The Magic Tomato Eclectic Eatery

This weekend the wife and I were shopping (as much as I hate that) on the western fringes of the Hub City. When it became time for dinner we began to talk about different places. This can be a challenge for us, because we both have very strong opinions on what we want and where we want to go. After a vigorous discussion that could have rivaled some of the great debates of the 20th century, we decided to go somewhere that neither of had ever been before - The Magic Tomato.

This cozy, eatery is nestled quiet unassumingly in a strip mall located right in front of Oak Grove High on Old Highway 11. You notice two things when you open the door, first the scent of italian herbs coming from the kitchen and the terracotta colored walls, that are more warm and inviting than it probably sounds. Like I said it's cozy, a dozen tables at most. It has the feel of a European bistro or cafe.

After perusing the menu we settled on the Cancun Quesadini and a 14" New York Style Sicilian pizza.

Lets start with the Cancun Quesadini, I suppose this is Italian-Tex-Mex fusion. I think that once upon a time an apprentice pizza chef went to Mexico on spring break, had too much tequila and when he woke up slumped over on a table this is what he found in front of him...



It's thin rolled pizza dough full of peppers, onions, garlic, three kinds of cheeses, and seasoned chicken folded and grilled. They served it with a chipotle sour cream that was very nice. This was an ok experiment, not sure that it'll catch on and you'll see it at other Italian places. Not sure that I would order it again, but I don't have any negatives.

A few minutes later our server brought out our pizza, we ordered the Sicilian, which is a carnivore's dream. A thin crust New York style pizza with a very good marinara sauce, but the meats - Salami, peperoni, bacon, thick sliced ham we all fresh and flavorful. It had two different cheeses.

This was a good pizza, I was very happy with my order until...the server brought out Chicago style deep dish pizzas to the table next to ours. Before they could even dig into these three inch thick pie-sized pizza creations entree envy had set in with a vengeance.

I enjoyed the rest of our meal, but I couldn't help thinking that man, I should have gotten that, and you know I will, Oh, I will....Magic Tomato I'm coming back...