Za Arlington

I have been to Za in Arlington several times and have been pleased with the food and the service. I appreciate a restaurant that does only a few things but does them well.

The menu changes with the seasons, and someone recommended several salads. I'm not really a salad guy, but they were highly recommended by someone I trust, so here we GO! Don't worry, there will be pizzas! They have outside seating when the weather permits.

HASS AVOCADO ($12.00). "Black Bean, Tomato, Red Onion, Cheddar Cheese, Homemade Bread 'n' Butter Pickled Jalapeno, Red Pepper and Cilantro with Homemade Cumin-Lime Vinaigrette, Sour Cream and Tortilla Crunch". Hold the sour cream. If this is a salad, I need to eat more salads! This was absolutely delicious, and the pulverized tortillas added a nice texture. The size was right for two people to split as an appetizer. Next time I order a salad, I will also order a pizza and eat half of each. Did I mention that the salad was delicious?

CUCUMBER ($11.75). "Tomato, Kalamata Olive, Drumlin Farm's Radish and Potato Salad with Feta Cheese, Fresh Oregano and Homemade Roasted Garlic Vinaigrette". Well, potato salad it wasn't, but the mashed potatoes were excellent. In fact, the whole salad was delightful. Not as good as the Avocado salad. This was almost enough for lunch, but I also ordered a pizza.

MAC 'N' CHEESE Pizza ($12.00). "Elbow Macaroni, Caramelized Onion, Cream Sauce, Four Cheeses and Toasted Bread Crumbs". How can you not try this? This was very good, even if the macaroni could have been a bit more al dente. It was cheesy, but I would have liked to see more breadcrumbs. It needed salt since the macaroni had been cooked in plain water, and a few shakes of pepper flakes livened up the pizza. The service is friendly, and the place is very relaxed.

OLD SCHOOL POTATO Pizza ($14.50). "Diced Potato, Potato Cream, NH Smokehouse Bacon, Sweet Onion, Gruyere, Scallion and Thyme". I didn't think the thyme made it on, but looking at my leftovers, it's there but a bit unevenly distributed. This was a delicious pizza, but how could it not be with bacon and gruyere? The crust was very nice with a proper black bottom, and the toppings went all the way to the edge. I really dislike it when the pizza only has toppings in the middle. The potatoes were nice and fluffy but lacked salt.

CHORIZO & DILL PICKLED ONION Pizza ($15.00). "Ground Chorizo, Dill Pickle, Caramelized Onion, Sweet Onion, Swiss Cheese, Mustard Cream, Parsley" and who can resist that? It should really have read Dill Pickle, Chorizo since there were more pickles than chorizo. After the first few bites, I go: This is way too pickly! However, I soon went from that to This is a great pizza! The flavors melded together into something delicious. This is such a friendly and mellow place.

BEEF BOMB Pizza ($17.00). "Ground Organic Grass Fed Massachusetts Beef, Caramelized Onion, Sweet Onion, Mushroom, Hot Cherry Pepper, Cream Sauce, Scallion, Parmesan and Mozzarella". I forgot to ask them to hold the mushrooms but found that I didn't mind them at all. This was another delicious pizza, and it was really hot cherry peppers. Delightful!

BUFFALO CHICKEN ZA Pizza ($15.50). "Grilled Chicken, Frank's Louisiana Hot Sauce, Caramelized Onion, Roasted Red Pepper, Sweet Onion, Mozzarella, Cheddar, Scallion". Not too hot, just pleasantly spicy. The pizza was cooked really well. The chicken was a tad dry, but it was still an excellent pizza. However, they could improve it by using dark meat. It wouldn't dry out as quickly.

On Fridays, they only serve outside after 3:00 because they do so much takeout; they need the inside for that.

Address: 138 Massachusetts Ave, Arlington, MA 02474 Phone: (781) 316-2334

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-- Thích Nhất Hạnh