Location: 625 Columbia St, Lafayette, IN (map it)
Phone: (765) 250-5047
Cuisine: Pizza, Pasta
Have you missed me? I am so sorry for my long break. Summer gets crazy around here and I just let things get away from me. Anyway, I have a review to write! I saw on Facebook people started posting about Sylvia’s Brick Oven pizza. I was pretty excited about it. I actually first went in early August, but since it was during their “soft” opening, I didn’t really feel like it was appropriate to write a review. So I waited for another chance to go again. And then I tried to go again, and they were so busy we couldn’t get a table. So tonight was my chance to go again.
I had a group of friends going, so I called ahead to make a reservation. Just so you know, they do not take reservations. No big deal, we decided to just show up and hope we wouldn’t have a problem.
Sylvia’s is located just west of 7th Street on Columbia, and I’m sure there was something in that location before, but whatever it was escapes me at the moment. It is a lovely little set up. When you enter, there’s a bar right to one area, and a dining area to another. A grand piano meets you as you enter the dining room. It’s not a big dining room, and there’s a big glass window open into the kitchen proudly showing off the brick oven where the pizzas are cooked. It’s really different from anything in our area.
Since I follow their Facebook updates, I was aware of some of the things they already do. For example, they have a “Farmer’s Market Pasta” that they make out of items they get at the Farmer’s Market each week. And I even know someone who saw the head chef at the Farmer’s Market buying produce, so I believe this is true. Today I saw a picture of the pasta listed on their Facebook page and it looked really intriguing. I really don’t know why more local restaurants don’t do this, I really only know of two that utilize Facebook to their benefit.
We were seated immediately, I think we beat the rush. Our waiter was immediately with us, offering us drinks. We ordered a bottle of wine and he was really quick to return to the table with it and get us all set with a glass. The menu is not extensive. They have a few starters, a few soups, salads, and sandwiches, some pizzas and some pastas. That’s pretty much it.
I ordered the Caprese salad to start. I had heard that it was delicious and used locally grown tomatoes and I love me some Indiana tomatoes. It was great! For my main dish, I ordered the Italian Sausage and Peppers with Penne pasta. My friend ordered the Farmer’s Market pasta (which was ricotta gnocchi, delicata squash, spaghetti zucchini with butternut puree.) It sounded interested, but I was a bit afraid. The waiter was very enthusiastic about how good it was though. My friend later let me try her dish, and it really was delicious! I was sad I didn’t order it. The pasta I had was just fine, although I think the peppers and onions were a bit undercooked. I like peppers and onions pretty much anyway you deliver them though, so I enjoyed the pasta just fine.
Another friend at the table ordered the “Jimmy’s Favorite” pizza, which has basil pesto, roasted garlic, caramelized onions and fresh mozzarella. I was lucky that she let me try it, because it was really good as well.
Our server was extremely friendly and helpful, offering advice and always close by in the event we needed anything.
Another interesting item of note is that when it was time to pay, they don’t take your credit card back to their register, they run it on their cell phone. Several years ago I was in London with a friend and we ate at a number of restaurants, and they always had a portable credit card machine to run our cards. I thought at the time that this was a great idea and wondered why we didn’t see it locally. Finally, we see it here!
It was a really good experience. We had a pleasant time. Good food, friends, wine. I’d definitely go again.
Kid Friendly: I saw kids there, but I didn’t see a specific kids menu, so this really depends on your kids. I’d take my kids, but it may not be everyone’s favorite. It has a much more “adult” feeling to me.
Recent Comments