900 Degrees Neapolitan Pizza – Manchester

Fool Me Twice…  “7 days without pizza makes one weak.”   Every Monday after tee-ball practice, Mom, Dad, my two brothers and I would squeeze into a booth at the Candia House of Pizza and split a large.  As time went on, one large wasn’t enough, as us kids felt we needed 2 pieces each (we didn’t – the pieces were huge and we were not).  My parents, not willing to waste money to buy an additional pizza, channeled their math skills and tricked us with an illusion.  The following Monday, my parents requested the pizza be cut into 16 pieces instead of 8.  When the pizza arrived, the three perception-challenged children quivered with glee.  “Look at all that pizza!  I’m gonna have 3 pieces instead of 2!”  Not only did we finish our meal fully satisfied, but there were even 2 pieces left.   Geez I had smart parents.

Which line is shorter?

I’d been hearing buzz about Manchester’s 900 Degrees, and being a pizza-lover, I was anxious to give it a try.  I visited on Sunday for lunch, easily parked in the lot, and was seated in a booth.  The atmosphere was rustic, cozy, and upscale – you can tell it’s a specialty-pizza place.  Their menu reads well, but because there are only a few options for lunch-size personal pizzas, I was able to choose quickly.  You can order full-size pizzas during lunch if you’d like, but we decided to order two lunch pizzas to try more of their selections.  They also offer appetizers, sandwiches and entrées, and I’m looking forward to testing their martini menu next time.

Their bread is bland, and needed to be soaked in the seasoned oil to be enjoyed.  I rarely order salads because I’m not a huge fan of them and I’d rather order something I can’t make at home.  The Catalina Salad caught my eye though, with mixed greens, grapes, cranberries, roasted almonds, onions and goat cheese.  The onions (amazing) looked like worms but were my favorite part of the salad.   I didn’t even need the lemon vinaigrette that came with it.  I could easily eat this salad every day, and that’s saying a lot coming from me.

What is the best thing to put on a pizza?  Your teeth!  The Bella Cosa  and BBQ Chicken Pizzas arrived looking much larger than a personal pizza should – great portions for the cost.  They were cut into only 4 pieces though, so my perception-challenged appetite ate them all.  Curse you parents, you’d think I’d learn by now!  The Bella Cosa -garlic cream sauce, onions, spinach, rosemary ham, and prosciutto- tasted a lot like a creamy seafood dish (probably the garlic cream sauce) and was delicious through all 4 slices and quite salty (which I like).  BBQ pizza tends to have too much BBQ sauce for my taste, but this was a nice balance of sauce, cheese, chicken and crust.  The sauce complemented the flavors rather than overpowered them.   Sadly, because I mowed down my entire pizza, I had no room left for their dessert apple pizza, which sounded delightful.  Has anyone tried it?  It’ll have to go on my list for next time, along with those  martinis.

The lunch pizzas are a tasty deal, I just wish they had more options (not all their regular pizzas are available in lunch size).  I’m looking forward to trying other pizza creations on their menu.   I’ll just have to remember to cut mine into more slices next time and save a few for leftovers.  ¡Buen provecho!

CP4Less:  Check 900′s website, as they have specials throughout the week (ie. on Tuesdays- select martinis are $5).
Keep it Local:  Several of their menu items contain organic ingredients and they use a lot of local foods.   900 Degrees is so committed to Going Green that they dedicate an entire portion of their website to it (energy, water conservation etc).   They even have an Environmental Mission Statement.

*Love pizza?  A Slice of NH is a blog dedicated to NH pizza places!