Tuesday, July 1, 2008

Luna Bella Ristorante: Pizza and More in Columbia

Pizza was one of my first staples when I was learning to cook. Make or buy a dough, then extemporize. But pizza is still a go-to dinner when I just can't be in the kitchen.

Luna Bella Ristorante has become my friendly place. It's a real restaurant with tablecloths and a full menu, but I go for the pies, either one of their special pizzas or a "build your own." The crusts are thin, maybe a tad too thin for heavy toppings. But the toppings are a step better than other joints. Cheese with more flavor than oil. Vegetables more unusual than onions, peppers, etc. We went wth Pizza Finito last weekend. We have our eye on Pizza Bianca next. They're all worth a drive -- more like good food than just stuff that someone tossed together.

Any other suggestions? New York J&P Pizza is a nice break as well. Just off Rte 216 in Scaggsville, the local chain offers that step higher than a sandwich shop but without the tablecloths or the excellent toppings. But they have large screens for sports, and it's always nice to dig into a pizza that I didn't have to make.

If you like pizza, check out my post about the Best Pizza in Howard County.  Definitely try Pazani's in Elkridge, which I learned about from a comment on another post about Trattoria E Pizzeria Da Enrico in Columbia.

Luna Bella Ristorante
6420 Freetown Road
Columbia, MD 21044
410-531-0250

NEAR: In the Hickory Ridge Village Center off Cedar Road. This is north of Rte 32 and south of Owen Brown Road. Luna Bella is at the rear of the center on the side opposite from the Giant.

New York J & P Pizza
8305 Ice Crystal Drive
Scaggville, MD 20723
301-317-8444

NEAR: This is just off Rte 216 at Rte 29. It is in the shopping center across Ice Crystal Drive from the Bloom grocery store.

Luna Bella Ristorante on Urbanspoon

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

That's not good pizza. You can tell right from the picture; the crust is about 3 times thicker than it should be.

Anonymous said...

Well ... if you can tell how good something will taste by a picture you should be selling your services to the highest bidder. I've been to this restaurant on more than one occassion; their food is excellent! Including the pizza.