Restaurant Review: Chiusano's Brick Oven Pizzeria

  Being locals, we have been visiting the Village West area, since before it was developed. We looked forward to the addition of each new business, as it brought with it the choices and options our county was certainly needing. When the Legends opened it was filled with interesting shops and restaurants. Over time some of these have changed hands and reopened under new management. Sitting near the main entrance is the brick building which once held Ted's Montana Grill. We certainly enjoyed their menu, but evidently it was not meant to be, and has since been transformed into Chiusano's Brick Oven Pizzeria.

  On the inside little was changed by the new ownership, so the reminiscences of Ted's are still there. A fresh coat of paint, and some new artwork, but most everything else is the same. The place still has the subtle lighting, which works well to produce a romantic aura for guests.

  The menu offers up the standard pizza options you would expect, but they also have some interesting toppings. For those looking for someone else to build the right combination, they offer some stock pizzas. Quite a few of these varieties come with an unusual grouping, but the flavors just seem to work out together. Chiusano's also offers up salads, appetizers, and a few pasta options for those looking for something not in pie form. On our recent visit we were looking for a quick bite to tide us over before a T-Bones baseball game.  Our server was polite and punctual, and our meal was served about 15 minutes after we ordered. I feel that was a pretty quick turn time for a made from scratch pie.

  Since it was just the two of us, we decided to split a personal size Combination pizza. Chiusano's serves a thin crust version of pizza, and is generous with toppings, without being too heavy handed. The addition of Kalamata olives made the pie a little saltier than normal, but the flavor was still good. The only thing we were unhappy about was the crust seemed to become a little flimsy, and we would have liked a more cracker-crisp texture. This was not our first, nor our last visit to this pizzeria. Unfortunately, with so many good dinner options in Wyandotte County we only get to visit each a few times a year. Well that's a lot better than those days when we didn't have many options. For more information about Chiusano's visit them at http://www.chiusanospizza.com/.