Slice Sundays: Borgata Pizza Cafe
SLICE SUNDAYS – INTRO
Welcome to my new limited blog series—Slice Sundays! I’m excited to share that I’m partnering with the folks who put on the annual pizza event, Slice of Columbus, to feature a few of the pizza shops who will be slinging pies in the Columbus Commons again on September 12th.
Never heard of Slice of Columbus, or want to know more?
The #1 thing you need to know is that proceeds from the event will benefit The Research Institute at Nationwide Children’s Hospital. All pizza shops donate the pizzas served during the evening, so the cost of your ticket is going straight to a good cause.
The #2 thing you need to know is that this isn’t a “pay to enter, then pay more for the food you’re going to eat”. Nope, none of that. If you order a base level adult ticket ($15), that means you are granted access to the event and from there, you get UNLIMITED ZA. The shops cut their slices, you walk up to the table, smile and say thank you, and repeat. You can have as many as you want until the evening is over. Trust me, wear your stretchy pants! There are also Pepsi product tickets available for purchase ($1/drink) as well as beer and wine ($5/drink).
For more information, HERE is a link to their website where you can read about more details, buy tickets (there are different packages!) For pictures and a recap of last year’s event, HERE is a link to my post! It was a soggy night, but those who stayed to the end were in for a treat because we got to watch Nationwide Children’s “Miracle Child”, Sal LoParo, announce the winners. So fun!
THE FIRST SHOP: BORGATA PIZZA CAFÉ
Let’s get to the first shop!
Borgata Pizza Café has two locations in Columbus—one on the Northwest corner of Worthington (2285 W Dublin-Granville Rd) and the other on the northeast corner of Worthington (5701 Parkville St). I met up with Ed Bisconti, owner of Borgata, to get the details on his hand-thrown, fresh baked pizza!
Every New York Style pizza is hand tossed, covered in toppings, and cooked in the oven for four minutes.
Yep, only four minutes!
Any pizzas that have veggies on top (peep the Mediterranean Roasted Vegetable Pizza.. holy cow) are roasted before-hand. The Mediterranean is topped with roasted eggplant, zucchini, caramelized onions, roasted garlic, and roasted red peppers with spinach. I wouldn’t normally call myself a veg-pizza gal, but I might be changed for good!
It didn’t take much conversation for me to realize how important to Ed the quality of the ingredients used in Borgata’s menu offerings are. He works closely with each of his vendors to order not only a high quality ingredient, but one that is specific to exactly what he wants for the shop.
Example A: All pepperoni used at Borgata comes from the local sausage company, Ezzo. Ed thought that the pepperoni on his pizzas needed a little extra kick, so he worked with Ezzo to create a slightly spicier version of their pepperoni—and it was a hit!
A few other examples—the Italian sweet buns used for the sandwiches on the menu are straight from a bakery in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The hand pulled garlic sausage that tops the pizzas is from Chicago baguettes are from Connecticut, and the ricotta cakes are made right in their shop.
If you’re feeling a little hungry, but can’t take a 12” (their smallest size pie) all on your own—I’ve got good news. Borgata offers cheese or pepperoni pizza by the slice all night long. During my time visiting the pizza shop, I noticed that about half of the guests that were dining in the restaurant weren’t eating pizza. The menu boasts a handful of well-thought-out, handmade Italian dishes other than pizza. And when I say dishes, I should say feasts.
“We don’t believe in small portion sizes here.”
I’d say not. Each pasta serving (hello the gnocchi looked amazinggg) weighs in at a whopping one pound. Chicken Parm? You guessed it. You’ll get a one pound serving of chicken too.
A few other menu items that caught my eye were the spicy sausage stuffed peppers (cubanelle peppers stuffed with housemade sausage and topped with marinara sauce and mozz cheese – pictured below!) chicken wings (1 pound of wings made by Ed’s secret process. Nope, these wings aren’t fried. But he claims they’re nothing short of amazing).
After feasting on a special pizza made just for us (we got to try the classic pepperoni, four cheese, pesto chicken, AND the Mediterranean vegetable), Ed came waltzing out of the kitchen with a plate in his hand.
“You guys can’t leave before you try this.”
More??
THE CANNOLI.
He set the plate down on the table, and I’ll have to admit—it was the biggest cannoli I’ve seen in my life. I’m proud to say that I didn’t immediately respond with “Holy Cannoli!” because that’s just something I would do.
When ordering a cannoli at the restaurant, you can choose between chocolate chip (featured on the right), pistachio (featured on the left), or buckeye. He let us try a little of both and I couldn’t pick a favorite!
The ricotta filling is made completely in-house and it tastes totally fresh. If you have any room left in your dessert stomach after putting away a Borgata pizza, I totally recommend.
Last but not least, a current feature at the restaurant this summer is called the “Spumoni Bomba”. The dessert is made with pistachio, strawberry, and chocolate gelato and then is coated with melted milk chocolate. A picture is worth a thousand words, so here you go..
Drool.
BORGATA PIZZA CAFÉ AND NATIONWIDE CHILDREN’S HOSPITAL
Unfortunately, Nationwide Children’s Hospital isn’t foreign territory to Borgata Pizza Café’s owner, Ed Bisconti.
When asked why he chose to participate in Slice of Columbus in the past and again this year, his answer was certain.
“Nationwide Children’s Hospital was there for my granddaughter when she needed them the most, and the least I can do is give back by donating pizzas for Slice of Columbus.”
Hours after she was born, Ed’s granddaughter was rushed to Nationwide Children’s Hospital and was later diagnosed with Cystic Fibrosis. Cystic Fibrosis is typically a life-threatening disease when identified within in children, and for his granddaughter, at one point it was. Ed was able to leave Borgata Pizza Café every single day and visit her while she was admitted. He mentioned that the staff was always extremely accommodating—offering to bring him meals from the cafeteria hours after it closed, and he joked that he STILL has parking passes stashed away in his car from when the parking lot attendants offered him a place to park his car while inside the hospital, and that was three years ago!
After a far-too-long stay at Nationwide Children’s, Ed’s granddaughter was released a happier and healthier girl with a treatment plan in place. The hospital bill? They said don’t worry about it.
“And that is why I’m happy to do my part to help fundraise for Nationwide Children’s Hospital. They made us comfortable during a hard time and I have a healthy granddaughter. That’s all I could’ve asked.”
Ed’s granddaughter is now three years old and LOVES helping out her grandpa in the pizza kitchen. She knows how to toss her own pizza crust and her favorite pie is one covered in mushrooms. In fact, when opening their most recent store (Parkville Road), he had her footprints sealed into the flooring right beside the front door. When you visit, look for them!
Thank you, Borgata Pizza Café, for being a part of one of the best events of the year!
