Scout's pizzeria

What a gem! Parked right next to The Verve on East Wabash, Scout’s brings the heat. Whether it’s delicious cheesy bread or goat cheese appetizers, salads or their signature stone-fired pizzas, you won’t be disappointed Our party of five was greeted immediately by Jaiden, who promptly took our drink orders and answered a few questions about the menu. (And yes, they have a gluten-free crust option!) The aforementioned goat cheese/marinara dip (holy delicious!) quickly arrived with some pita-style pizza crust chips and the cheese bread was a hit. Scout’s is upfront about their preparation and cooking process, letting you know online and on their in-person menu that their made-from-scratch pizzas are cooked in a stone-fired oven and might take up to 30 minutes to arrive. We were pleasantly surprised when ours (four total pies) arrived in just under 20 minutes, but it didn’t take us long to realize that the pizza was so good we would have waited twice that long, and maybe even longer! Ingredients ranging from hot honey to arugula to goat cheese to pepperoni were noticeably fresh and plentiful across each of our respective pizzas, and the pies themselves were cut cleanly and evenly. Simplistic but very, very satisfying. All in all, five stars! (Side note: I’m a veteran of more than a few kitchens and bars, and I haven’t seen efficiency like I saw at Scout’s in a long time. Jaiden handled the front of the house like a pro, topping off waters and teas and running appetizers, salads and pizzas to every corner of the restaurant, while Scout was all over the food prep and plating in the back (and being amazingly consistent with fantastic presentation, I might add.) I’ve seen kitchens staffed with ten times the people that don’t operate that smoothly. Kudos to the both of them!)