There’s something about a hidden treasure that totally gets my rocks off.
In the same way that I immediately recognize that I want to do the sex to the uptight girl in glasses in most ’80s movies — even before she lets her hair down, smokes a spliff, fast dances and totally blows off finals to go to the beach! — I feel I’m able to look beyond the implied swank of a restaurant hot spot in favor of an understated and time-tested dining venue. In doing that, I find value in a place like Lisa’s Pizza, a valentine of local pizza that’s given me one of my best Milwaukee dining experiences to date.
Despite Sto Cazzo and Tony dan Za both bitching out (OK, having to work and being broke, respectively) of our DoZ Milwaukee branch Pizza Jamboree, Ronnie and I persevered undaunted to Oakland Avenue to feast on the za Milwaukee has enjoyed for 40-some years.
The story of Lisa’s Pizza is a mysterious one, especially when no research to the story is conducted. One can only assume the restaurant was named after Lisa Turtle from Saved By The Bell, who was masterfully played by Lark Voorhies — who’s much better looking than her name implies. If that’s wrong, I’m going to go ahead and say some lady named Lisa … or a guy who loved a girl named Lisa … opened a quaint pizzeria in Milwaukee’s Northeast end with the sole intention of rocking everyone’s balls with pizza forever — and, I guess, to a lesser extent, to make a living of some sort.
But all entirely speculated Wisconsin pizza lore aside, Ronnie and I found the modern day Lisa’s was also something to behold.
THE GOOD: Fucking everything. It looks kind of shady from the outside, but the inside is quiet and well-kept with a classic black and white interior decor fitting of any era. It’s not fancy, but it’s the kind of place an impoverished asshat like me could bring a girl for a nice meal and have a good chance of at least getting some sort of hand play afterwards if not for my numerous other shortcomings.
In terms of food, we found our large veggie pizza ($16) to be a generously-portioned orb of crispy crust, fresh/plentiful mozzarella, and enough toppings to make Andre the Giant blush (if he wasn’t so dead lately). And huge T. Mario bonus points for the use of fresh mushrooms. In fact, Lisa’s — a place with enough topping options to make Andre the Giant blush (still not funny?) — doesn’t even carry canned mushrooms. That’s a type of segregation I can get behind. Additionally, their sauce is so unique, tasty and plentiful that it would (for some inexplicable reason) make Andre the Giant blush (???).
THE BAD: Depending on when you go, parking can be a real bumbaclot. It’s metered in front, but it’s in a pretty heavily trafficked area. So good fucking luck with that. Then again, I parked a block behind the place and just walked the rest of the way, figuring I’d be out of luck, and there was an empty spot right in front. Who am I kidding, there’s nothing wrong with Lisa’s Pizza.
TRY: Anything. I’ve only had the one meal there, so I can’t promise everything will kick your taste buds in the nuts the way my pizza did. But if any of the other pizzas or pasta dishes rule even half as hard, you’d better bring a change of slacks.
RATING: It’s like the anti-9/11 of Milwaukee pizza. Super Bowl XXXI part II.
February 15th, 2010 at 9:21 am
[...] never been before. Without this domain being in my possession, I’d probably just eat at Lisa’s a shitload… or drunkenly stumble over to Zayna’s to consume a greasy cheese Za [...]