We're all in a rush to get somewhere. But our lack of time doesn't mean we want to sacrifice the taste of our food. A handful of new restaurants are hopping on the fast-casual chuck wagon but with decors and menus that mix white-tablecloth dining with fast-food burger joints — and that appeal to the on-the-go foodie in all of us.
Piada Italian Street Food
What you'll find ‡¨ A lineup of more than 30 fresh ingredients allows customers to build chopped salads, pasta bowls or house-made Italian flatbreads called piadas. "[It's] inspired by the little family-run food kiosks in Rimini, Italy," says marketing director Matt Eisenacher. The ingredients ‡¨ Start by picking from one of seven grill items including made-to-order salmon and calamari and then load up house-made toppings such as a red pepper pesto sauce or bruschetta tomatoes. Try this ‡¨ Go for the calamari piada ($7.45) topped with spicy, red diablo sauce, creamy Parmesan sauce, and sweet and spicy peppers. Various locations, mypiada.com
PizzaFire
What you'll find ‡¨ Forget delivery. Stopping into this pizza shop to choose the toppings for your pizza and watching as it's made in front of you is half the fun — plus it's fast. "Our 700-degree oven cooks it in about three minutes," says CEO and founder Sean Brauser. The ingredients ‡¨ Begin with one of six signature sauces, including the authentic, sugar-and preservative-free Neapolitan sauce, made daily with fresh, hand-crushed tomatoes, olive oil and sea salt. Top it off with more than 30 toppings such as Tuscan pepperoni, artichoke hearts and giardiniera. Try this ‡¨ Build a pie ($6.99) with basil pesto, fresh mozzarella, chorizo, roasted garlic and roasted red peppers. 22 E. Exchange St., Akron, 330-535-4545, pizzafire.com