I was really looking forward to this road trip with my good friends and extremely talented deejays Dom Nyce and DJ GI Joe from Northern Massachusetts. Why would anyone look forward to going to Vermont who isn’t from there? Because of Positive Pie, that’s why. Good pizza exists outside of New York! And in the middle of nowhere! Score!
It’s slightly on the pretentious, uppity side of the pizza spectrum, and it ain’t cheap, but it’s damn good pizza (their pasta is good too). And, I found out, the people who started it are originally from New York. Suddenly it all makes sense.
I’ve been here before but this time with three of us here we decided to go in on a pie. Half plain just cheese, and half sausage and mushroom with pesto sauce instead of red sauce. WOW. Crispy but not burnt thin crust, a present but not overwhelming pesto, cheesy enough that the cheese stretches out when you bite, but not overly cheesy, and sausage with a nice kick. I’m a pesto fiend, and if you are too, this is the way to go. I just kind of wish they had shrimp as a topping here, because that makes for a damn good pesto pizza. But who knows, maybe if you ask nicely enough…
Their menu also includes some delicious sounding items like smoked salmon bruschetta (Atlantic smoked salmon with cucumber and arugula salad with a tzatziki dressing on toasted Italian Bread, $11), Wild Boar Ragu (rustic hunter style stew of braised boar, roasted crimini mushrooms, red wine and herbs over wild mushroom ravioli, $19) and a dessert that intrigued me enough to order, the Cognac Pumpkin Cheesecake (rich cheesecake with candied pumpkin seeds and whipped cream, $6).
Thanks to a few too many roast beef sandwiches on the drive up here, I’m saving this for later, but come on. Cognac? Pumpkin? Cheesecake? Can it really go wrong?
It’s little random spots like this that make road trips to the middle of nowhere a little more bearable. Especially when the wait staff is also so friendly. Some people might scratch their heads when I say it, but I always have fun when I come to Vermont. I know it’s mostly because I’m with great company (Joe and Dom are probably two of my favorite guys in my life, we all share the same interests and Dom just lives and breathes hip hop) but really this place isn’t so bad. Even though it’s way too cold. So should you find yourself passing by en route to Canada or wherever, stop in for a slice.
Positive Pie, 22 State St., Montpelier, VT