Firestone Pizzeria, Dickson

On a rainy Thursday night after a horrendous day at work, the Simple Man and I need two things. One, food. Two, booze. Not neccesarily in that order.



And to my delight, we found both in a relatively new pizzeria in Dickson which I have to declare to be our new favourite spot. Hurrah! The Simple Man and I have found a local eatery we both like, which given our divergent tastes is no mean feat.



We stumbled across Firestone Pizzeria in January when we found our favourite Dickson Asian eatery closed for holidays. Earlier this week we returned to sample a little more off the menu, by default rather than decision. Simple Man agreed to go to Curtain but after three years of living in Canberra, still has no idea where anything is other than our house and his workplace. And so, once he checked the map and realised travelling to Curtain meant waiting an extra 20 minutes for the two predetermined requirements for the evening (booze and food) we returned to Dickson. I acquiesed because a) a Hungry Simple Man is often an Angry Simple Man; and b) we'd had a great meal at Fireside a few weeks earlier.



On the earlier occasion, we'd both opted for pastas. Mine was with lemon, smoked chicken, crisped sage and goats cheese. The Simple Man's penne, from memory, was some kind of unusual combination of chicken and balsamic (if you're surprised he tried it, so am I!). Both were delicious - the creamy goats cheese with a sharp citrusy tang was fantastic, my only minor criticism that I probably wouldn't have bothered with smoked chicken given the combination of other flavours. Simple Man was pleased with his choice too.



This week, we almost missed out on a table and were seated towards the back near the kitchen at a table set for six by a smiling waiter. It was a bit of a strange spot, but we hadn't booked and our waiter was so friendly, that we didn't mind at all. The general atmosphere matched our waiter's attitude - it's fresh and appealing. The decor is modern without trying too hard.


The menu at Firestone has a good combination of slightly more unusual, modern combinations and classics. We didn't see too many children, but between some traditional pasta combinations and the pizzas, there's plenty to please them.



We began with one of the Sharing Plates, a great range of very reasonably priced nibbly bits (I'm definitely trying the blue swimmer crab risotto balls next time). We ordered the persian fetta with ciabatta which was an excellent start. I'm not sure that the bread served was traditional ciabatta but it was delicious nonetheless and served with crisped thyme, a small but welcome touch.


The Simple Man, truer to form than on the last occasion, selected the lasagne while I opted for pizza number 15. Simple Man advised that the lasagne, served with a rocket parmesan salad, was just how he likes it ("not too liquidy" was his comment, meant to be positive - I think that means meaty?) while my pizza was the best I've eaten in Canberra (way better than Pizza Arte in Kingston which I think is overrated). It was a perfect combination of pepperoni, fresh tomato, basil and mozzerella. The base was crisp, the tomato sauce lovely and light, the serving size perfect.



We couldn't come at dessert - I have to admit the sweet pizza's on offer don't really appeal, but we were full to the brim on great food anyway. As Simple Man put it, mouth full of lasagne: "I really like this place".



Service: Friendly and efficient
Crowd: Mostly young, some big groups
Price: $-$$



Firestone Pizzeria
Shop 1 14 Wooley St
Dickson
Ph: 6247 4447
http://www.firestonepizzeria.com.au/