The Pizza Diaries: Danny Boys Pizza

It seems that a good portion of the pizza places we’ve been going to are known for wood-fired, Neapolitan pizza. So we wanted to switch it up and go to a more classic pizza joint. When we think of classic pizza places in the Cleveland area, one of the first places that comes to our mind is Danny Boys. We’ve actually only had takeout from there so we were excited to see the restaurant.

For this adventure, we enlisted the help of one of our favorite foodie couples, Heena and Kushal (Kush) of Kush Food. It’s rare to find another blogging couple like us, especially one who loves food and drink as much as us! They have actually been to Danny Boys MANY times and already have very strong feelings about their pizzas, so we knew they were the perfect pair to take for this round.

Heena and Kush eat pizza about twice a month. Heena describes herself as a pizza lover and her favorite pizza is Chicago style deep dish with onions and jalapeños. She also requires lots and lots and LOTS of crushed red pepper. More on that in a bit. Kush calls himself a pizza…eater. His favorite pizza is cheese pizza from Buddy’s Pizza in Detroit. Heena and Kush also love Jet’s pizza, especially their ranch dressing for dipping.

Danny Boys Pizza
The original Danny Boy’s was opened in 1991 in Rocky River (this is the location we went to). They have since opened locations in North Olmsted, Sandusky, North Canton, Tallmadge and Brunswick.They have a Frank Sinatra & Rat Pack vibe and it’s a fun, family-friendly restaurant. In addition to specialty pizzas, you can build your own pie and they also have sandwiches, pastas and more. They also have an extensive selection of craft beer and wine.

What We Ordered

The pizzas come in a variety of sizes: solo, small, medium and family size. We wanted to try a bunch of different ones so we ordered four small pizzas and an appetizer of garlic cheesy bread. This was the right amount for four people. Heena is a vegetarian so we wanted to make sure we had some meatless options for her too.

• The Original Clevelander Pizza: cheese, fresh basil, garlic, topped Chicago-style with pizza sauce and Parmesan cheese. We added pepperoni to half, and opted for deep dish crust.
• California Dreamin’: butter crust, three cheeses, fresh mushroom, tomato, broccoli, red pepper, ricotta cheese on top and served with a side of pizza sauce.
• The Classic Margherita: olive oil, cheese, fresh basil, tomatoes, Parmesan cheese, sprinkle of garlic and Italian spices.
• Honey Bee: traditional crust, pizza sauce, five-cheese blend, pepperoni, bacon, jalapeños, ricotta cheese and a drizzle of Stein’s local Ohio honey.

Sauce
We all agreed that our favorite sauce was the Clevelander. At first glance it looks like a lot of sauce but that’s because it’s made Chicago style with the sauce only on top. It was just the right amount and tasted super fresh. Kush and Broad loved the flavor of the Honey Bee. Yes, you heard that right, Broad actually liked the pizza with honey. The honey was not overpowering and offered a great sweet and spicy balance with the jalapeños. We liked how the California pizza came with a side of pizza sauce, though it probably didn’t need it.

Crust
We learned a hot pro tip from Heena and Kush: always order your crust (from any pizza place) well done! This is genius. We actually forgot to order our pizzas well done like they normally do when they come to Danny Boys. We all agreed that the Clevelander was the best crust by far, but the crusts on all the other pizzas could have been a little crispier.

Toppings
Another fun fact we learned is that Heena loves crushed red pepper. Love is actually an understatement. We’ve seriously never seen anyone use this much red pepper. She opens the top and keeps pouring till her slice is covered. So as long as she has that she will be happy. Kush isn’t normally a fan of a lot of toppings but really loved the Honey pizza and how the toppings meshed so well together. The veggies on the California pizza were very fresh and perfect for a light option. Probably our least favorite was the Margherita pizza. It was different than the traditional ones we’ve had before, but definitely not bad.

Cheese
We all love cheese and the cheese on these pizzas was really good. Kush loves ricotta so he loved the Honey pizza which had huge globs of it. The Clevelander could have used a little more cheese, only because we love extra cheese on deep dish. Broad wishes we would have ordered just an extra cheese, pepperoni and mushroom pizza to see how that tests against other places because that’s her favorite.

Overall Experience
We got there at 5:45 which is early for a Friday night so it wasn’t crowded yet. It did fill up throughout the evening. The service was impeccable. Our waitress was friendly and offered great suggestions. We didn’t have to wait long for our food either. It’s a cozy, comfy, family-friendly restaurant. We loved that they have so many options and there really is something for everyone at Danny Boys.

Next Day Deliciousness
Heena and Kush have had this pizza the next day and said it’s just as good. Their trick is to heat it up on the stove in a pan with a little bit of water. We normally heat it in a covered pan, but haven’t tried the water trick yet. For something like the deep dish Clevelander, we just used the oven. That and the Honey Bee were the best. The California actually reheated very well too, which was surprising because veggie pizzas don’t always reheat the best.

Overall Rating
4.5 Jalapeños. This is your quintessential, classic pizza joint. This place makes you feel at home while serving you delicious pizza pies. We all agreed that the Clevelander was the best pizza, it might be up there as one of the best pizzas we’ve tried in Cleveland. It was a nice change of pace to go to a more classic, neighborhood pizza restaurant. We also loved that they had so many options on the menu without being overwhelming, and the service was fantastic!