Louisville - Tony Boombozz Taphouse

There are at least 5 pizza places along Bardstown Road, so how do you choose which to get your pie from? You may have read my blog of the rather tasteless and pitiful pizza from Bearno's. So I had to try something new: enter Tony Boombozz, self-proclaimed gourmet pizzeria.

Located at the intersection of Bardstown Road and Eastern Parkway, this is a very conveniently located restaurant. They have several other locations in the city, but this location has become the premier because of the "ice bar," which I will explain below. The inside is very nicely decorated, well lit, spacious and has huge flat screens lining the wall with lots of sports for all of you who don't want to go to Buffalo Wild Wings.

The menu is pretty large so there are lots of great choices for all. You can of course build your own pizza choosing your crust, sauce, and toppings. Or you can try one of the gourmet Portobello Bello, Chicken Fajita or the new Chicken Artichoke or Brooklyn Pizza Pie. There are also a wide number of sandwich options, though not very many pasta options. If you go during lunch there are some good specials. We decided to try the Irish Nachos and a custom pizza with a wheat crust, chipotle red sauce, artichokes and portobello. The Irish nachos were decent, though nothing amazing. The pizza was quite tasty but I would have liked more of the deliciously spicy sauce. (I think a lack of sauce must be a Louisville thing.)

The "ice bar" is a pretty great concept: all draft beer is kept at 32 degrees F and all liquor is kept at 5 degrees F. Can't complain about a drink that's too cold! They have about 30 beers on tap, though I would break it out approximately like this: 25% domestic such as your Bud and Miller products, 40% craft including BBC and Goose Island, and 25% import (the remaining 10% is ever-changing). Happy hour happens every day from 3-6pm, and they usually have a beer of the day which is always a good deal. Some have complained about the prices of beer here, but I haven't personally found a reason to complain.

I will certainly return to Boombozz Taphouse in the future for a decent slice of pie, a cold beer, though I am still looking for something that is on par with Norfolk's Cogan's. Unfortunately, Louisville still hasn't provided that though so my search will continue.