Attempt #77 - Beta's

Venue Outside

The Venue

1006 3rd St SE,
Cedar Rapids, IA 52401
(319) 261-2355

This restaurant is located in the hip and trendy New Bohemia district within Cedar Rapids. It used to be known as 'Bata's', however, the original owners sold it to their long-term employee, who on their five year anniversary, changed the name to 'Beta's'. The restaurant has old brick walls, with wood panel flooring. It is artistically pleasing to dine there and have drinks. Several corporations often reserve tables for their employees and customers at this establishment. In fact, three parties were booked on Tuesday night when we visited, yet the owner managed to squeeze us in the bar area with eight adults and three children. Wonderful customer service!

The Pizza

Chicago Style: No

Menu

Crust Thickness: Thin

Menu: None(Visit their Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/betasrestaurant/)

Participants: 7

Pizza Ordered: All

Sizes Offered/Ordered: Small (10”)
Crusts Offered/Ordered: Standard Thin Crust

Pieces Cut: Rectangle-Shaped

Pepperoni - $8

All Meat – Italian Sausage, Pepperoni, Chorizo, Ground Beef, Bacon, Buffalo Milk Cheese Blend, Marinara, Shredded Parmesan, $13.

Chicken Alfredo – Alfredo Sauce, Grilled Chicken Breast, Diced Tomatoes, Shredded Parmesan, $11.

Tortilla Verde – Black Bean Verde Salsa, Spiced Chicken Breast, Black Olives, Poblano Peppers, Tortilla Strips, Cotija Cheese, $12.

Mediterranean – Fresh Mozzarella and Goat Cheese, Sliced Tomatoes, Fresh Basil, Balsamic, $11

All Meat, $13

Prosciutto Olive – Sliced Prosciutto, Buffalo Milk Cheese Blend, Sliced Green Olives, Bleu Cheese Crumbles, Arugula, Balsamic, $13.
Veggie – Wild Mushroom Ragout, Curried Cauliflower, Red Onions, Buffalo Milk Cheese Blend, Ricotta, $11.

The Verdict

Sauce: The sauce was very light, although it was thin crust, it was too dry. The pepperoni was better than the gourmet pizzas on the sauce category.
Cheese: Good quality. I loved the Buffalo Milk blend of cheese to create a unique taste that differs from the common Mozzarella. It was on the light side to keep it contained on a flatbread.

Crust: Crispy and cooked well. It was a little hard and dry around the edges, which is due to a lack of moisture and/or sauce.

Toppings: The toppings quality was great. Classy options from upscale eateries.

Chicken Alfredo, $11

Final Comments/Considerations: The pizza was good, but it didn't impress me. To me it tasted very dry, crispy, but almost lacking the flavor that I would expect from typical pizza. The dough was very thin and needed more substance to it. The toppings, although high quality, couldn't revive the partical non-existant sauce nor the spare cheese. brick oven style pizza. The All Meat won hands down for myself and the group-that pizza had lots of flavor thanks for the unique high quality meats that were added to it. Honestly, the second best pizza would be the basic pepperoni. That was the only pizza who had some sauce to sink your teeth into.

Here are our ratings, where 1 = worst and 10 = best. Overall 7.71 Cheese 7.86 Sauce 5.14 Topping 8.14 Crust 8.00 Venue 8.29 Favorite: All Meat

Mediterranean, $11

Pepperoni, $8

Prosciutto Olive, $13

Tortilla Verde, $12

Veggie, $11

Slices