Lunch unlocked: Tacoma pizza shop now serving pretty proper East Coast-style subs
APIZZA owner Marshall Jett has proven he and his team know how to make a pizza — a one-of-a-kind style of thin-crust that's part Neapolitan, part New York, part New Haven and part Tacoma. As of last month, the downtown restaurant is back open for lunch with a special menu of another East Coast specialty that's surprisingly rare here: the toasted sub.
Sure, we could all name a couple places we appreciate for their warm sandwiches, which seem bountiful in a state that requires any bar with liquor to serve 'substantial' food. Plenty have selected sandwiches as their M.O. and amassed loyal adherents of one over the other.
Many of these handhelds are indeed served on elongated rolls that are ostensibly subs or hoagies, depending on your allegiance. But a roll does not a proper East Coast sub make.
Jett searched high and low for a Northwest substitute, he said. He tried baking his own in the custom clay oven that anchors APIZZA's open kitchen on Pac Ave, but they turned out stiffer than ideal for the softness he was seeking. As I have also found, the answer here lies instead in the Vietnamese banh mi bun.
It's a perfect size at 8 inches. It's soft enough for, say, meatballs and marinara to soak into your fingers while still retaining its shape. It's readily available, and it can be toasted or room-temp.
These French demis form the foundation of APIZZA's new lunch-only subs, available just three days a week to start.
The pistachio mortadella and provolone adds a light, garlicky mustard mayo that mingles with shredded lettuce. On another, Tillamook cheddar meets bay shrimp fresh from Oregon with Tillamook cheddar and scallions. The polpette di casa seems poised to become a hit, as the beef and pork meatballs melt into provolone just as they should.
I ordered 'to-go' even though I unwrapped them in the restaurant. It felt right to my other-coast roots that they be enrobed in paper and sliced in half, whereas dine-in orders — at least by default — are served 'open-faced' and the customer folds to eat. I had been meaning to get here since they relaunched and happy that Jett was trying lunch again after an attempt last spring and summer.
The subs are the official new items, but during the brief three-hour lunch period, you can also snag a 'personal' 12-inch pizza in the daily meat or veggie for $13. The restaurant's great salads (I have enjoyed the Caesar but particularly appreciate the fresca, a salad's kind of salad with chopped greens, chopped tomatoes, a classic vinaigrette and crunchy homemade croutons) are also available in petite versions for just $4. The bay shrimp can also be had with romaine instead of on a sub.
As during dinner, oversized slices — a quarter of their typical 16-inch pie, essentially two-for-one, for $6.25-$8 — are also available, which typically feature the same daily meat or veggie as well as classic pepperoni and three-cheese.
The restaurant offers 'business lunch' packages with pizzas, salads and mini cannoli for groups (in sets of 10, up to 40 people), and Jett has also built a mobile clay pizza oven for special events (more info on the restaurant website).
It was quiet when I snuck in around 1 p.m. last Thursday, but I hope to see lunch catch on at APIZZA and elsewhere downtown, as other newcomers like Third Space and the food truck at Odd Otter Brewing Co. also lean into midday crowds on weekdays and weekends.
▪ 821 Pacific Ave., Tacoma, 253-367-4992, apizzalittleitaly.com
▪ Lunch: Wednesday-Friday, 11 a.m.-2 p.m.
▪ Dinner: Wednesday-Thursday 4-9 p.m., Friday 4-10 p.m., Saturday 12-10 p.m., Sunday 12-9 p.m.
▪ Details: new weekday-only lunch menu with East Coast-style subs, petite salads and 'personal' 12-inch pizzas; dinner menu also available
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