'Peace, Love and Pizza' at Calvert Street Eatery

If you enjoy true Italian-style pizzas, pay Iggies a visit. Iggies is a Neapolitan-style pizzeria just a half-dozen blocks south of campus on North Calvert Street. Since late November, Iggies has been serving up their rendition of the famously thin-crusted Neapolitan pizzas, along with soups, salads and pastas.

Under the direction of owner-chef Lisa Heckman, Iggies' delectable pizzas are made with some of Italy's finest ingredients. The thin, light crust is made with top-grade, highly refined flour known as Italian 00 or doppio zero flour. The pizza sauce uses San Marzano tomatoes—the famed tomatoes of the small town just outside of Naples on the edge of Mount Vesuvius.

Your choice of pizza toppings includes spinach, roasted garlic, black olives, fresh and smoked mozzarella, asparagus, mushroom and tomato ragu, roasted vegetables, arugula, anchovies, fresh tomatoes and pesto.

You also can select from 10 specialty pizzas such as the Funghi (mushroom ragu, leeks and goat cheese) and the Milo & Mico—named after the owner's two Italian greyhounds—(tomato, anchovies, capers and olives). The pizzas come in 8- and 14-inch sizes.

Available pastas include a high-end mac and cheese; the Aglio Olio with herbs, olive oil, tomato and tuna; and a penne pasta with anchovies, capers, olives and chilies (all under $7).

We had the 8-inch Salamino (sopressatta, tomato ragu and smoked mozzarella, $8.50); the Margherita (tomato ragu, basil and fresh mozzarella, $7.75); and the Alice—named after the owner's grandmother—(basil pesto, fresh tomato, garlic, spinach, goat cheese and parmesan, $8.50).

The pizzas were simply amazing—the ingredients were distinctly fresh, and the flavors mixed delightfully. We also had a Caesar salad ($4.95) that was good, but unremarkable.

The restaurant is decorated in a modern industrial style. Primary colors dominate the color scheme; the walls are painted a bright yellow, and the exposed pipes a bright red. A stunning contemporary chandelier is made of blue, red and yellow glass. Even the pepper grinders and serving dishes feature playful primary colors.

The artwork on the walls is dominated by fantastical dog motifs, and the background music was a light jazz.

A huge archway separates the dining in the front of the restaurant from that of the back. In the front area, there are a number of tables in the dining area including a long communal table and large windows looking out over Calvert Street.

The restaurant uses a cafeteria-style serving method. The diner orders from the front of the restaurant and picks up her pizza, when called, from the back of the restaurant. Iggies only serves waters and sodas, but patrons are welcome to bring their own beer or wine.

Utensils, napkins, glasses and wine openers are available from a serving station in the middle of the restaurant. You are expected to bus your own table after your meal, and there is no tipping, unless you feel compelled to make a donation to the featured charity of the month.

Iggies uses organic ingredients when available and encourages recycling; their tagline is "Peace, love and pizza."

The Iggies menu states, "Our version of Neapolitan pizza making is an art that requires passion to make," and this diner, for one, agrees.

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Iggies 818 N. Calvert St. Baltimore, MD 21202 (410) 528-0818

Noon to 9 p.m. Monday through Thursday Noon to 10 p.m. Friday 2 to 11 p.m. Saturday