Review: Blind Onion's crust perfection

The Vegetarian, foregound, and the General's, the Blind Onion's combo pizza. The latest Blind Onion is located at 6405 S. Virginia, the southwest corner of the intersection of S., Virginia and Neil Rd. (Credit: Tim Dunn / RGJ)

People are creatures of habit. We find a deli with the perfect reuben, a Mexican restaurant with spicy fish tacos or an Italian joint with handmade pasta, and those spots become our standards for a certain type of cuisine.

Until we break out of the routine, try someplace new and are pleasantly surprised by the discovery. My most recent discovery is the newest outpost of Blind Onion Pizza & Pub on South Virginia Street.

The strip-mall space is nondescript. It's small, with a few tables surrounding the counter/bar from which all things food and drink emerge. A hodgepodge of children's drawings covers one wall, and another wall has an unfinished border of blind onions — onions adorned with sunglasses — painted on it. Poker is broadcast on a large-screen TV, and a couple of guys occupy the center of the bar.

The menu is a mix of pizzas, sandwiches and salads.

Pesto "chips" are composed of pizza dough topped with pesto and melted mozzarella. They're savory and addicting, as are most menu items that are blanketed with gooey cheese. The chips are portioned generously and cost about the same as a personal pizza.

Chicken wings are described as medium spicy but are more like mild to my palate. The flavor is there, but a crisp exterior is not. The wings have flat bottoms. Was baking involved somewhere?

The pesto club sandwich is enormous and big enough for two. Toasted focaccia encloses layers of turkey breast, Canadian bacon, mozzarella, Roma tomatoes and pesto-Alfredo sauce. The Alfredo sauce — the same one served on some Blind Onion pizzas — is a bit bland, but it melds with the mozzarella to lend richness to the sandwich.

Stealing the show

The star of Blind Onion is the pizza — more specifically, the pizza crust. Ingredients blanket a thin crust that thickens around the outside to a plump, twisted perimeter. The crust is perfectly crisp and golden brown on the outside, while the inside is chewy and pillowy — it almost has the texture of a pretzel.

At the same time, the crust combines salt with a whisper of sweet — it is, in short, the most perfect pizza crust I've ever eaten. Don't forget to dip it in honey, which is displayed on each table in giant vessels.

Toppings range from vegetarian to carnivore, sweet and salty to Mediterranean-inspired. The Garden of Eatin' pizza is topped with marinara, broccoli, spinach, mushrooms, red onion, garlic, tomatoes and mozzarella. The vegetables are a little undercooked to my taste — they're nearly raw — which gives diners a contrast in texture but the pizza no real cohesion.

The general's pizza is more successful. Pepperoni, salami, Italian sausage, black olives, bell peppers, red onions, mushrooms, marinara and mozzarella top the pie. Fresh peppers and onions complement the rich meats, and marina provides a little kick.

Service appears to be all hands on deck. From taking orders to delivering beers — and probably helping build pies, too — Blind Onion servers do it all. Service is casual and laid back, and that works.

Next time I visit Blind Onion, I'll forego the extras. But the pie? The pie I'll take.

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