Enza’s Pizza
1817 142nd AvenueWe spent a long day working in Ann Arbor on Thursday night. It wasn’t planned that way but things happen. My colleague and I did an almost 13 hour shift and got home around 8:00.
My hope was that Friday would be a little easier and I wouldn’t have to stay late.
I was wrong. I got pulled up to Grand Rapids and didn’t leave Grand Rapids until my scheduled end time. Then I still had the hour drive home.
I was in a pretty sour mood. I don’t think I’m alone in not wanting to work late and I know I’m not alone in not wanting to work late on a Friday night.
J and the kids were at Wings Event Center for a dress rehearsal for the holiday show. They ended up getting pizza from Little Caesars after I made the mistake of not asking if they wanted me to bring something home.
That something I didn’t bring home for them was a pizza from Enza’s Pizza in Dorr. The small pizza shop is on 142nd Avenue in what you can consider downtown Dorr. It’s an old, small brick building that has been a pizzeria since the early 1970’s.
Enza’s is an old school pizzeria. The dough, sauce, and Italian sausage are all made in house. They’re using the same brick ovens that were there when the pizzeria opened. And, they don’t have online ordering. I called my order in while I was still sitting in the parking lot at work in Grand Rapids. It took me a couple of tries to get through. When I did, I put in an order for a 16″ pepperoni and sausage thin crust. I was told it would take about 35 minutes so I took my time driving to Dorr.
The restaurant is pretty small and has the look and feel of a classic pizzeria. There’s a large counter in the middle of the room that divides the kitchen from the dining room. The guy making the pizzas asked me while he was still standing at the oven for my name. He found the slip on the side of the oven as it still had a few minutes to cook. He had one of the kids he was training come to the register to ring me up. The cost for a 16″ two topping pizza was right around $20.
There is a bit of a dining room at Enza’s but it isn’t very big. There are just a couple of cheap, restaurant supply tables with chairs. I just took a seat in one of them to wait for my pizza which only took a couple of more minutes.
I popped the box open as soon as I got to the car. Most of the pizza was going home with me but I wanted to grab a slice or two and eat it in the parking lot before I started the drive.
The pizza is a pretty classic thin crust pizzeria pizza. I loved everything about this pizza. The thin crispy crust, the sweet sauce, the crispy bits of meat. I would have loved this pizza even more had it been cut in to squares like it was from a Southside Chicago tavern, but even cut in to triangles, this was a delicious pizza.
I had never heard of Enza’s Pizza before despite it being in this small community for over 50 years. I’ve eaten at other pizza places in Dorr near the highway but I’m glad I did some searching for pizzas along my drive home. This pizza was so good, I ended up eating the whole thing in one sitting. I would have loved to had leftovers but I don’t regret my choice to just eat it all right away.
SW Michigan Dining 