We hit up Hawthorne’s New York Pizza & Bar after scoring the Groupon deal online. This wasn’t our first trip to Hawthorne’s New York Pizza & Bar but its the first time eating there for dinner instead of grabbing lunch to go. We had a special guest with us this afternoon.. his name is Charlie – the Pit Bull Puppy. His foster parents are out of town for the week so we volunteered to hang out with the little guy until they got back. Not wanting to leave the little guy at home… we took him to get some pizza with us.
Hawthorne’s New York Pizza & Bar has an outdoor dining area that allows dogs and with the unusually nice weather it made for the perfect dining experience. Capitalizing on our Groupon fortune, we decided to get a ton of food for the night. We started off with both the Garlic Cheese Bread and seven of Carlo’s Sweet Wings as our appetizer, Hawthorne’s Chicken Bacon Ranch Pizza and Gorgonzola Pasta with Chicken for the entrees, then topped off the night with the fried cheesecake for dessert.
The Carlo’s Sweet Wings we’re unexpectedly delicious. We just went to the 2011 Carolina Wing Festival a couple weeks ago and ate at over a dozen local vendors representing Charlotte area restaurants.. we can honestly say that Hawthorne’s New York Pizza & Bar Carlo’s Sweet Wings are one of the best wings we have ever eaten.
The garlic cheese bread was a step-up from what we were expecting also. Not exactly your typical papa johns cheese bread.. this stuff was delicious!
So delicious in fact.. we felt bad not sharing the cheese bread love with Charlie.
He was loving every last bite.
Ella’s gorgonzola pasta with chicken was scrumptios! The sauce was super creamy and the gorgonzola cheeses added a great kick of flavor, and it was just as good for lunch the next day.
My Chicken Bacon Ranch Pizza was really good, though not great. I would still have to recommend Fuel Pizza Cafe over Hawthorns for pizza.. though thats not to say anything bad about Hawthorns. The pizza was delicious and if you’re in the area, its an easy pick.
Charlie was enjoying Ellas dish as well.. judging from his enthusiasm we’re thinking he’s a fan of Italian food.
Despite us being full.. Charlie was still ready to finish off our plates for us :)
The fried cheesecake topped off our night but unfortunately not on a good note. It was a whopping $8 and not worth recommending. We have tried something similar at Azteca in Matthews and it was mind-blowingly addictive. Hawthorne’s fried cheesecake not so much.. the cheesecake consistency itself was just off. They definitely have the right intent and idea, but the end product needs some refinement.
We had a great time at Hawthorne’s New York Pizza & Bar and can easily recommend the place to anybody in the Elizabeth neighborhood looking to get some good Italian grub for dinner. Fresh ingredients, great food, a friendly staff and an outdoor seating area are always big wins in our book :)
