Day 220: Stroll over to Grazie’s for some pizza

I’m a quarter Italian but I like to think of myself as a full-blooded “giovane donna.” I could live off a pasta-only diet, I make a lot of wild hand gestures, and to my WASP-y husband I often find myself exasperatingly saying “I’m not yelling. I’m Italian!” So I was thrilled when a Italian pizza and pasta shop called Grazie’s opened up a half-mile from my house. I made the ten-minute walk the second day it was open to sample the carmelized onion and goat cheese pizza. I really dug the way the shop embraced the Italy concept. Everything was in red, green and white, from the menu to the Grazie’s sign. They had a pizza oven, but also quite a few pastas, salads and sandwiches available. Grazie’s also has a small bar area with Italian wines and beer to sip. Seating options were a bit limited – a few tables inside and outside. I ordered my pizza to-go and it came quickly and was delicious. (Though not quite as good as my top three – Decent, Rummy’s and Riccardo’s.) There are a few cons, too. It can get smoky inside on a busy night, and the busier it gets the longer the wait. I went back a few nights later and ordered a different pizza. It wasn’t quite as good, which I chalked up to busy, distracted pizza boys on a Friday night. Try stopping by Grazie’s on a weeknight and definitely eat outside. It’s pretty kid-friendly, with a “bambinos” menu.

Address: 3196 Merchant’s Row Boulevard

Day 160: Order pizza online at Gumby’s

Some pizza parlors are so good they get two names. That’s the case for Surf City Pizza, a.k.a. Gumby’s, on Thomasville Road. A recent-night pizza pickup at the far north-end pizzeria in the Publix Shopping Center plaza near Chiles High School was pleasing enough to justify a short posting here in the 365. I ordered a fully-loaded 16-inch, dubbed the “Kitchen Sink,” that priced out at $16.99. It made for a game-night dinner as well as lunch for two more days. I wanted it on a thin crust, but the manager rejected my order, telling me that he refuses to put the Kitchen Sink on such an unstable crust. The toppings are just too hefty. This is an easy dinner target for Killearn-area residents. They have a bunch of specialty pizzas worth exploring, along with calzones, wings and a few salads. It’s not a place to dine in. Make this one a take out night or pizza delivery at home. They’ll take your order online until 9 p.m. most weekdays and 10 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays. – Mark Hollis.

ADDRESS:  6753 Thomasville Road, Suite 107