The constantly changing Hamilton Place restaurant scene added a new pizza place two weeks ago with little to no fanfare. Dida's Pizza quietly opened in the Hamilton Village storefront on Gunbarrel Road that formerly housed Paisano's Pizza.
THE SPACE
I stopped in late one afternoon last weekend not realizing Dida's is really designed more for take-out and delivery orders than for dine-in. This perception was reinforced when my order came on a paper picnic plate with no silverware.
The galley-style room holds 15 black, molded-plastic seats at white pedestal tables - one of which still had the remnants of a prior diner's lunch left sitting on it. A large cooler standing against one wall holds bottled and can sodas.
THE MENU
What it lacks in ambiance, Dida's makes up for in menu offerings. The surprisingly diverse menu offers all the munchies you might order for late-night or game-night delivery: wings, pizzas, calzones, mozzarella sticks, garlic knots, five 9-inch sub sandwich choices and five types of salads.
These choices come singly or in combo packages for reasonable prices. For example, one special that day offered a large, three-topping pizza plus seven wings and a 2-litre soda for $19.99.
If you go
› Where: Dida’s Pizza, 2020 Gunbarrel Road, Suite 160› Hours: 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Monday-Thursday, 11 a.m.-11 p.m. Friday-Saturday, noon-8 p.m. Sunday› Prices: $2.99 fries-$20.99 for 28 wings; pizzas $7.99-$13.99› Phone: 423-643-2200› Online: www.didaspizza.com
Hot or cold subs are $7.99. Wings come bone-in or boneless, with your choice of eight sauces. They are priced at $5.99 for seven, $10.99 for 14 or $20.99 for 28.
Diners can choose from two dozen pizza toppings to cover one of three styles of crusts: hand-tossed, thin or gluten-free (12-inch only). Dough is made daily at Dida's. Pizzas are priced $7.49 for a small 10-inch, $8.49 medium 12-inch or $9.49 large 14-inch.
There are also seven "gourmet" pizzas - although I wouldn't consider Hawaiian, veggie lovers or Steak N Cheese gourmet - which are priced $9.99, $11.99 and $13.99.
THE ORDER
I went with a small Hawaiian pizza and a fried mozzarella stick appetizer to take home.
I tasted one of the mozzarella sticks when the appetizer arrived and found they weren't hot. In fact they were barely warm, which threw the cheese's texture and taste off as well. The remainder I left untouched.
The pizza fared better. Ham that appeared to have been uniformly cut into matching 1-inch squares was spread across the hand- tossed dough topped with chopped pineapple and kernels of sweet corn. The corn caused a quick, sweet burst of flavor in the mouth that was interesting and enjoyable.
THE SERVICE
As previously mentioned, Dida's is really designed for take-out or delivery. But if you are dining in, place your order at the front counter, choose a seat and your food will be brought to you. My pizza arrived in less than 10 minutes.
When the server checked back to see how the meal was, I told him the cheese was not hot. Surprisingly, he thanked me for that heads-up, then returned a few minutes later to say they were adjusting the fryer accordingly. How often have you found a server to be gracious when receiving a criticism? Plus, he offered me a refund on that item. Points for good customer service.
VERDICT
Dida's is a very unprepossessing space. The pizza wasn't the best I've ever had, but definitely a good, solid pie that was tasty and reasonably priced. It's worth keeping Dida's in mind when you need to feed a hungry crowd of teens or pick up something fast for the family on the way home from work.
Contact Susan Pierce at spierce@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6284.