Hard Knox Pizzeria
Monte Cristo Flatbread – Prosciutto, Smoked Mozzarella, Cheddar, Powdered Sugar, Strawberry Jam
Marciano – Red Sauce, Fresh Mozzarella, Extra Virgin olive Oil, Basil
Sweet Pea – Smoked Mozzarella, Prosciutto, Blue Cheese, Clover Honey, Olive Oil
Smores – Nutella, Mini Marshmallows, Crushed Graham Crackers
Key Lime Cannoli
A drive from Asheville back to Knoxville (and then back to Asheville) to gather up the family would lead us to East Tennessee’s Hard Knox Pizzeria, a pizzeria whose combination of a hickory fired stone oven, well-aged doughs, and unique toppings had many claiming it the best pizza in the city if not the entire state. A small space located in a rather non-descript strip mall with an order-up-front and find a seat approach to service it would not take long after perusing the menu to decide on four small pies with four slices each and watching the team construct each item by hand before a quick trip to the 750 degree oven it would be no more than fifteen minutes before the selections arrived. Obviously wishing to experience the most pure of options and thus starting with the Margherita-esque Marciano I was admittedly impressed by the toothsome spring of the crust, though a bit more char would have been nice, and with excellent tomato sauce plus ample cheese the slight tang from the fermentation came through nicely on the finish. Moving right along to a folded pizza thus termed a ‘flatbread’ sandwich alongside the ‘sweet pea’ a few members of the party found the thick-cut prosciutto to be a bit too salty but from my standpoint, particularly when balanced against honey or strawberry jam and the truly impressive smoked cheese I thought both selections were the standouts of the afternoon. Clearly focused more on the sweet side of Hard Knox than the savory our meal would finish with a dessert pizza and a tangy key lime canolli filled a la minute and topped with crumbled graham crackers – the former particularly benefitting from a bit of extra time in the oven to truly burn the marshmallows while the later was an innovative twist on a classic.
