Razza, Round 2 (and 3)

"Wow, you really love this place, don't you?"

"Yes. Yes, I do."  

And so went the conversation during my most recent visit to Razza. It was the third time I'd been there in less than a month and that's because it's true; I do love Razza and there are a lot of reasons why:

• The service is wonderful. On my second visit, the manager came over and talked to our table about the pizza we'd tried which was new that evening, asking for feedback and telling us about some plans in the works. On my last visit, when I was still waiting for my friends, the hostess came out and offered me a table without my asking. Those are just a couple of examples but the staff just go above and beyond and they seem to do so cheerfully. It's something I notice and appreciate every time.
• The cocktails are interesting and reliably good. While I would say that the first drink I ever had there (the strawberry infused tequila one mentioned here) was the best, I like that I can try different ones and not worry about being disappointed. The drinks are designed to be balanced and flavorful and the wine list more than suffices.
• The food is very good and they're frequently trying new things and making use of what's in season and what's around which creates a more enjoyable dining experience for me. There are standards to rely on, but also the possibility of something new and tempting. It's not a large menu but in my opinion, there's enough variation to please everyone and I think the selection in place allows the staff at Razza to really focus on and make those options great. I've definitely had a few missteps here and there but nothing that mars my overall opinion or has made for a bad meal.

Speaking of the food, let's talk about what I've tried recently. During the course of my last two visits, I've tried the bread and butter and the kale caesar and was impressed by both although moreso by the kale. The bread and butter was a good choice - everything was very fresh, the bread was delicious, the butter creamy and sprinkled with a good amount of sea salt. While I enjoyed it and would order it again, it didn't blow my mind. The kale caesar was wonderful - it was an excellent caesar dressing and used liberally without saturating the salad. There was also a nice strong parmesan flavor that complimented the slightly bitter kale.

As for pizzas, we tried one of the specials one evening: the fresh jersey corn pizza which was a white pizza with smoked paprika, roasted chili oil, fresh corn, and chives. It was amazing. Such an unusual combination but the sweetness of the corn with the spiciness of the chili oil on top of the creamy mozzarella was fantastic. We loved this pizza so much we immediately ordered a second one. I've seen it mentioned by Razza a few times on twitter but I'm not sure how long it will be around so I strongly recommend you get over there soon while it's still corn season and enjoy it.

The last time I was there, I had the Santo pizza which is sausage, shaved onion, and roasted chili oil. It was very good and the flavor of shaved onion added a nice bite, but I wished there was more sausage and more chili oil. I didn't get the same level of heat from the chili oil I'd gotten on the corn pizza and I really felt like it would have added a lot. We didn't have much sausage on the pizza and while I could recognize that it was tasty and high-quality sausage, the fact that there was maybe one piece of sausage per slice of pizza seemed a bit ridiculous. I'm not sure if this is standard or we just happened to not get much, but I'd definitely be willing to try again. So some small problems, but overall, I was very happy with it.

All in All
Go to Razza. It's a great place with great food.