MINI REVIEW: The Blind Pig

Tucked into the quaint but somewhat intermittently desolate heart of old Greenwood on Madison Avenue, the Blind Pig (147 S. Madison Ave., Greenwood, 317-882-7892) draws in a pretty dedicated clientele of regulars for live music and nightly beer quaffing. (And if you can get beyond the now somewhat jarring smell of indoor cigarettes in “smoke-’em-if-you’ve-got-‘em” Johnson County, it’s one of the better places to cheer on IU as it heads into the Sweet 16.)

The menu offers sandwiches and a host of fried appetizers, but you’ll want to head directly to the pizza without passing go. Of the two styles, which our waiter described as equally popular, we chose the pan style over the thin crust, figuring the lingering winter chill of a recent spring Saturday earned us a pretty hearty lunch. The dough for both types is made daily, and while it can take some time for your pan pizza to come out, when it does, you take notice.

Topped with gobs of tasty, stringy cheese, this looker of a Sicilian-style pie has a surprising lightness to it compared with the more artery-clogging version of deep-dish pizza from the Windy City. A flaky, buttery crust with a perfect crispy edge of charred cheese around the perimeter puts this pizza a slice above typical bar fare. And when the IU fight song comes on, and the locals start singing along, you know you’ve picked the right place to spend a chilly spring afternoon.