Date Night at Blue Line Pizza

Saturday, my husband and I had the rare privilege of babysitting available to us so we decided to head downtown and check out one of the new restaurants at the "slow" end of downtown. It was a hot and casual kind of day, so we opted for pizza over the alluring, yet formal, white tablecloths of Naschmarkt.

was the perfect spot. We arrived early - and I'm glad we did. The place was full, both inside and outside on the sidewalk patio, by 6:00 p.m. What we didn't realize was just how family-friendly it was going to be. Every other table was a family with young kids, each happily entertained during the long wait for the deep-dish Chicago-style pizzas (25-30 minutes) with a personal miniature Etch-A-Sketch. 

The decor is edgy and modern - I especially loved the giant abstract canvases showcased on every wall. If you're there for their signature deep-dish pizza, plan to wait a while, but those who ordered thin crust, we observed, were served promptly. Reviews on Yelp! claimed the noise-level inside was annoying - we didn't find it so at all, despite the packed tables. 

What's a deep-dish pizza? That was my first thought - and no, Pizza Hut doesn't count. Real Chicago-style deep-dish involves a thick, crunchy, not at all chewy crust, filled with goodness - we selected the Meatball Deep Dish: spicy house made meatballs, ricotta, spinach, mushrooms, and red bell peppers. It arrived in less than 30 minutes; a chunky, flavorful tomato sauce piled on top off the filings, and lots of stringy, beautiful mozzarella on the inside. In a word: yummy. Downright yummy. When asked, our server said she liked the White Pie Thin Crust the best: garlic infused olive oil base, roasted zucchini, fresh tomatoes, feta.

I couldn't resist the desserts and took an order of Brownie Wedges home for later: house-made brownies made fair-trade chocolate, topped with salted caramel sauce and nuts. It was good - not stellar - but solid. 

Blue Line Pizza is rapidly expanding throughout the Bay Area, due to the popularity of the flagship store, Little Star Pizza in San Francisco, since opening in 2004.

If you haven't made a point to stop by, you should. Not to mention, they have their very own parking lot - accessible only from Campbell Avenue, but handy during those busy downtown Campbell evenings. 

Adelle Gabrielson: writer, boy-mom, shoe addict. Read more at www.AdelleGabrielson.com or follow me on Twitter or Pinterest.