Pizzeria 712

Since it's not really in the budget to go back to all of these places and try the food again, many of these posts are going to be written in retrospect. You may be thinking, "How on earth can you remember how every restaurant was?" But as I was compiling my list of places we've been, I was able to remember all but one of the dishes we ate at each of the 75 restaurants I wrote down. Let's just say that food makes a serious impression on me. So although some of these reviews may be from a while ago (maybe even back to our dating years...), they will all be an honest and accurate report of our dining experiences.


Where: Pizzeria 712, 320 S. State St. #185  Orem, UT 84058 (When coming from BYU, go down State Street, go past the Scera theater, and it will be on your left back in thing that looks like an apartment complex. Kind of difficult to find, but definitely worth it! They have a big white sign out there now too that is a little helpful)


Who Went: Chelsey & Owen


Number of Visits: 1


What We Ordered: Owen: Roasted Red Potato Galette with Lemon Parsley & Creme Fraiche. Then we shared a pizza with the following toppings: house-made sausage, fennel, caramelized onions, garlic, fresh mozzarella, and their house tomato sauce


What It Cost: $24


What We Thought: 

As you will soon be able to tell as the blog progresses, Owen and I are kind of pizza fanatics. We went through this phase where we decided to try out every pizza place in the Provo/Orem area...and we did. When we were in this phase, Pizzeria 712 was the newest, hippest pizza place around. It's kind of back in the corner, hard to find, and very full of trendy individuals. They follow the Alice Waters philosophy of food -- cooking simply with the best and freshest ingredients to show the potential of the food itself. This mentality was clearly displayed in our meal that evening. 

We weren't super hungry, so we decided that instead of getting two pizzas we would just get one + an appetizer. Good choice. The pizzas are big enough for one person to probably eat 3/4 and take a quarter home, if you are quite ravenous. We started out with the Red Potato Galette, which was Owen's choice. Unfortunately, we realized once we received our dish that all we did was basically order a over-glorified baked potato. The flavor was nice, but come on, it's pretty hard to mess up on a baked potato. I'll make this one at home for an eighth of the price instead. 

Then we received some pita bread and hummus. Yay -- more bread to go with our order of bread (pizza). We recommend this if you are going on an all-carb diet á la Mean Girls...Anyway, it was a nice little touch, especially since I'm a huge hummus fan, so we enjoyed it. 

Then we received our pizza. Though it looks a little messy, I have to admit that Pizzeria 712 lived up to their goals -- it all tasted very fresh. The tomato sauce actually still tasted like tomatoes (usually not the case with many pizzas...), the housemade sausage was quite savory, and I loved the fresh mozzarella. Good quality cheese is one of the ways to this woman's heart. The wood oven crust was just right -- infused with a smoky flavor and not too dense. It was a little burnt for my taste (as noted by that big black spot) and I have to admit I was a bit disappointed in the lack of fennel taste. For those who are unfamiliar with fennel, it is a highly aromatic herb that tastes like mild black licorice (similar to anise). And I love it. So naturally I wanted more of it, but for those who don't know what fennel is, it probably was just the right amount. 

What You Should Do: GO! It has a fun, stylish atmosphere, and the dishes are all reasonably priced considering the freshness and flavor of the ingredients they use. Plus you sound cool talking about how you "dined at Pizzeria 712 last night." Totally worth it.