It is always nice to be surprised by a great lunch! I love to eat and it seems that lately my favorite meal of the day is lunch. Not sure why, it hasn’t always been that way, but I tend to get a little excited when noon rolls around. Fortunately, I came across a great place to eat in North Scottsdale that can satisfy and delight for lunch, and dinner too if you’re interested? Located in the upscale shopping center of La Mirada at Pinnacle Peak Road and Pima, is Lamp Wood Oven Pizzeria (8900 E. Pinnacle Peak Road).
Immediately when you walk in the door you get an upscale vibe and your eyes are drawn to the red tiled lamp oven that seems to be the centerpiece of the restaurant (for good reason!). My husband and I showed up around noon and we’re immediately greeted and then allowed to pick any table we wished for seating. The lunch crowd was steady, but not slammed so luckily we got a good table in full view of the whole place. We immediately began pouring over the menu and decided on the Grapes and Gorgonzola Salad ($10) that includes mixed greens, red grapes, Gorgonzola, pine nuts, fresh basil with balsamic vinaigrette, and small drizzle of honey all served with Lamps’ homemade artisan bread. The salad and bread were amazing and large enough to easily split between my husband and me. I have heard the antipasto salad and white bean salad along with all the others on the menu are delicious so we will be sure to come back and order those!
Onto the pizza…We decided to share one of Lamp’s 12-inch specialty pizzas that are fired at extremely high temperatures, until slightly charred, in the red tiled wood oven. Deciding which pizza to order proved to be difficult because there are 17 varieties of Red or White Pizzas to choose from, but we finally decided on splitting the Kicker. The Kicker ($16) is a red pizza and consists of spicy Calabrian Peppers, hot Calabrese Salami, and is absolutely amazing. The mix of charred chewy crust with the kick of the peppers and the savory deliciousness of the sausage all come together for one fantastic pizza! There was plenty of pizza for the two of us and we even had a slice left that we hated to waste, but both of us were completely stuffed.
Lamp has so many pizzas you are sure to find one or more that make your mouth water. My goal is to try each pizza on the menu and then to dive into some of the desserts too. I mean with toasted marshmallow milkshakes, nutella milkshakes, and caramelized banana and nutella pizza on the menu; who could resist?
