Rize Artisan Pizza + Salads Now Open ~ Atlanta, GA

Tuesday night I made my way to Rize Artisan Pizza + Salads to meet up with a few fellow members of the Atlanta Food Bloggers’ Society. We were invited there for an exclusive menu tasting. Last month, I was here for their menu preview event. I was very excited for the new North Highland establishment. With great food and excellent service, I was very confident that they would be successful.

This visit was a little different from my last. We got the opportunity to chat with Director of Culinary Operations , Eddie Russell. He calls himself a hard core farm-to-table fanatic. He prides himself with running a zero waste kitchen, using scrapes for broths and drizzles. Only fresh produce and meats are acceptable to him. The quality of food and culinary expertise shines brightly in every dish.

We started the menu tasting with their handcrafted sangria. They offer two selections, Marbella Red and Andalucia White. Marbella Red is a bold red wine infused with orange, blueberry, and Strawberry. Andalucia White contains a crisp white wine, infused with pear, lemon, and ginger. Both made in house, both highly recommended.

Next, we tried all of the small plates. All of them! Each one just as amazing as the next. The first small plates to come to the table was the Charred Cauliflower and Old World Hummus. I had previously had the the hummus during my last visit and it’s safe to say that I’m still a fan. It comes with spice walnuts, watermelon radish, tri-color carrots, peppadew peppers, olive oil, and lavash. It’s a really great tasting hummus.

The Charred Cauliflower is amazing! I could eat several bowls of it in one setting. The layers of flavors were on point. These cauliflower florets mingling amongst spiced walnuts and pomegranate seeds, tossed in maple sesame dressing is exactly what I needed to solidify my love for Rize Nation. Yummy!!

Next up, Herbed Goat Cheese Crostini, Grilled Pork Meatballs, and Stuffed Peppadew Peppers. The Herbed Goat Cheese Crostini was a unique combination of pear chutney and pistachio chili crumble on top a torn flatbread crostini finished with a balsamic reduction. I really enjoyed the complexity yet simplicity of this menu item. It was very tasty.

The Grilled Pork Meatballs was a favorite amongst some of the meat eating food bloggers at the table. Made with farm fresh pork and caramelized onions as a binder, these meatballs have no filler. I tasted a tiny bite and it was pretty tasty

The Stuffed Peppadew Peppers are jammed full of whipped feta and crumbled fennel sausage, with spiced walnuts, Calabrese oil and parsley. So much flavor it one tiny little bite. This is one small plate you definitely want to order when you come to visit. Oh! It comes in pizza form too! Yummy!!

The last small plates we experienced was the Charbroiled Wings. This, as my last visit, was my favorite menu. These spiced rubbed wings are quite amazing, charbroiled to perfection, served with a ginger honey sauce sprinkled with cilantro. Oh so tasty!

Now on to try some pizza! Honestly I was stuffed from all of the delicious small plates, but I had a little corner left in my stomach for pizza…as always. Ya’ll know I love pizza! We were delighted with two of their signature pizzas, the Waverley and the Asian Chicken pizzas. As well as their specialty pizza, the Delphi, and classic pizza, the Bianca. Every pizza is gently stretched by a hand to ensure that the air pockets in the dough stays intact. The result is a light and airy, crisp crust that marrys perfectly with the thoughtfully put together toppings. If you and gluten are not on good terms, Rize Artisan Pizza will be more happy to make any one of their pizzas on a gluten-free crust. Nice!

Just when we thought we had completed this awesome tour de Rize, chef informed us that he has a few more things for us to try. Ahhhh!! Lol! Shortly thereafter, a sampling of salads came to the table. Salad was actually a good idea. Helps with the digestion process, if you know what I mean. The three salads presented was Spice Road Chicken, Superfood, and Pear & Walnut. All very tasty! My favorite was the Pear & Walnut. It was made with baby kale & spinach, sliced pear, spiced walnuts, smoked bleu cheese, charred red onion, fennel, pomegranate seeds, and honey lemon vinaigrette. Sooo good!

Well you can’t end a meal without dessert, especially if there’s gelato involved. Especially if there’s BOURBON BROWN BUTTER PECAN SORBET involved!!! Yassss! Two of my favorite thing in one scoop. What I love most about it is that is chucked full of pecans. Bravo!

What an amazing menu tasting we had! Thanks you to the entire staff for the warm hospitality! Every thing was great!

Stop by Rize Artisan Pizza + Salads next week, as they official celebrate their Grand Opening with a week of specials and events. Details below!