Frontier Pizza

Imagine it's the late '60s. You're in a pizza parlor. The pizza parlor is in Felton. OK? Well, Redwood Pizzeria is exactly like the picture you now have in your mind.

Invitingly funky, playful and sincere, this mountain pie parlor specializes in organic ingredients and seriously delicious pizza. Local artwork, out-of-control wall treatment, floral carpeting (think Reno), a happy little roadhouse bar in the back, knotty pine tables, big red booths and a TV in every corner. What's not to like? Now add a noticeably decent wine list and extremely casual table settings, and you've got a place that can go from date night romance to weekend family gatherings.

We went hungry and left full. From a menu that offers a few starters–mostly salads filled with organic greens–and then dives straight down into extreme hand-crafted pizza land, we chose two small pizzas (half for now and plenty to take home) plus a substantial spinach salad ($5.99). Jack wanted a beer with his pizza (duh!), but since it was midday he opted for a Clausthauler Non-Alcoholic ($3.50). I was charmed by the availability of a Hallcrest-made Organic Wine Works red wine–Clos de Jeanine–and so I splurged on a glass ($6). After all, if I had X-ray eyes I could have looked straight through the back wall and seen the winery itself. Hmm, I thought. Out-of-towners will love the very local offerings at Redwood Pizzeria.

Our delicious salad was presented picnic-style, on bright red faux bakelite plates with tiny plastic containers of feta cheese and well-made house vinaigrette. No frills here; you're in Felton. Which means that napkins (made of recycled materials) are in a table-side dispenser, and you must request any utensils other than a fork. No problemo.

The pizzas–“smalls” are actually lunch-for-two size–cost $12.24 for Jack's Bigfoot, which resembled Roman pizza bianca. Thin herb-infused crust, topped with barely a slick of tomato sauce, organic mozzarella, baby spinach and thin ribbons of Bermuda onion. Served on a large square of corrugated cardboard–a witty and surprisingly user-friendly delivery system–it was quite good. But my Combo was exceptional. For $13.24 I got a classic Italian sausage and pepperoni pizza, with both organic cheddar and organic mozzarella, plus tasty tomato sauce on a perfectly baked pizza. All of the bright and steaming hot flavors were embedded on a crust loaded with oregano. Frankly, I could have inhaled the whole thing right then and there.

The L.A. Lakers were winning the playoffs on one screen while SpongeBob was doing some underwater sleuthing on another. The Beatles and David Bowie filled the high-ceilinged maroon room. Happy place, righteous pizza. These folks sure know their audience.

You could do a whole lot worse than take a weekend drive along gorgeous Highway 9, swing by Henry Cowell State Park and then head to Redwood Pizzeria for one of those combos. – Christina Waters, photo by Jenn Ireland