We dine out for lots of reasons. To socialize. To avoid working in the kitchen to make a meal and then clean up after. To further a business endeavor. To celebrate, commiserate, or perhaps conspire. Often, simply to fill the void in our stomachs, and move on to whatever comes next. Seldom do we head to an eatery for helpings of peace, love, and positivity, with a spoonful of philanthropy as a part of it all. But we can head to such a place — Catch-A-Fire Pizza.
Those words — peace, love, positivity, and philanthropy — are central to the “mission” of this regional restaurant with three nearby locations, according to front-of-house managers at the interesting eatery. Interesting in part because Bob Marley, his works, and his philosophical positions are the touchstones of the entire image put forth by the operation. Marley, you’ll recall, was a Jamaican-born musician, singer and songwriter credited with bringing island reggae music from obscurity to global attention. He plied his trade from the early 1960s to his death at 36 in 1981.
During Marley’s career, his reputation was built on the spirituality of his music and his outspoken support for a more engaging, accepting, inclusive social dynamic worldwide. At the Blue Ash location of Catch-A-Fire Pizza on Kenwood Road, you’ll note a stylized image of Marley in the foyer area, along with a couple of quotes from his songs. “Catch-A-Fire” comes from Marley’s album of the same name, released in 1973 to a groundswell of critical acclaim.
So, there is all that. But what about those pizzas? If you enjoy a good pizza, with a crust done only in the way a wood-fired oven can do it, then I’m betting a kosher-style Catch-A-Fire pizza is for you. Some words about the wood-fired oven: the oven at the Kenwood Road location is stoked with suitably aged and kiln-dried applewood and hardwood, both ideal for oven cooking environments according to experts; the oven ranges from 700 to 1,000 degrees F. So, pretty frigging hot! Certainly, hot enough to produce a crisp, appropriately dry crust with no sogginess in the middle.
The pizza dough is made from scratch in the eatery’s kitchen, so, not a shell made who-knows-where and waiting for days in the walk-in fridge for you to come along and place an order. Pizza sizes are 10- & 16-inchers, and gluten-free vegan and cauliflower crusts are available. Cheese blends are proprietary, prepared for Catch-A-Fire restaurants only, and there is a slew of toppings too numerous to mention that include arrays of sauces, cheeses, veggies, greens/herbs, peppers, olives, and vegan options for pepperoni and sausage.
Leading the hit parade among vegetarian choices is a cheese pizza entitled One Love — it’s the pizza we enjoyed. One Love features traditional red sauce under, and four cheeses on top, those being mozzarella, provolone, asiago, and Romano. Diners may sub nut-free pesto for the red sauce if they want. We wanted the red sauce, and the pizza is delicious with that variety. For me, there is something special about a pizza done in a wood-fired oven. The crust is simply better. It’s dryer, crispier, the way pizzas taste and chew in Italy, where pizza is a national treasure and an art form. Hard to beat pizzas prepared that way.
We ate our pizza with an accompanying salad — a great combo. At Catch-A-Fire, you have a choice of house, Caesar, arugula, and grain of truth, which brings together olives, artichokes, peppers, roasted tomatoes, chickpeas, and red onion with an arugula base and vinaigrette dressing. Lots of good stuff there!
Other vegetarian pizza selections include Vegetables United, Natural Mystic, Mellow Wood, Mr. Brown, and Vegan Vibes. Also, there is a Towne Square Sicilian pizza choice, in both vegetarian and cheese varieties. For Jewish diners-out wanting to eat kosher style, that represents plenty of choices.
In the sandwich department, one stands out for kosher-style dining, the veggie (all others combine meat and cheese). This sandwich is served on an artisan roll, with chips or a side salad. Featured on the special roll are marinated shiitake mushrooms, artichoke, baby spinach, roasted tomatoes, red onion, Calabrian chili, goat cheese, the house 4-cheese proprietary blend and basil-balsamic dressing. I’m betting this veggie option packs plenty of flavor and plenty in which to sink one’s teeth.
Part of the cachet of Catch-A-Fire Pizza is its commitment to local, sustainable partners, along with its 1% For the Planet membership. The menu states the following: “We seek out the best local sources to create food that tastes better, helps community farmers & entrepreneurs, and benefits our planet.” The sustainable partners are listed above the statement. As for the one percent part, this worldwide organization’s members pledge one percent of annual income or salary to bettering the planet. Monies pledged are given to organizations focused on reversing environmental degradation and the like. A mitzvah of sorts, don’t you think?
See you at Catch-A-Fire Pizza!
