Iaria's is located in the Fletcher Place neighborhood and was recommended by Instagram user jaswiss. This place is dripping with charm from the neon sign to the photos from celebrity visits covering the wall in the bar. This place has been around since either 1913 or 1933, I saw conflicting signs all in the same visit haha! I guess they have been family owned since 1913 but have been at this location since 1933. They are fourth generation family owned and list out the names of the previous owners on the menu.
We sat in the bar area at a small table. I got a Peroni draft beer because it said it was Italian, and when in Rome right? This place has a deep wine menu but still feels somewhat casual and no-nonsense. So if you are looking for wine but don't want to be all snooty about it, this is a great place.
Iaria's is known for their thin crust pizza, which is very thin in the middle with cheese right up to the edge. Before we even got our drinks we were given some bread and oil for the table. The bread looks homemade and if you compare to the garlic cheese bread we ordered as a starter they are the same bread - obviously one is yellow from all the garlic butter. The garlic bread was okay but it was really just a delivery mechanism for the sauce.
The sauce, oh baby the sauce! This is my appreciation paragraph just to highlight the sauce. It was perfectly seasoned, just spicy enough but also fresh tasting - a true amalgamation so that no one ingredient stood out but they all worked together. Somewhat savory, not too acidic, not too runny but not pastey either. It came with a spoon and I started eating it straight out of the cup until Chris asked me to stop being weird.
For pizza I had the All Around The World, which is salami, sausage, pepperoni, and mushrooms. I was a little worried by the construction of the pizza because the middle of the crust was very thin and the cheese was starting to do a cheese blanket effect at risk of coming off in big sheets. This was all made up for by the flavor itself, the ingredients each were impeccable. The sausage was spicy and slightly salty, the pepperoni had just enough heat, the salami was salty and sweet. The cheese was creamy and not too oily. The slices sort of fell apart in my hands but I didn't care.
Overall this place was a fantastic change of pace and I sort of felt like a tourist in my own city. The sauce alone is worth your visit, but I'm sure you'll find the atmosphere and attention to fine ingredients worth your time as well.