Bab's Pizza — Restaurant in Town of Pawling

Well... let me start by saying that my experience over many years has been that Dutchess County NY is not the place to go for amazing food experiences. Of course, there are exceptions. The good: to test a new pizza 🍕 restaurant, I always start with the basics, cheese pizza and a chicken cutlet parm hero. If those two staples are not right, then all that follows will most likely be a train wreck of taste. The pizza and the hero had some flavor in them. Although that does not sound like a rave many nearby establishments offer very bland, right out of the old dented can marinara sauce. This was bumped up a little here. The pizza was VERY THIN. If this is what you like, this is your place. The slice was also not crispy on the bottom, so picking each piece up was a two handed job. The whole thing flopped as soon as you separated it from its buddies. Personally, if the slice is going to be that thin I would have preferred it to be able to support its own weight. I can only imagine what and adventure you might have with toppings on your slice. At the end of the day, my family loved the pizza. I had mixed feelings. The chicken parm is a tale of two sandwiches. The first one I got had the thinnest chicken bread I had ever seen on it. It looked like they sliced one regular breast piece the long way and presented it as two. It tasted proper, It was just lacking in girth. I felt a little cheated for the price. About two weeks later, I went in for another chicken 🐔 parm, to give them a second chance, and this one was righteous. I guess someone complained. The service and EVERYONE working there were polite and a delight to encounter, 5 stars 🌟 on that. BEWARE OF TWO MONEY THINGS! First, they have a fancy digital register that prompts you to leave a tip. For take out? At a pizzeria? They got me because my food had not been prepared yet and I did not want any SPECIAL treatment for being a cheapskate. Second, BEWARE of the non cash 💸 payment fee. It has a catchy name here, but they will add it to your bill without letting you know. NOBODY LIKES EXTRA FEES HIDDEN OR NOT. Just charge me what you need to make an honest profit and leave the hidden costs out of the process. It leaves a bad taste in my mouth. Pun intended. The bathroom 🚻 was clean. I would go back, wear a bib for that tasty thin and limp, pizza...

My wife and I love this place. We like their calzones so much, that once we requested a giant one, stuffed with goodies, to split. They enthusiastically did the special order for us, and now it's our favorite request, and our fave spot for calzones. We couldn't finish it! Leftovers for lunch, baby! The salads are excellent, and they are not stingy with ingredients... plenty of feta, olives, sundried tomatoes, red onions, cucumbers galore. The staff is friendly and the vibe is homey. And who's Babs? She's the owners mama, and our meals were served on her quaint old dishes....

We went in for lunch to try a couple of things for first time here. I had a chopped salad and it was delicious and well portioned. Great balance of flavors and textures in the salad, the golden beets were delicious. We also tried a plain cheese pie and it is fantastic. The ingredients are top notch and it was baked well. I love a thin crust NYC style slice of pizza and this place absolutely nails it! Lastly we split the meatball parm grinder. It may have been the star of our lunch. It's the best meatball sub I've had. I can't...