Restaurant Review: Fabian's

Our family purchased the entertainment book as part of a fundraiser for Jonathan and Andrew's preschool, and when we have a day off together and are going out to eat, we try to go somewhere new (with special offers from said entertainment book).

Friday this was our plan: we headed for the Columbus public library in the morning, had pizza for lunch at Fabian's (50% off a pizza), and then went ice skating.

This post is about Fabian's.  We got there shortly after 11:30, and we found an empty restaurant.  Only the bartender was there.  We had the run of the place (literally,after we put in our order).  The boys thoroughly enjoyed the SouthPark pinball machine while we waited.

The decor was Chicago (think Al Capone pictures with a few reminders of the Bears, the Cubs, and the White Sox - you could tell that we weren't actually in Chicago because there were both Cubs and Sox memorabilia together in the same place).  One wall was Christmas ornamented - a little out of place, I thought.

On to the food: we ordered garlic bread as an appetizer.  The garlic bread itself was the usual - we all liked it - but the unusual thing was that they served it with some delicious pizza sauce (on the side).  When I tasted the dipping sauce, I knew that the pizza would be good.

Fabian's bills itself as a "Chicago Style" pizza place, and, well, Tara and I have lived in Chicago, and we know Chicago style pizza.  We (honestly) weren't expecting much.  We checked the menu and ordered the Italian specialty pizza (pepperoni, capicola, sausage, Italian beef) - Chicago style.

When it came out, it looked Chicago style. Deep dish, full of cheese, sauce, and toppings.  I mean really full.  Packed.  And the taste... I was suddenly transported back almost 20 years and I was back in college, enjoying the taste of authentic Chicago pizza.  The crust was delicious, flaky, and buttery.  The sauce was loaded with garlic - not overdone, mind you, but enough that you knew you'd had garlic.  The meats: delicious.  My mouth is watering as I write this.  One piece was enough to fill me up. And I ate left-overs for dinner as well.

I was surprised that such a good restaurant wasn't jam-packed by noon on a weekday. The food was fantastic.  One of the best pizzas I have had in years.  Maybe Columbus just doesn't "get" Chicago style pizza.  Or maybe they're just haven't heard of Fabian's yet.

(tip: if you go on a weekday between 3 and 7 pm, they have some great happy hour deals)