Located inside a Days Inn in Towson, Twisted Pizza Kitchen & Pub mixes up a few personalities.
The name and menu items suggests it's a pizza joint, though one with some aspirations. The drinks list includes one of the more extensive collections of craft beer in the region, as well as a handful of thoughtful cocktails, indicating that Twisted Pizza should be taken seriously as a bar.
And then there's the location. Though the entrance to the restaurant is inside the hotel, both the decor and staff work hard to convince diners that it's a local spot, not simply a generic room where hotel guests can grab a beer and a slice.
Scene & Decor The first thing diners see when they step out of the hotel lobby and into Twisted Pizza is a flag. Not just any flag: an American flag made entirely of beer cans from local beer maker Union Craft Brewing, sending a clear message that Twisted Pizza is a local craft beer haven.
Inside, brick walls were lined with televisions — 18 in all — and both the black leather bench seats and long bar looked inviting.
During our visit, on a Sunday evening just after a Ravens game, the crowd was small but in good spirits as we grabbed a table.
Appetizers Our waitress' face lit up when we ordered the Duckpin cheese bites ($7.95), and she told us they are one of her favorite things on the menu. It wasn't hard to see why.
Chunks of cheddar cheese, dipped in batter made with Union Craft's Duckpin lager, were fried until crispy on the outside and melted in the middle, then served with a spicy chipotle sauce for dipping.
Fried cheese is not a new concept, but these bites were better than most.
Entrees Surprisingly, our least favorite thing about Twisted Pizza was the pizza itself. Though we liked the crispy dough, which is made in-house daily, our Margherita pizza ($13 for 12-inch) lacked personality.
The mozzarella, also made in-house, was creamy and the basil plentiful but the sauce and cheese both needed more salt. A sprinkle from the shaker gave the flavor the boost it needed, but we wished we didn't need to tinker with it.
A cheddar cheese cheeseburger ($9) was a decent take on the standard bar food. Though more medium than the requested medium rare, the burger itself was a good one. On the side, a pint glass was full of shoestring fries that were crunchy and well-seasoned.
Drinks Serious drinkers could spend months — years, even — at Twisted Pizza without getting bored. The beer and cocktail menus are that impressive. Initially, we missed an entire page of the beer list and we still thought it was a good one.
We sampled two draught beers from the diverse list, which includes numerous local brews. The Pendulum Pilsner from Baltimore-Washington Beer Works ($4) had a rich, full flavor. The G'Night IPA ($6.50), brewed by Colorado's Oskar Blues, was a hoppier choice, full of scent and flavor.
Considering Twisted Pizza's intense beer focus, we weren't surprised they made a great beer cocktail. The Area 51 ($10), a combination of grapefruit and lemon juices, bitters, orange liqueur, Hendricks gin and a UFO wheat beer from Harpoon was nicely balanced between boozy, bitter and sweet.
Dessert A plate stacked with sugar-dusted funnel cake fries ($6.95), served with chocolate and strawberry sauces for dipping, was a sweet way to end the meal. The fries were crispy and hot when they reached our table — exactly as we wanted them.
Service Despite one early glitch, when our appetizers arrived before our first round of drinks, service was well-timed and friendly. Our waitress was enthusiastic, drumming up conversation about where we lived and making it clear that she hoped we would come back. Twisted Pizza, she said, is looking for more regulars.
As we were finishing our meal, a couple came in and sat at the table next to ours. They were, it seemed, on their way to regular status — the waitress remembered them and remembered what they liked.
Based on our eavesdropping, we think they'll be back. And thanks to the friendly service and that mile-long list of beers, so will we.