Best of Cleveland 2016: Italian Nachos

Forget the tortilla chips and the processed, mystery-orange cheese. Downtown’s Pizza 216 is tossing around a lot more than just good pizza with their Italian nachos ($10). “It’s a fun twist on a recognizable item,” says co-owner Brad Wiescinski. The dish starts off with fresh Ohio City Pasta lasagna sheets cut and deep-fried as chips, offering a wonton-like texture for an intense crunch. The fixings come next: a house-made, cream-based cheese sauce, pepperoni, sausage and pepperoncini peppers. Then it’s finished with fresh Italian parsley. “The first question our servers receive is, ‘Tell me about the Italian nachos,’ ” says Wiescinski. “Even after reading it on the menu and ordering it, there’s still a wow factor to see pizza toppings on nachos. It’s been a hit since day one.” 401 Euclid Ave., Cleveland, 216-741-7992, pizza216.com