Dinner Done Right

A Little Pizza Heaven is a little-known gem

Randy Shemanski

For anyone who travels on Boulevard Avenue in Scranton on a somewhat regular basis, you probably noticed the pizzeria on the right about two blocks before you reach the light at Market Street.

I've known about it since living in the neighborhood a few years ago, but back then it was under another name. Re-opened in October of 2006 as A Little Pizza Heaven, one might pass by and think it's just another pizzeria with a clever name. But if you never set foot inside for a meal, you would be sadly mistaken.

We made a recent stop for dinner and immediately felt comfortable in the cozy interior which has seating for approximately 25 to 30. The friendly staff was helpful with menu suggestions as well as continually checking on us to see if we needed anything.

After we were handed the four-page menu and started looking through the choices, we had a tough time deciding what to order. It's hard to justify going to a pizzeria and not ordering a pizza, but looking through the pasta dinner choices, as well as assorted calzones and strombolis, we realized pizza was probably out of the question.

A full-page of appetizers, salads and soups meant there was no way we could avoid the temptation to order an app. Dinner choices included close to 20 pasta dishes with various meat or fish choices, including chicken, meatballs, shrimp and tuna. The sandwich list included classics like a cheesesteak, buffalo chicken hero and the always popular parmigiana hero with choice of chicken, meatball, sausage or eggplant.

After a little help from our waiter, we were read to order. We decided to start with an order of fried cheese ravioli sprinkled with freshly grated pecorino cheese with homemade marinara sauce ($5.50).

For entrees, we went with the Chicken Napoli - sauteed boneless chicken breast topped with prosciutto and mozzarella in a blush cream sauce ($12.95); and a "Your Way" calzone with pepperoni and mushrooms ($7.95).

The ravioli and the salad that came with the Chicken Napoli arrived in a few minutes. The salad wasn't your basic house salad; it included tasty cherry tomatoes, large croutons (our favorite), onions, olives and a heaping pile of lettuce. The salad and ravioli alone could've been enough for those with a smaller appetite, but those people would be missing out by not ordering a dinner.

After polishing off the ravioli, our entrees were out moments later. The calzone was nearly the size of home plate on a baseball field, forcing us to make sure Goose Gossage wasn't still around to start whistling fastballs over our plate.

The blend of cheeses oozed out as we sliced the calzone in half, knowing immediately one half would serve as the next day's lunch. Just the right amount of pepperoni and mushrooms made for perfect mix of taste in each bite, no ingredient overpowering the others.

The Chicken Napoli came over a bed of linguine with the chicken and prosciutto covered in so much mozzarella we had to check to make sure the prosciutto was there. The cream sauce on the linguine was delicious to the point that we neglected the chicken for a few minutes. When we did get to the chicken, the strips tore apart with ease, rendering our knife useless.

Barely halfway through each entree, we were ready to ask for takeout containers - not because we didn't want any more, but because we were absolutely stuffed. We passed on dessert, although the temptation to try to squeeze in a cannoli was tough to resist.

We should point out that at first glance, the menu seems a bit pricey for a pizzeria with pasta dinner selections as high as $14.50 and specialty pizza choices close to $20. But, in a day and age when prices are climbing and portions are shrinking, A Little Pizza Heaven gives you more bang for your buck than many places. Our dinners turned into two meals thanks to the leftovers.

Now if lunchtime would just come so we can enjoy those leftovers.