Red Front: Best Pizza in Capital Region (says Mr. Husband)

We are always and eternally on the hunt for the best pizza ever. Mr. Husband eats like a five-year-old, so with that comes an insatiable love of all things pizza. He stumbled upon Red Front Restaurant in downtown Troy, home of the Cob Pizza. A cob pizza has the sauce on top.

We did not order the cob (as my five-year-old-eating husband was afraid being that it is new and foreign to him), but we did order what we believe to be the best pizza we've had yet ever. The pizza was sweet and the topings seemed to be so fresh and chopped into pizza-topping-specialty sizes that they added additional delight to the palette. We got the works and added lots of meats. Mr. Husband rules when it comes to pizza ordering. We used to fight about it as I like mushrooms and olives, but we don't anymore. I sat down. I sit down. I let him have what he wants. He is a simple man, and pizza is one of his things.

Red Front is an old spot, and it is so friendly as to be like walking into a warm hug. There are TVs for sports fans and a lovely lineup of draft beers. I had the Brooklyn Summer Lager. The pint glass was sexy, and that always makes the beer just a little bit more fun.

We sat at a high table in the front of the bar. The front door of Red Front was open, inviting folks in off the street. There are two other dining rooms--the place is made to meet the public's need. With pizza this good, they probably fill the place on Friday nights.

As a bonus, the bathrooms are clean and smell terrific (every time I use the word "terrific," I hear the commercial from the 70s about the shampoo named "Gee, Your Hair Smells Terrific." Thank you, 1970's.) For a place that seems like it's old--the building seems old but is fresher than you expect-the bathroom was a nice surprise. See, I do not rate an eating experience on the food alone. The bathroom must also reflect a clean environment. You can tell a lot about a person and an establishment by the bathroom. I totally live by that rule.

And the restaurant has this funny little pizza-making guy on the red front and sides. I trust this funny little pizza-making guy and he didn't let me down.

The menu is extensive and not only pizza because while they are famous for the cob pizza, this is an Italian restaurant. But we went for the pizza, and it was inexpensive. We ordered six slices of "the works" for $13.50. We also ordered garlic-cheese bread, which also totally delivered on taste but was the most messy garlic-cheese bread ever to eat. So what. It was The Yum.

Mr. Husband was happy. Izzy was happy. The beer was draft (could have been a tad bit colder), and the bill was not overwhelming at all. We loved this place. Mr. Husband wouldn't shut up about his declarations about "best pizza ever." And I know he was being truthy, because he said, "I'd even pick this up on the way home from work." Shut up! That's damn fine pizza because Mr. Husband is thinking and planning for dinner without being prompted. I hear angels singing.

This is another hidden gem. This spot has never come up in search results for "best pizza" or whatever Boolean phrase for food we have slammed into a search engine. Today, we got lucky. And we were rewarded with such a fine pizza surprise.

After dinner, we took a walk, or "urban hike" as my buddy Bhavesh used to call it, through downtown Troy. We stumbled upon something fantastic (coming up next!), and Izzy skipped and danced down the tree-lined sidewalks. This area is such a great example of "revitalization." Every time we venture over the Hudson to Troy, NY, we are surprised and pleased. We find something new. There is always something new hidden in this old, little town.