Slices Pizza Co.

Located at 401 Tate St. in Greensboro’s College Hill neighborhood, Slices Pizza Co. specializes in gourmet pizza and its variants (stromboli and calzone). The menu also includes soups, salads, pasta dishes, and bakery desserts. Slices offers daily lunch specials, catering, and local delivery.

Location isn’t everything in the restaurant business, but it can certainly play a big role in an establishment’s success or failure. From that standpoint, Slices debuted this past year with the deck stacked against it. It is the fourth restaurant in the past five years to try to make a go of the corner real estate on Tate and Walker. Additionally, Slices entered the scene with established competition: venerable New York Pizza sits just across the street.

Despite these unfavorable odds, early indicators are promising. Though some may dismiss the décor as too corporate, the inside of the restaurant looks the best it ever has. A pseudo-chalkboard that runs above the counter offers an informative blurb about the history of pizza while a wall houses tastefully enlarged photos of fresh ingredients. The long counter, with its parade of pies, lets patrons see before they order. If you’re having trouble making up your mind, ask one of the helpful, Italian-accented countermen. They will be glad to let you know what’s in each pie and can offer personal recommendations to suit your palate.

Slices distinguishes itself in a number of other ways, too. The “gourmet pizza” designation lends itself to topping combinations that range from Italian classics (Caprese, Calabrese, and Margherita) to standard specialties (Buffalo chicken, meat lovers, and veggie lovers) to the downright bizarre (hot dog and fries, mac n cheese). All of the specialty slices that were sampled featured quality ingredients and just the right balance of flavors. The Chicken al Pesto, for instance, was dripping with pesto sauce, but the three-cheese blend kept it from being overpowering. The Mona Lisa played creamy goat cheese and a sweet glaze against crispy zucchini and robust eggplant. The crust, while not spectacular, was even and didn’t work against the toppings.

Though the quality of ingredients suggests Sticks n Stones-level pricing, Slices is surprisingly affordable, even by College Hill standards. Specialty pies are $2.50 a slice ($15-$18 for a large pie). A recent lunch special offered two such slices and a drink for $6. Substitute one of those slices for soup or salad or make them both one-topping slices, and you’re looking at a student-friendly $5 lunch bill.

What few drawbacks there are to Slices are easy enough to overlook. The restaurant does not occupy a large space. There are fewer than a dozen tables, yet the environment, with its constant flow of music and foot traffic, couldn’t rightly be called intimate. Also, you may find pizzas on display that aren’t listed on the menu and visa versa.

All in all, Slices has a lot going for it, but whether or not it can survive among the competition remains to be seen. If you’re the least bit skeptical, come try a pie while you still have the chance.

8/10

Hops Burger Bar

NOTE: Hops has since gone on to receive national recognition (and the crowding that comes with it) and has opened a second location at 2138 Lawndale Drive in Greensboro.

Located at 2419 Spring Garden Street, Hops Burger Bar specializes in burgers but also offers sandwiches, salads, appetizers and more. There are gluten-free and vegetarian options, limited outdoor seating, and a full-service bar.

It was a sad day when Spring Garden Bar and Pizzeria shuttered its doors, but Hops – same location, same owners – has all the makings of a perfectly satisfactory replacement. Spring Garden Pizzeria was known for raising the standard for bar food, and the emphasis on homemade food and quality ingredients has definitely carried over. The burgers are the marquee attraction here, and they leave diners with a plethora of options. You can get your burger sized six ounces or eight, try one of the default combinations or make your own, stick with beef or go vegetarian, etc. This variety extends to the fries, too: Hops has everything from sea-salted to sweet potato to truffle oil.

Fortunately, Hops is more than just something different. The food is made with both competence and care. The default certified Angus beef makes for a juicy burger, and even the default fries are crisp and liberally salted. A goat cheese and pepper jelly combination (available on the Spicy Goat burger on in an app) is also a winner.

Though “craft burger” evokes premium pricing, Hops is decidedly more wallet-friendly than the designation suggests. Six-ounce burgers and one side run from $7 to $8.50 and are quite filling. Eight-ounce burgers are about a dollar more, and fries are $4-$5 for an order large enough for at least two. If the owners decide to resurrect Spring Garden Pizzeria’s half-priced app Wednesdays, the food becomes a downright steal.

Compared to its predecessor, Hops has noticeably shorter wait times. The establishment has always had a hard-working staff, but Spring Garden on a busy night made for slow service. In contrast, the food at Hops finds its way from kitchen to table before you can wonder what the holdup is.

The only thing not improved here, debatably, is the décor. Spring Garden had a classic neighborhood bar feel with numerous televisions and decorative signage. Hops has opted for a cleaner, less cluttered look. It may appeal to new clientele, but it lacks a certain charm.

Spring Garden Pizzeria will be missed for its coziness and Italian offerings, but Hops looks to admirably fill the void in our stomachs if not our memories.

8.25/10