Proper pizza at Paulie Gee's
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The Cheese Square. Photo: Lindsey Erdody/Axios
What does Columbus have in common with Chicago and Brooklyn?
- Pizza, apparently.
The big picture: Paulie Gee's, a small chain that started in Brooklyn, also has wood-fired pizza shops in Chicago, Baltimore and Columbus, plus "slice shops" in Chicago and Philadelphia.
What to try: Any of the Detroit-style options, but arrive early. Our waiter mentioned it's not uncommon for them to run out of that dough on busy nights.
- The wood-fired options we tried — the Donna with aged and fresh mozzarella, garlic, basil, ezzo pepperoni, goat cheese, black pepper and hot honey ($20) and the In Ricotta Da Vegan with Italian tomatoes, vegan sausage, arugula, cashew ricotta, extra virgin olive oil and Maldon ($18) — were solid, but couldn't compete with the Detroit-style.
Best bites: The Cheese Square, featuring a cheddar edge, mozzarella, Italian tomatoes, basil, Parmigiano-Reggiano and hot honey ($24). The dough was thick, fluffy and just the right amount of crispy.
- Plus, the sauce had great flavor and there was the perfect amount of shaved parmesan cheese on top.
- We got the hot honey on the side, but it was also a hit.
Pro tip: Depending on how hungry you are, a pizza feeds one to two people. Between my group of four, we tried three pizzas and had a couple slices left over.
If you go: Paulie Gee's Short North, 1195 N. High St., is open 5-10pm Tuesday-Thursday, 4-10pm Friday-Saturday and 4-9pm Sunday.