Quattro Pizzeria and Wine Bar

When Quattro Cucino Italiana first opened in September 2009 downtown Birmingham near the Palladium 12 theater on Hamilton Row, it meant to be a "high-end Italian place in Birmingham, aim[ing] to create the feeling of old-fashioned service;" however, Birmingham didn't need another upscale and expensive restaurant.  I probably could have told them this, but with the economy in questionable spirits, it just makes sense to play it safe.  Then again, this is Birmingham, where a decent amount of the population including us dines out (although for us, it's typically on the weekends).

Anyway, after quickly figuring out that the folks weren't tearing down their doors, the owners, who own another Birmingham restaurant we avoid (mostly because we're not big on pan-Asian chain restaurants), Chen Chow, decided to reinvent their restaurant to what is now Quattro Pizzeria and Wine Bar.  Clever, very clever. They now offer more casual dining with affordable drink prices in an attempt to attract more regular customers for lunch and dinner.  

That brings us to today when Julie offered awhile back to meet me for dinner in Birmingham.  Since Scottie and I never made it around to this spot for its first opening as an upscale restaurant, I decided to check out the latest creation with Julie.  From the moment I walked in, I could see that they didn't necessarily reinvent their dining area, but mostly their menu.  It was an odd combination of upscale dining atmosphere with everyday traditional Italian offerings.  At one point, I'm wiping my mouth with a crisp white napkin while looking down at my jeans and flip-flop combination (not to mention I was probably perspiring quite a bit coming off a 3-mile run to meet Julie somewhat on time.  Sorry, Julie!).  


Onto the food I go.  Browsing through the menu, I didn't want to go heavy on the pasta side which is a rarity for me, but since they transformed their menu, the section that jumped out to me were the Neapolitan Pizza selections.  Birmingham does have another decent pizza joint in town over at Brooklyn's Pizza; however, their specialty is wood-fired pizzas.  And let's just be honest, these pizzas reminded me of Des and her passion for Neapolitan.  I ended up going pretty boring with the Chicken Pizza that included tomatoes and fresh herbs.  While the crust was actually warm, fluffy, and savory, the actual toppings could have been more creative (I suppose that's my bad on the ordering!).  

While I wouldn't run out tomorrow to sample at this restaurant, it does have a lot to offer: simple menu, tasty pizza, relatively quick service, and located next to the movie theater downtown for convenient access.  I'm sure over the next few months, they'll figure out the menu items that work and don't work for this town as well.