Pietro's Coal Oven Pizza

You ever eat at some place the first time and it's great? And yet, the next few times don't quite live up to that first magic moment?

This was my third time eating at Pietro's, which is not far from where I live. I'm a big brick-oven advocate, which is what attracted me here in the first place. Unfortunately, unlike Bertucci's (one of my favorite chain restaurants of all time), Pietro's just can't keep things consistent.

Today, I went out with a few co-workers for a lunch celebration. We had salad and pizza, and both were meh. The salad, while good, did not have enough dressing and certainly not enough shrimp. The pizza was decent but the sauce strikes me as too thin and over-spiced. And instead of splashes of sauce and cheese, it was covered with both.

Of course, the first time we hit this place, it was fantastic. Go figure.