Breaking news: There’s now actually a place to buy food at the Steeplegate Mall food court (other than Dunkin’ Donuts, which may not even be considered in the food court, depending on who you ask). That’s right, Basil Pizza & More now represents the one and only true food joint at the long-vacant food court, so we stopped by last week to see what we could find.
Open for about two months, Basil serves – as you might expect – pizza. In similar fashion to Sal’s, Basil has a selection of ready-to-eat pizzas right in front of you, and you can point to whichever one you like and order by the slice. Then it goes into the oven for a minute to warm up before being served.
Last week, there were a few options for pizza: cheese, pepperoni, white pizza, BBQ chicken and Hawaiian. They also had some quesadillas and calzones, as well as garlic bread and salads, at the ready.
Since this was my first time going to Basil, I wanted to try something very basic – a slice of pepperoni.
Pepperoni is the most popular pizza topping in America, so I figured ordering a slice would be the perfect way to sort of gauge Basil Pizza & More – if they can’t get a slice of ’roni pie right, there would be little hope of much else.
After a quick stay in the oven, my slice was served steaming hot. As a force of habit, I immediately sprinkled some crushed red pepper over it – so it wouldn’t be the purest of pizza experiences, but it’s not like I doused the thing in ranch dressing or anything like that (which is sacrilege in my book).
The first bite was everything I hoped it’d be – hot, crispy, cheesy, a little greasy and pepperoni-y. It’s hard to be both crispy and greasy, but Basil pulls it off (and I mean this in a very good way).
There’s nothing worse than a soggy, floppy pizza slice that looks like it just came out of the deep fryer, but there’s also no place in this world for dry, hard, health-conscious slices, either. Basil’s slices live right in the middle of these two extremes, and the eaters are the real winners here.
The slice was a decent size, but not the biggest in town. It was hot, but not so hot that it stuck to (and ultimately destroyed) the roof of my mouth. The crust was thin, but not brittle. Everything about Basil’s pizza is right in that Goldilocks Zone of not too much, not too little.
After about seven or eight bites, my slice was gone. It was a bittersweet moment – happy to have just enjoyed such a nice slice of pizza, sad that it was now gone and time to head back to work.
Basil will occasionally whip up some non-pizza stuff, such as sushi, handmade pasta, calzones and quesadillas, so keep an eye on its Facebook page for updates.
Also, if you’re taking the kids to the bounce house Entertainment Center right across from Basil, you can order the slices right inside. Go to the counter and tell someone you’d like to order some pizza. Then, you can go and get it (a 20-second walk, tops) and bring it back and eat it at the picnic tables.
Basically, if you haven’t been to the food court portion of the mall lately, check it out – and grab a bite (finally).
