New River Pizza has moved across the street with a name change to New River Grill and a spruced-up space. The new New River, open for lunch and dinner, reminds me of Jersey pizza joints from growing up, where kids too young for their driver's licenses would walk to hang out, buy a slice from the neighborhood place, eat with friends at a booth, and smoke cigs in the parking lot. A handful of attentive servers, likely with kids of their own, reinforce a fond memory of being young at the Jersey shore, big hair not required.
The pizza isn't the best in town -- with so many brick, wood, and coal ovens as competition -- yet the restaurant soldiers on with the help of loyalists. Why go here? That it's in the neighborhood has been the number-one citation I've heard from folks who live on the Rio Vista side of the river. It's also inexpensive (menu here). In addition to
the reasonably priced menu of pizza-shop standards, every day lunch is
four for the price of three. The pizza in the photo and a drink with tip is just
over $15.
The new location for the pizza spot is next door to Seventh Street Wine Co. If you're like me
and don't want to pay 15 bucks at a Las Olas shop just for a guy to
uncork the bottle you've already bought there for $33, then
you may have reintroduced the place in your repertoire after haitus. For sampling half a dozen varietals followed by a fast bite, New River Grill is a
no-brainer stopoff.
The menu is extensive, but the crowd has been lean the several times I've
come. Perhaps catering and takeouts via the separate entrance picks up some of the slack. Have you been to the New River Grill? If so, tell
us about your experiences in the comments.
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