ADVERTISEMENT

    Aficionadough: JT’s Pizza and Pub – Choose Your Own Adventure

    The rules of engorgement for pizza consumption changed when I was married and became a father. The weight of responsibility in making a pizza selection for a Friday or Saturday family meal weighs heavy on my shoulders. My wife is a strong-minded woman with particular preferences for pizza. A date during the midpoint of our courtship involved staging a pizza taste off involving picking up 10 pizzas from two places. My 6 year-old has lived a highly curated life of pizza consumption with most of his pizza taste profile formatted via Hounddog’s, Iacono’s, Tommy’s, Pizza House and the best of what the center region of Columbus has to offer. Should I bring home pizza that is not pleasing to the palates of my wife and child, retribution will be swift and unrelenting. The pouting, the looks of disappointment, the biting sarcasm…”Um dad, you wrote a book on pizza and this is the best you can do”? Or my wife’s stink eye at me when she heads to the freezer to get the “emergency” frozen pizza in case I have failed or more likely “got something weird again.” 

    ADVERTISEMENT

    So yes, I have never brought an unvetted pizza to share with my wife and son. The risks and the consequences are too great to conceive. So when I ordered from JT’s Pizza and Pub I was a bit apprehensive. However, I had reason to hope. I stalked the place on various social media for months. I noted that several culinary inclined people I trust consistently raved about it. On a rare, unchaperoned evening I tried to order a pizza just for myself, however, JT’s was so busy I could not place a phone or online order. Covid protocols, a busy schedule and a need to get something to press drove me to take a leap of faith and bring home a pizza I had never tried. 

    The standard order for evaluating a new pizza place is large pizza, half pepperoni and half cheese. This is Columbus so the need to evaluate the quality, quantity and pairing of pepperoni with the rest of the pizza is critical. For any pizza, regardless of style, location, philosophy, etc., it is important to be able to try it plain sans toppings. A cheese pizza without any other ingredients – lets me evaluate the base pie without anything else to interfere in my assessment. A plain cheese pizza has nothing it can hide behind. In a perfect world, I would try the pizza on-site, but for the last two years, I have opted for carry out only and I always pick up. In addition to a pizza, for evaluation purposes, I order an Italian sub and if something is consistently mentioned as a fan favorite or a house specialty – meatball sub, pasta dish, etc., I will order that as well. 

    In the case of JT’s Pizza and Pub, I varied slightly from my standard evaluation order. For my son, I ordered a Cheese Lovers Pizza (with three of the four offered cheeses) with half pineapple on regular crust. That gave him a preferred topping while still giving me a base pizza to assess. Next, the Big Al, featuring pepperoni, banana peppers and sausage, topped with extra cheese and house-made 12 hour sauce on a parmesan crust. I completed our order with an Italian Sub: ham, salami, pepperoni, banana peppers, onions, provolone cheese, topped with Italian dressing. 

    Our family enjoyed both pizzas. My wife said we could get JT’s again as she finished her first slice. We both enjoyed the dense, crunchy crust. After a few pieces I noticed “dimples” on the bottom of the crust which is often an indicator of a conveyor oven (no points off). After multiple bites of crust edge squares, I noticed the end pieces feature a thinner, crunchier crust. These edges are the depth of the very tips of my finger tips (⅛ of an inch) and since they are unprotected by sauce, cheese or toppings, these pieces have the crunchiness of a rye chip from a bag of Gardetto’s snack mix. I liked it. The hardness created a mini handle for these outer rim slices allowing me to eat these edge-of-the-border pieces in a dainty manner free of grease and sauce.

    The dimpled underbelly of JT’s pie

    My spouse and I were in consensus about all of the ratios being on target: crust-cheese-sauce. We found toppings to be ample but not voluminous. In the case of the Big Al, the combination was an impeccable union of our favorite toppings, however, we would opt for a different sausage purveyor. We found the sausage did not add or subtract from our Big Al experience, it offered the desired texture and resistance, but was lacking in the flavor profile we prefer. The parmesan-infused crust was a fine addition to the Big Al. 

    We loved the Cheese Lovers pizza. The different cheeses blended together well. The sweetness of the pineapple paired well with the saltiness of the cheese, creating a tasting combination we will revisit in the future. I liked the sub, my wife really enjoyed the sub, noting that the proportions and the level of toastiness in the bun and supporting ingredients were within her Goldilocks zone. 

    Back tracking on this first contact experience with JT’s, online ordering was easy. There were a lot of choices to consider as well as several specials and descriptions to read and re-read as I tried to make my final selections. Also, first-time customers can trade their email address for 10% off an order, that is a good value. Picking up our order was a breeze with a designated curbside pick up area, fast attention from staff, and I found a quarter in the parking lot! Looking back at our meal and the choices we made, I would recommend extra cheese on any pizza, not due to skimpy cheese, but because the crust is strong and crispy enough to support it without making your pizza box a grease trap.

    I was satisfied with my meal(s) (the next-day pizza test passed with good marks) and found myself wanting to know more so I contacted JT’s to see if I could have a chat with the owner. The quick response back came straight from the boss himself and I was invited to call for more information.    

