Daniel B.
Yelp
This Emmy Squared Pizza location in Plaza Midwood in Charlotte was my first time at any Emmy Squared Pizza location. My wife and I loved it. In fact, I'm pretty sure everyone at our table of eight enjoyed it. I hadn't heard of this chain until we visited and I left very impressed. The pizza here was outstanding. Emmy Squared specializes in Detroit-style or a hybrid Detroit-New York-style pizza: square/rectangular-cut and deep-dish.
The first Emmy Squared opened in Brooklyn in 2016. Now, there are several locations up and down the East Coast. They include two in Atlanta, two in Charlotte, and one in Durham. This Plaza Midwood location opened in September 2021. The second location in Charlotte opened in South End in November 2021: https://bit.ly/3uYK8UD.
Our party of eight visited this location on a Saturday around 7:30pm. We were bar-hopping in the neighborhood and checked in with the restaurant in-person around 6:45-7:00pm or so. At that time, we were told the wait was going to be about an hour. We waited across the street at The Workman's Friend gastropub (https://bit.ly/3rX2aVf) for our table to open up.
Our large group, in multiple cars, ended up parking in a couple different spots, both free: (1) the Thomas Avenue Public Lot on Thomas Ave, just south of Central Ave and (2) on Thomas Ave (street parking), just north of Central Ave and just up the block from The Workman's Friend.
In Plaza Midwood, Emmy Squared has a new, modern, and beautiful space separated into two rooms: the main dining room in front and the bar/lounge room in the back. It's a good-looking restaurant with a casual vibe. During our visit, we were one of two birthday party groups. Most, if not all, tables were taken for the duration of our stay, from about 7:30pm to 9:30pm. This place is popular and for good reason. Not only was the food great, but service from our server, Kristen K, was excellent as well.
Here's what we got:
Plates:
* Cheesy Garlic Sticks ($10.70) - parsley pesto, spicy tomato sauce
* Eggplant Parm Skillet ($16.50) - Japanese eggplant, burrata, sauce, mozzarella, Calabrian chilies, basil
* Roasted Cauliflower ($12.00) - turmeric cauliflower, chili flakes, raisins, toasted pine nuts, lemon
* Crispy Chicken Crunchers ($13.00) - Sriracha crystal glaze, cilantro, ranch
* Waffle Fries ($7.00)
Pizza - Reds (topped with sauce + mozzarella):
* Deluxe ($18.50) - sausage, peppers, and mushrooms
* Big Al ($25.00) with mushrooms (+$2.00) and pepperoni (+$3.00) - burrata, basil, sausage, and Calabrian chilies
Pizza - Whites (topped with mozzarella):
* Le Burger Pie ($22.00) - grass-fed beef, American cheese, "Sammy Sauce," greens, and pickles
* The Timothy ($19.00) - chicken, Korean wing sauce, scallions, buttermilk blue, and radishes
* Bad Paulie ($21.00) - caramelized onions, sausage, smoked Gouda, Calabrian chilies, and banana peppers
* Make It Your Own ($14.00) with bacon (+$3.00), extra mozzarella (+$2.00), pepperoni (+$3.00), and sausage (+$3.00)
Dessert:
* Family-Style Chocolate Pudding ($10.00) - orders made for a minimum of 2 people
Seasonal Cocktails:
* Mare of Easton ($13.00) - Aperol, Chinola passion fruit, orange, pomegranate, Q Club Soda, sparkling wine, and rosemary
Red Wine:
* Montepulciano, Masciarelli, Abruzzo, Italy ($40.00 bottle)
* Substance Elemental Cabernet Sauvignon, Washington state ($60.00 bottle)
* Red Blend, Rabble, Paso Robles, California ($50.00 bottle)
Other Drinks / Non-Alcoholic:
* Titos ($11.00)
* Ginger Beer ($3.00)
* Diet Coke ($3.00)
In general, all of the food and drink were wonderful. The pizzas were the standouts, as they should be. All of Emmy Squared's pizzas are made with King Arthur Baking Company organic flour. What does that mean? I don't know. What I do know is the crust on these pizzas was consistently delicious. It had perfect flavor and consistency/chew -- just the right amount of crispiness on the outside and ideally warm, soft, and springy on the inside. Truly delectable. My favorite pizzas were the Big Al (red) and the Bad Paulie (white). There was also a Good Paulie on the menu. The Good Paulie was the same as the Bad Paulie except it didn't come with Calabrian chilies and banana peppers.
The peppers did indeed bring the heat to all of the dishes they were in, so if you like spicy food, you should be satisfied with the spice level here. The spice was noticeable in the Eggplant Parm. If you're a fan of Eggplant Parm, I highly recommend trying Emmy Squared's version. It's unique in that it's served in a skillet and fried on the sides for a distinctly crisp texture on the outside. Overall, I thought all of the ingredients were good quality and all of the dishes were well-executed. The only ordinary dish was the Waffle Fries. They were pretty standard, similar to the ones you'd get at Chick-fil-A.
One "downside" to Emmy Squared is I found the food to be generally greasy/oily and heavy. However, this is a pizza joint after all, so it's par for the course there.