Eating Out:

Blue Moon Pizza

bluemoonpizza.com
Four locations:
2359 Windy Hill Rd., Marietta (770-984-2444);
4600 West Village Place, Smyrna (770-436-4446);
325 East Paces Ferry Road, Buckhead (404-814-1515);
5610 Glenridge Dr., Suite 101, Sandy Springs (404-236-7200).
All locations: Monday-Saturday, 11 a.m.-11 p.m.; closed Sundays

Blue Moon Pizza has been on our “need to check it out” list since last spring. We recently visited the Smyrna/Vinings location. It’s official: My family joins the ranks of the many who are over the moon for Blue Moon Pizza. With four metro locations, it’s easy to reach a Blue Moon for lunch or dinner.

What’s on the Menu: Blue Moon starts with fresh, made-daily dough, then piles on tasty toppings. You can get your favorite toppings or gourmet choices such as steak, chorizo sausage or artichoke hearts. As for in-house specialty pizzas, the moon’s the limit! One choice, the “Sante Fe,” comes with seasoned black beans, chicken, cilantro, red onions, spicy ranch, fresh avocado and house cheese.

We dined with another family of four and the adults shared a delicious large Greek salad and a house favorite, “Grandma’s Pizza,” with hand-crushed plum tomatoes, fresh-sliced garlic, extra virgin olive oil and fresh basil. At the suggestion of our server, we added cayenne-candied bacon. Mama Mia! The four adults split the final and 16th piece, as no one was willing to forfeit the last bite.
Blue Moon Pizza also uses that same fresh dough to make its signature warm and toasty “flatwiches” (think sandwiches with pizza dough for bread), like the “Italian,” with a host of Italian meats and dressing. For stromboli lovers, there’s “The Other Side of the Moon,” and for calzone lovers, there’s “Half Moon” selections that include your favorite ingredients and marinara sauce. For dessert, Blue Moon owners Kelvin and Mandy Slater serve up homemade treats such as a turtle cheesecake topped with pecans, chocolate and caramel – a dessert-lovers dream.
Why Parents Will Like It: Blue Moon Pizza servers are trained to BOLO (be on the lookout) for the arrival of tiny diners, who are immediately served a plate of pizza dough so they can make their own dough creation. When the art creation is ready, servers take it away to bake into a mini masterpiece. The atmosphere and service is casual and spot-on. Blue Moon Pizza goes the extra mile by offering gluten-free options. There are weekday lunch specials: A full lunch is about $5.
Why Kids Will Like It: Blue Moon will not disappoint pizza-loving kids. The kids’ menu features a cheese or pepperoni pizza for $4.99, with small soda and a scoop of vanilla ice cream. For that no-pizza kid, there’s chicken fingers with dipping sauce, fries, small soda and a scoop of ice cream for $5.29.

– Dana DiLorenzo