    The Big Al at JT’s
    A closeup of what Big Al has to offer

    The J of JT’s is Joe Hartnett. He started the business in 2007 at 21 when he was given a deal he could not refuse. He took over the kitchen part of Bier Stube Pizza and Grille. At an age when most of his friends were just barely legal to enter the bar side of the building, he jumped into the world of running a kitchen and has never looked back.  He has a few advantages as a greenhorn to pizzerias. He came from a pizza-focused family where pizza was a meal at least once per week. He learned much about service industry standards while working at Max & Erma’s. After getting the kitchen set up the way he wanted it, he focused on fine tuning his sauce, and seeking out the best ingredients, while listening to what his customers wanted, to create a food and beverage experience that would keep customers coming back. 

    In 2015, he took over the bar side of the business and renamed the combined entity JT’s Pizza and Pub. In the quest to continue to create an ideal customer experience, JT’s added a patio in order to offer more seating and live music to his bill of fare. On that same path, he opened JT’s Grab and Go, a carry out across the street (just before the pandemic) which allows customers more beverage selections for take out orders and more parking for his staff at the pizzeria. As for the Big Al Pizza, that is named for Joe’s dad and his preferred topping combination (we agree Big Al). 

    Since day one, Joe had a focus on quality, consistency and service. He wanted to create a neighborhood place that is clean and comfortable that offers good service with great food. For his initial beer selections he sought the sage advice of a regular customer who is an industry expert. Hartnett continues to use customer feedback as the bellwether of the business, especially in regards to menu specials and music selections. 

    The menu offers, often daring, monthly pizza specials, daily meal specials, a shot of the month and more. In December, the Crab Rangoon Pizza (which was not cleared for consumption by my wife) was a feature of the month (Sweet Chili Base, Herb Cream Cheese, and Crab, topped with Scallions and Crushed Wontons), and outsold all other offerings, a first for the restaurant specials but not likely the last time. The specials are based on customer ideas and allow regulars the opportunity to keep things new when they come back. 

    Another element that maintains the neighborhood feel of the place is the recurring friendly faces behind the counter and at the table, which come from low staff turnover. Hartnett has tried to maintain competitive pay and benefits for staff, which is a challenge for any small, independent business. 

    JT’s Italian Sub

    Reflecting back on my JT’s experience, it really is a choose your own adventure destination. The menu has a depth of offerings outside what a typical pizza joint would offer. The bar taps plenty of choices for craft beer fans or sports bar casual drinkers. In addition to the specials on the menu, patrons can create their own calzones and pizzas. There is a choice of five flavored crusts, four sauces, inclining a 12-hour (traditional) sauce. In the wing department, in addition to several sauces, fans can go with a dry rub or house-made ranch. All of this may seem a bit overwhelming but wait, there is more. 

    When ordering your pizza there is a choice of almost limitless possibilities of toppings, crusts, cheeses and sauces, plus the ability to create topping combinations on either half of a pizza while opting for a drizzle of ranch, or picking pie cut, well-done crust or gluten-free crust. If there are any mathematicians out there with time to kill, take a look at the menu and let me know how many combinations are possible, whatever the answer is, I will not live long enough to try them all.  

    This stretch of Linworth, on the border of Dublin and Worthington, can allow businesses to blend into the background, but JT’s Pizza and Pub (and patio) is worth seeking out and has offerings that should jump out at you. There is an almost 100% chance there is at least one offering you will love here as a dine-in guest or when picking up dinner to take home for your family. 

    Find JT’s Pizza And Pub at 2390 W. Dublin Granville Rd. For more information, visit jtspizzacolumbus.com.

    (Authors Note: if you are not familiar with this area of town, add to your adventure by exploring The Hungarian Butcher, Russian Club and Diana Deli which are nearby to stock up on some non-Italian staples for the home pantry.)

    All photos by Jim Ellison

    Where JT’s and its pizza awaits
    ADVERTISEMENT

    Subscribe

    More to Explore:

    Aficionadough: Columbus Pizzeria Confidential

    The pizza business is different from the rest of...

    6 Recent Bar & Restaurant Closures Across Columbus

    Sono Wood Fired Closes at EastonAfter two and a...

    Old School Eats: Thurn’s Specialty Meats – The Final Cut

    On December 19, 2023 Thurn’s Specialty Meats posted a Facebook message that traveled like a Blitzkrieg through Columbus. It was shared 140 times with 200 plus comments. The business announced the last day for the retail shop would be Saturday, May 24, 2024 (Memorial Day Weekend). An already busy holiday week became a juggernaut of customers that has not subsided as we progress to the countdown on the countertop. It was a journey of four generations of tradesmen, butchering at the highest level to get to this final cut.

    Old School Eats: Windward Passage – Seafood and Cinnamon Rolls

    Here’s the thing about Windward Passage. You get it or...
    Jim Ellison
    Jim Ellison
    Jim Ellison has been eating his whole life and has gotten pretty good at it. Along the way, he started writing about his adventures for his blog, CMH Gourmand (in 2006), magazines, websites and even content for the early days of CU. In the realm of pizza, most recently he wrote the book, 'Columbus Pizza: A Slice of History' however long-time Columbus Underground fans will recall him as the instigator of Pizza Grand Prix I - VI. Writer, eater, enabler and champion for mom & pop pizzerias, he covers pizza places, pizza culture and occasionally other culinary rabbit holes as our carb-craving correspondent. You will find him on Instagram at @CbusPizzaHistory. 
    ADVERTISEMENT