The Dessert Pizza from Bobby Jo’s and Bite This by Annie is Nostalgic Perfection
Plus, newcomer Pho Huyen is in the "best Vietnamese food" conversation.
Latest Obsession: Cherry Streusel Dessert Pizza at Bobby Jo’s
By Erin Edwards
Do you remember being introduced to dessert pizza for the first time?
Maybe, like me, this core memory took hold at a chain pizzeria—perhaps Pizza Hut or CiCi’s Pizza—when you were a kid.
My memory tells me that my first encounter with dessert pizza was in the ’80s at a Mr. Gatti’s birthday party in Nashville. It was probably the first time I saw a pizza buffet, too. I’m guessing it was Mr. Gatti’s apple crumble pizza that first wowed me, giving me the sense that anything was possible—even sweet pizza.
Fast forward to today and a much different pizza spot: Bobby Jo’s Pizzeria, founded by Hilltop native Daniel Phillips. After launching his pizzeria as a pop-up in March, Phillips’ charred New Haven-style pizzas caught on like wildfire across the city before the owner found a landing spot inside Donerick’s Pub (5225 N. High St.) in Clintonville. The Bobby Jo’s hype even garnered a visit this year by pizza kingmaker Dave Portnoy of “One Bite Pizza Reviews” and Barstool Sports fame.
Portnoy did his thing, sampling a slice of Bobby Jo’s cheese pizza—and proceeding to break his own rules by taking seven bites, not just one—before giving Bobby Jo’s a respectable-if-not-stellar rating of 7.5.
Here’s the thing: Maybe Portnoy ordered the wrong pizza.
With apologies to the kitchen’s fine cheese pizza, the best pie Bobby Jo’s is slinging right now—a 10/10, Holy Grail rating in my book—is October’s dessert pizza of the month: the cherry streusel pizza.
Bobby’s cherry streusel, a fun homage to the pizza buffets of yore, is actually a collaboration with fellow Clintonville business Bite This By Annie, the “goth” bakery owned by baker Annie Dickson. The dessert pie features Bobby’s Jo’s signature, super-crispy dough topped with a thin layer of cabernet-colored cherry goo (compote), sprinkled with golden streusel and drizzled with vanilla icing. Unlike the bit-too-floppy pizza Portnoy tried, ours was super crispy as a New Haven should be.
No notes, just perfect.
Of course you should absolutely try Bobby’s savory pizzas as well. I recommend a simple cheese “apizza” or the Cap ’N Crunch, topped with Columbus’ own Ezzo pepperoni and Black Cap hot honey. My table loved how the honey pooled inside the charred pepperoni cups.
Bobby’s also offers a Philadelphia Eagles-themed pie, the Tush Push, featuring a Philly-style cheese whiz base, shaved sirloin and onions. Nice idea, but flag on the play: This one needed something to balance out the fat.
But back to dessert pizza, a throwback piece of Americana that can be hard to find…
New Albany’s Eagles Pizza, open since 1971, has one—a cinnamon dessert pizza with swirls of vanilla icing. (Though this photo on Eagles’ website certainly doesn’t do it any favors.)
CiCi’s last Central Ohio locations shut down in 2014, but there are still two storefronts in the Cincinnati area. Maybe they still offer CiCi’s iconic Bavarian dessert pizza?
Or you could just head to Donerick’s Pub off High Street, order a Miller Light and sit down to a slice of nostalgia.
Have a favorite dessert pizza from your childhood? Let us know in the comments.
New Find
Pho Huyen Brings “Big” Vietnamese Flavors to Morse Road
By Bethia Woolf
There’s new competition for the title of best Vietnamese restaurant in Columbus. The Morse Road restaurant formerly known as Pho Le is now under new management and boasting a new name, Pho Huyen. Based on our first visit, this fresh rendition is well worth your attention.
We visited the renamed eatery with our Vietnamese friend Kim Chi Dao, who gave the restaurant a resounding thumbs-up and her highest praise: “They didn’t Midwesternize the flavors.”
Pho Huyen’s menu includes all the Vietnamese favorites you’d expect: phở, bánh mì sandwiches, vermicelli rice bowls, spring rolls, chả giò and rice platters. It also features some harder-to-find dishes such as red rice noodle soup and fermented fish noodle soup, offered as weekend specials.
During our visit last weekend, specials included cháo lòng (a hearty congee packed with blood sausage and organ meats), bánh cuốn and bánh ướt (rice crepes with pork), and bún riêu (a tomato, pork and seafood-based soup with crab and pork balls, tofu and sausage).
One of our favorite Vietnamese dishes is bún bò Huế, which we previously wrote about (with Kim’s expertise). Pho Huyen’s version impressed her deeply. “They brought big flavors,” she said.
Pho Huyen is a family-run restaurant led by Julie Nguyen and her mother, Jenny. Julie efficiently manages the front-of-house, while her mother commands the kitchen. “My mother just loves to cook,” Julie told me.
That passion shows in the restaurant’s attention to detail, from the plates piled with fresh herbs—including rau răm (Vietnamese cilantro) and diếp cá (fish mint), which are more uncommon selections than the typical Thai basil and cilantro—to the beautiful char found on the chả giò and on the housemade dồi huyết (blood sausage) in the cháo lòng. Also of note are the restaurant’s addictive homemade hot sauces, which are available for purchase to take home.
While we made a solid dent in the menu, we didn’t have room left to try the pho. Given how excellent everything else was, that’s reason enough to return as soon as possible.
Find It:
Pho Huyen
1623 Morse Road, Northland
Hours: 11 a.m.-8 p.m. Sun.-Mon., Wed.-Thurs; 11 a.m.-8:30 p.m. Fri.-Sat.
Follow the restaurant’s social media for updates on specials.
Looking forward to trying the bún bò huê at phở huyên! looks like the real thing!