Our Pizza Obsession Just Got A Little Crazier

We get dough-eyed for pizza pretty easily these days. But Pizza Whirl in Ohio City is a sight for our hungry eyes. The quaint quick-serve pizzeria, which opened on West 25th Street in March, gets its name from the rotating platform inside its 700-degree wood-fired brick oven at the back of the restaurant. Using house-made dough, each 12-inch pie gets assembled in front of you. Then it goes for a two-minute spin inside the oven to produce an evenly charred crunch on each slice. You can build your own ($8.95) using more than 30 different ingredients such as grape tomatoes, capers, jalapenos and Craisins. But if that feels overwhelming, dive into the rich but delightful Smokin’ Whirl ($10.95), a semisweet and savory mix of thick Italian sausage, red onions, roasted green, red and yellow peppers, and smoked mozzarella on a heavy cream-based red pepper sauce. The Arugula Bianca ($10.95) carries a crisp bite with mozzarella, arugula, prosciutto and Parmesan nestled in a ricotta garlic cheese sauce and topped with truffle oil. Even then, you’ll want to save room for the Whirld’s Best Dessert ($8.95), a twice-baked pie with a Nutella-ricotta cheese spread topped with strawberries, bananas, chocolate chips, whipped cream, raspberry, caramel, and white chocolate and milk chocolate sauces, and dusted with powdered sugar. Each pizza appears out of the oven like a smoking giant, but it’s a cheesy conquest worth indulging. 1822 W. 25th St., Cleveland, 216-242-6464, facebook.com/pizzawhirl1822