Restaurant Spotlight: Everybody's Pizza

Years ago and before having children, Lauren and I lived in an in-town neighborhood of Atlanta called Virginia-Highland and we soon became regulars at an awesome eatery called Everybody's Pizza. Virginia-Highland is recognized far outside Atlanta as a chic center of urban coolness and Everybody's Pizza was one of the institutions at the center of the neighborhood that defined the whole area because (as implied by the name) you could find "all types" in there at any given time. We make it a point to visit Everybody's whenever in Atlanta out of nostalgia, but most definitely because they have incredible pizza.

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Our two favorites are the "Paradiso" pizza and the "Thai Chicken" pizza crisp. The Paradiso is made with chicken, pesto, 4 cheeses, roma tomatoes, onion, house roasted chicken and toasted sesame seeds. The ingredients are nicely balanced so it has a flavorful delivery in every bite, and by toasting the sesame seeds they intensify the sesame flavor in a way that really adds to the mix. The picture to the left shows a pizza that is half "Paradiso" and half "Everybody's" (with pepperoni). We ordered that split to appease a skeptical child, who enjoyed the pepperoni and also wholeheartedly agreed that the "Paradiso" is an outstanding pizza.

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The "Thai Chicken" pizza crisp has a satay-like "Thai peanut sauce" where on a traditional pizza you might have a tomato-based sauce. There's chicken, peanuts and fire-roasted garlic and red peppers where you might find sausage or pepperoni on a traditional pizza. It does include cheese as well, and they finish it off with a sprinking of bean sprouts that make a cool, crisp counter-point to the spice in the sauce. It all rests on a very thin, crispy crust and the overall effect is light and quite delicious. The Thai Chicken Pizza Crisp also received the skeptical child seal of approval, so I present it here as something worth traveling to Atlanta for.

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Another favorite of ours at Everybody's is the Greek Salad. It has a nice vinaigrette, plenty of feta cheese crumbles with kalamata olives and is definitely big enough to share. As if the pizza and salad were not reason enough to visit Everybody's, they also serve Foster's Lager on tap. Great food and great beer - enough said, as far as I am concerned.

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In a sense, this post is as much about nostalgia as it is about sharing a great food find because since our last visit, I've come to find that Everybody's has closed their Virginia-Highland location and now can only be found nearby at Emory University's Emory Village (the original location). I am grateful Everybody's continues on, but I'm saddened because I associated Everybody's with all that was unique and appealing about Virginia-Highland.

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When we lived there, our house was just a short stroll away from Everybody's, and we were only the second owners of the house. Being young and motivated, we tackled the renovation of our 1939 bungalow in such a way that we did not have a fully functioning kitchen for almost two years. As a result, it's no understatement to say we were "regulars" at Everybody's and other places nearby. When not in Home Depot, we'd be around the corner at Callanwolde Fine Arts Center in the pottery studio. We'd often show up ravenous at Everybody's in studio clothes and covered in clay, but never feeling out of place because we'd also see other people dressed similary (the neighborhood is known as an enclave for artists and writers).

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On our last visit with the kids, I came to realize in retrospect that we were part of the "local color" that makes the area so appealing. The kids were not impressed, but I can only hope that at some point they have the opportunity to become part of the "local color" somewhere. I think "local color" is what makes memories more vivid and life more interesting.