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| It's hard to go wrong with any pizza selection at Mellow Mushroom, but the Kosmic Karma, topped with swirls of fresh pesto, is particularly good. |
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Pizza is a very personal thing. For me, it's all about the sauce. I find the sweet tomato sauces, popular at many large pizza chains, an immediate turnoff. Thick, rich homemade marinaras, flavored with just a bit of oregano and basil, generously smeared across a canvas of toasty homemade crust is what says "pizza" to me. Since the opening of it's first location here several years ago, Mellow Mushroom has answered my call.
Mellow Mushroom is a pizzeria chain unlike any other. The first Mellow Mushroom was born and flourished in midtown Atlanta during the early '70s. Opened by two Georgia Tech roommates who had been working in the pizza business, that first "hole-in-the-wall" restaurant built a reputation. Soon, the little neighborhood place grew into several places and eventually the pizzeria's popularity attracted perspective franchisees.
That's exactly what happened to Tom Lockhart and his wife, Dawn, a former Queen City girl. After enjoying the pizza at the Atlanta-based chain, all they could think was, "Boy, would this ever fly in Charlotte." With the support of their family, they had the good taste and sense to follow their instincts and bring the restaurant back home. The couple now owns the rights for the Charlotte-Mecklenburg area.
At Mellow Mushroom, the marinara sauce is about as perfect has any tomato ever hoped for. That said, though, it is the crust which truly sets a Mellow Mushroom pizza heads and tails above any other in town. Made with spring water and dusted with a bit of Parmesan, the homemade bread dough is freshly baked to order and yields a crust that's crunchy outside, yet inside is soft with a bit if a bite.
Great sauce, superior crust...how can you go wrong? Well, you really can't. Order in or take out pizzas with your choice of toppings or try calzones with your choice of fillings.
While we each have our own favorite pizza topping combinations, take the plunge and try some of the specialty pizzas, too. The Gourmet White is the winner on the list - interesting coming from a red sauce lover, but the olive oil sauce, which sinks into the crust, is surprisingly not greasy, just full of great flavor. Topped with a bits of minced garlic, sundried tomatoes, provolone, mozzarella, feta, fresh sliced tomatoes, onions and finally sprinkled with Parmesan, this pizza pie melts in your mouth slice after slice.
As far as pizzas go, I also love the Mega-Veggie, topped with a dozen fresh vegetable toppings, and the Kosmic Karma, layered with sun-dried tomatoes, spinach, feta and fresh tomatoes, all topped with flavorfilled swirls of pesto.
My least favorite pizza is probably the House Special but not because it wasn't done well - just too much meat for me. The combination of pepperoni, zesty sausage, ground beef, onions, green peppers, mushrooms, black olives, tomatoes, extra cheese, bacon and ham was more than I could handle, but for mega meat lovers, I'm told it's like a slice of heaven.
If you're not in the mood for pizza as such, you might want to try a calzone instead. Here, the same wonderful dough used for pizza crust is transformed into a wrap sealed around your favorite toppings like a turnover. Once baked, the hot and toasty calzone is dusted with fresh-grated Parmesan cheese. Sauce is provided on the side for dipping, but ask for extra - you'll be glad you did. These inside-out pizzas are huge - enough to share or save leftovers for a second meal. The menu also includes a variety of fresh-made salads - chef, Greek, Caesar, and spinach - served with an Esperanza dressing on the side. The salads are served in generous portions, but I found the thick, creamy dressing to be overseasoned, masking the flavor of the fresh vegetables. I preferred the balsamic vinaigrette, which comes with the salad of mixed field greens.
Different designs It isn't the food alone that will make your experience at any one of the four - soon to be five - Charlotte locations fun and exciting. The interiors, which differ at each location, are a piece of work as well. At the corporate level, Mellow Mushroom's creative team works with Dark Horse Entertainment of Florida for an imaginative bend on accoutrements. At the East Boulevard location, for example, there is a giant mushroom or toadstool, at the hostess station, making you feel you've joined Alice in Wonderland. At the Cotswold location, there's a piano bar. Actually, the bar is painted to look like the keys of a piano, and vibrant colors cover the dining room and outdoor patio.
Perhaps the most artistic of all the Charlotte Mellow Mushrooms is scheduled to open early this summer in NoDa at the corner of 36th and Davidson streets. Once a private residence and later a boarding house, the original Victorian home has been transformed into a Mellow Mushroom unlike any other. First, the Lockharts added the kitchen and indoor and outdoor patios. Then, just for fun, they broke through the ceilings of the first floor to give dining patrons a glimpse of the rooms on the second floor. Each room is "furnished" as it would be in an old Victorian home, except the furniture is hanging upside down from the ceilings. "This store will be our Charlotte showcase, said Dawn. "It's such an artsy neighborhood - we had to have some fun and do something different to fit in." Artwork for the walls and remaining ceilings includes copies of the classics - look for a Dali-esk menu, the Mona Lisa and the Sistine Chapel's ceiling, just to name a few. This location also sports a private party room, and like all the other Mellow Mushrooms, a plethora of beers on tap.
If you were looking for a beer-drinking song to sing at Mellow Mushroom, it might well be "99 Bottles of Beer on the Wall." The bottled beer list at all locations varies slightly but generally sports some 108 different beers, lager and ales.
If wine with pizza makes a better pairing for your palate, there is a decent list of 20-something different, well-priced selections, from Alsatian wines to Zinfandels and everything in between, offered both by the glass and by the bottle.
 | Mellow Mushroom's signature NoDa location is scheduled to open early this summer. There's a topsy-turvy feeling to the artsy, eclectic interiors where furniture hangs upside down from the ceiling. |
Well-known Charlotte restaurant critic, food writer, cooking instructor and connoisseur of food and wine, Heidi Edidin writes "South Charlotte Weekly: Culinary Corner," a restaurant review or food feature that appears weekly. Contact Heidi with questions and restaurant, food or story ideas by email at heidi@southcharlotteweekly.com. SCW photos by Sean Busher.This article first appeared in "South Charlotte Weekly" on May 30, 2003. "South Charlotte Weekly" is a free, locally owned, independent newspaper that's "About the Community, For the Community," available every Thursday in South Charlotte and Uptown. Copyright 2003 by South Charlotte Weekly and WSOCTV.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
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Excellent, a must try.
Average, but nothing spectacular.
Just okay.
Poor, not recommended.
