The Florentine pizza with chicken, tomatoes and spinach at Spring Garden Pizzeria.
I sat down to a table at Spring Garden Bar and Pizzeria Sunday afternoon to chow down on some pizza, squeeze the last few waning drops from the weekend and catch the 4 p.m. NFL games.
Some friends were waiting for my arrival, each sipping water and in a sour mood, likely from the Panthers defeat earlier in the day or maybe just dehydration. Either way, they each finished three glasses of water in the time it took the assembled motley crew and I to decide what to order.
I’ve been a fan of Spring Garden Bar and Pizzeria’s hand-breaded mozzarella logs and their dollar domestic beer Thursday night special for a while. So I decided that this was the time to give their specialty pizzas a try. We settled on a large deep-dish, Lucky No. 7, topped with pepperoni, sausage, seasoned beef, green peppers, sweet onions, mushrooms, black olives and extra cheese (for good measure) and a medium “Florentine” topped with grilled chicken, marinated tomatoes and baby spinach.
The tables and the bar were littered with fans decked out in NFL paraphernalia. A man in a grey cut-off Detroit Lions T-shirt sat beside a guy in a Rams jersey. Some fans dressed casually, but their allegiances were revealed by the occasional shout or exclamatory curse directed at the men on the television.
A steady stream of take-out customers passed through the dinning area to get to the bar and claim their pizzas, including a man in a Mark Sanchez Jets jersey, who must be a regular because he was serenaded by chants of “Dirty Sanchez” by a group of smokers on the outdoor patio as he shuffled back to his car to catch the rest of his team’s game.
A mother guided her young son through the restaurant for a take-out order all the while wrapping her arm around his shoulder as if protecting him from the cackling and inebriated herd.
As if on cue, our pizzas arrived right at halftime. The Lucky No. 7 was a sight to behold and it was a challenge to move our slices from the pan to the plate. Once there, it became apparent that a fork was required to eat such a pizza. The cheese and toppings oozed over a soft crust cushion that couldn’t support the weight of the toppings and extra cheese when you tried to lift it with your hands. Despite having to eat pizza unconventionally, with the use of a utensil like a civilized and highly evolved creature, it was hardly a sacrifice. The forks full of crust, sauce, cheese and interspersed meat and vegetables were shoveled and stuffed into our mouths. All the banter at our table ceased and was replaced by muffled remarks of approval.
The classic-crust Florentine didn’t require any atypical eating methods, but the even disbursement of the chicken, spinach and tomatoes made for a quality pie, but wasn’t the gluttonously orgasmic tastebud experience of the Lucky No. 7.
We finished the pizza just in time to catch Randy Moss’ one-handed snag for a touchdown. Afterwards, as we enjoyed a post-meal cigarette and a pitcher of Red Oak on the patio, the younger smokers unanimously agreed that though we despise the Patriots — especially Tom Brady — primarily due to the heart crunching defeat they handed the Panthers in the ’03 Super Bowl, Randy “Straight Cash Homie” Moss, despite playing for the Pats, got a pass.
The most boisterous fan at the bar was not even clad in team gear.
Though his appearance did not convey his allegiance, his voice did. He had an impressive sunglasses tan and a slight beer belly and he wore a black polo shirt with a thin line of gold trim in the middle of the collar. When the Redskins surged ahead to a 27-10 lead on the Texans he said, loud enough for the whole restaurant and bar to hear: “Look at the skeens! We are back!” But the Skins should have watched their backs because the Texans rallied and forced overtime. With the Jets having defeated the Patriots already all of bar’s attention locked into the Washington-Houston game. The Redskins kicker nailed a game-winning kick from 53 yards and the man in black and gold let out a victory yelp — but no, the kick didn’t count because the Texans coach called timeout right before the snap (how sportsman-like).
“He’s gonna miss it now,” proclaimed the Skins fan, to no one in particular but everyone at once. “I got five on that.” Sure enough, the kicker pushed his next attempt to the right and the Texans took the ball down the field and scored to win.
wanna go?
Spring Garden Pizzeria 2419 Spring Garden Street Greensboro 27403
336.834.2453. Hours: 11a.m.–2p.m. everyday
