Salad Days.
That might not look very exciting, but it's actually one of the more refreshing options I've recently enjoyed at Za Za's, the pizza and salad joint up in the old Height's Theater building on Kavanaugh. It's the Tandoori Chicken Salad ($8.95), way too much salad for one person, which is okay because hey, who couldn't eat that twice in a day?
I rather admire the variety and span of salad items/pizza toppings at the place, which you can of course utilize to make your own combination ($4.95 for the greens, $.50 for most other ingredients and then $1-3 for meats). But I can be lazy, and it's good to know that instead of putting thought into creating a good salad with my own trademark ideas on a worn-out Monday lunchtime I can actually just go in and grunt and point.
Salads, of course, are still made while you are standing in line, which means you can really just eat and go. Pizzas, on the other hand, take a bit longer and we are happy for that. The 700 degree hardwood fueled circular oven imparts a taste to thrown dough that can't be duplicated on a conveyor belt oven, and the options are fantastic. I rather enjoy the Perella ($11) -- the Pepperoni ($10) is shown here.
Of course, there's a better reason to go, on the jump.
That would have to be, hands down, the housemade gelato. For $2.50 (or $4.50, if you want a larger serving) you can emerse yourself in velvety goodness in exotic flavors like Bananas Foster, Straciatella, or Limoncello. I really haven't run into a flavor I haven't thorouthly enjoyed yet... then again, where can you go wrong with gelato?
Za Za's has made it past the one year mark, which certainly shows fortitude, and I have the feeling they're going to be around a while. I have yet to try the "family entree" 38 ounce Tuscan Ribeye ($38.50), mostly because the idea of a steak to me is as a private dining experience, and partly because the crowd I hang with could never agree on how done such an item should be. Perhaps one day. They're open 10:30 a.m.to 9 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 10:30 a.m. to 10:30 p.m.Friday and Saturday, and noon to seven on Sunday. You can call, too -- (501) 661-9292.
