut Stone Pizza

 When Brenda Novak announced she would be stopping in Kenosha as part of her The Banned Books Club book tour, the hubby said we could go. Then came the problem of finding dinner before hand. Google maps to the rescue. I noticed there was a pizza place right next to the book store. I get to see Brenda Novak.. the hubby gets pizza out of it.

Cut Stone Pizza is located downtown Kenosha. The actual sit down restaurant is open 4:30-9 Wednesday-Saturday. They also have a fire engine pizza food truck which is around in summer. That has since gone on the bucket list.  

You order at the counter and then find a table. There is not much seating but we were able to snag a table. The menu consists of a handful of sandwiches, some appetizers, and pizza of course. There is pre-determined pizzas or you can build your own. I gave the hubby the option of meat or cheese. He went cheese. The person behind us laughed at that. I was like he's simple when it comes to pizza.

The pizza was very good. It was the perfect wood fire crust with just enough fire on it. It was not a huge pizza as wood fire pizza is but with the breadsticks it was perfect. The cheese breadsticks were fabulous too.

Next time maybe we will get meat... or ice cream for dessert. 

Cut Stone Pizza is definitely worth a dinner stop if you are in Kenosha for dinner. Even the bookstore recommended them. If we ever find ourselves in Kenosha for dinner again, this would definitely be one of our choices. Pizza Snob Approved. 

24 in 2024 -- Try a New Restaurant -- Random Lake Pizzeria

My brother kept telling us we needed to try Random Lake Pizzeria. The hubby had no game so we took a drive. We stopped at Johnsonville Village to check out the brat products, picked up some string cheese at Cedar Valley Cheese, and even stopped to visit the my parents. We planned on doing Random Lake Pizzeria for dinner on our way back to Appleton. 

Random Lake Pizzeria is located in Random Lake in Southern Sheboygan County. It is opened Wednesday-Sunday with hours varying on the day of the week. It is not open later than 9 PM. Luckily we were there by 5 PM. If you weren't looking for it, you might not find it. It's in a small building set back from the road. Luckily, I was advised of that.

We stepped inside and was told we could sit anywhere. This restaurant reminds of me of something you'd find on the beach. Very laid back and casual. The decor is more Southeast Asian than beach but it works. It is not something I would expect in a small town  in Wisconsin. I found it kitschy.. the hubby not so much. 

We ordered pizza and cheese bread. They also have pasta dishes. The cheese bread was almost on Vienna Bread. It was a thinner sliced bread than I am used to for garlic bread but it works.

The pizza was okay. The sauce was very mild. It kind of reminded me of Sammy's in Neenah but not really. The crust was slightly thicker but still crunchy. It is definitely unique.

Everyone said we needed to get the ice cream. It is made fresh daily. They have chocolate, vanilla, and the flavor of the day which was Peanut Butter Cup. I went with chocolate and the hubby went with vanilla. I was expecting plastic bowls that I could take with if I didn't finish it. Instead it came in metal bowls with metal spoons. We got a single scoop and it was more like 3 scoops. It was fantastic. 

Our only compliant, as the pizza snobs we, the place did not smell like pizza. Usually a pizza place smells like Italian seasoning and pizza. This did not. It was rather disappointing but it does explain the boring sauce as it was not heavy on the spice either. In our opinion, a really good pizza place should smell like pizza and Italian Seasoning.

The ice cream alone is worth a return trip. We can take or leave the pizza. I think Cranky's just has spoiled us and it's tough to find really good pizza. Just because we are not a huge fan of the pizza, doesn't mean it's not good. It is but we prefer a little more flavor. Definitely get the ice cream.  

Pizza Snob Adventures -- Paddy's Pizza

 We have driven by Paddy's Pizza in Eden numerous times and kept saying we should eat there. I showed a picture of the pizza to the hubby after a Facebook friend went there and said it was worth the drive. We decided to stop on our way back from the train museum. 

Paddy's Pizza is bar and pizza restaurant in Eden. It is open Wednesday-Sunday, hours vary by day of the week. 

The restaurant itself is not very big and it's first come, first serve when grabbing a table. We got lucky that a couple was finishing up and said we could have their table. It does have a nice Irish theme going on. It reminded me of someone's living room. 

Besides pizza, they have a whole page of appetizers from garlic bread to deep fried green beans to mini tacos. You can also get salad, wings, pasta, even Shepard Pie's if pizza is not your thing. Of course we ordered pizza and garlic sticks.

The garlic sticks were half a pizza crust cut into strips. They weren't bad.

We got the homestyle crust and I fought the hubby for half sausage. The sausage is not homemade in house so he didn't want it. The pizza looked amazing but was actually boring. The crust was very good but the rest of it really had no taste. We were kind of disappointed. We were glad the crust was good otherwise it would have been really bad pizza. Even though it was our favorite pizza, I could see us stopping again if we are in the area and trying another crust type or even pepperoni. 

However, we are horrible pizza snobs and what we think is boring and tasteless might be perfect for someone else. Don't let our snobbiness stop you from trying the pizza. It is definitely worth the drive. Maybe this is one of those places that you need a garbage pizza for it to be amazing. We are not garbage pizza fans.