One of Athens’ first independent, artisan pizzerias opened late June of last year – a pivotal time.
“AthFest was our first weekend,” said Hall Roberts, assistant general manager of Ted’s Most Best.
An award helped the restaurant forge a forceful beginning. The restaurant received the Outstanding Rehabilitation Award by the Athens-Clarke Heritage Foundation for 2011.
“The awards ceremony was the night before we opened,” said Jay Totty, co-owner. “The timing was wonderful. And then it was AthFest.”
Ted's Most Best is the downtown pizzeria counterpart to The Grit, which shares the same owner. In contrast to The Grit, Ted's food and flavors are satisfying but quick. KRISTY L. DENSMORE/Staff
On the street, hundreds of people crowded around the Pulaski street stage.
“We got to watch all the bands from out patio,” Totty said.
Several customers trickled in to stay at the restaurant or to sip a pint while enjoying the performances on its expansive patio. This spring is the eatery’s first – its patio seating and bocce ball court will certainly attract many enjoying the already mild and warmer weather to come.
“We sort of became Athens’ largest sandbox,” Totty said. “It’s devoted to children. Kids started playing in the bocce court.”
While the restaurant had a jump start, its vision developed over a long time.
“My partner, Jessica [Greene], had been looking at this building for a long time,” Totty said. “She owns The Grit. She was able to be the first person to talk to [the landlord]. He was all for it.”
An array of friends handled particulars such as welding, landscaping and the art inside the restaurant.
“We had people help us in a serendipitous way,” Totty said. “We’ve had really good luck that way.”
Greene honed her idea for an artisan pizzeria through research and waited for the right place and time to execute her plan.
“We wanted to find a niche in gourmet pizzerias,” Roberts said. “We wanted to sell whole pizzas rather than by the slice.”
Trial-and-error was key to the menu’s formation. Because Matt Tunis, one of the restaurant’s cooks, lives close to Totty, he was able to cook and serve his children and other close neighbors. At its start, the restaurant kept its menu simple.
“We got good feedback that way,” Totty said. “Some of our approach is just, ‘Well let’s try this.’ Sometimes it works out really great; sometimes we’re like, ‘Let’s rework that.’”
Its “White Rabbit” pizza is the result of one of its successful experiments. Recent tests include lasagna and chocolate, orange cannoli.
Arugula, Bacon & Egg and Perella pizzas are a few of its most popular choices. The salty meats and creaminess of the goat cheese on the Perella pizza create a hearty flavor, speckled with basil and oregano on a crispy and toasted crust. Olive oil contributes to its warmth, but without saturating the crust. Each bite possesses a satisfying crunch.
A Panini is another, smaller option than a whole pizza, and the restaurant’s Chicken Pesto Panini is one of its popular picks. Red pepper and caramelized onions add a sweetly spicy kick to the mild flavors of the pesto and grilled chicken. The bread is soft and moistened by the oil, making its abundant fillings slip out. Overall, it is a sloppy, but filling meal when a fork and knife are supplied.
Not just any restaurant can claim to serve pizzas in the Neapolitan style – it must follow certain cooking procedures.
“One of the keys to this kind of pizza is to get the oven really hot so it cooks very fast,” Totty said. “It takes a lot of skill to operate that.”
Many of the pizza’s ingredients are made in-house.
“We try to make as much as we can from scratch,” Totty said. “[Matt Tunis] came up with our sourdough pizza dough.”
Recently, it also began making its bread on-site.
“It took me a while to start doing it,” Tunis said. “As soon as I got good results, I started doing it.”
Ted Greene, Jessica’s late husband, inspired the name of the restaurant from his passion to cook.
“He just loved food,” Totty said. “He was a tremendous baker.”
It uses specific and quality ingredients to create a Mediterranean flair. Several of the pizza and salads, even a few of its desserts, use goat cheese.
“We’re fond of goat cheese,” Roberts said.
Apple Walnut Chevre Cake, baked by Jeff Fox, is an example of a French-styled cheesecake made from goat cheese. Its other cheesecakes are made in the New York style. The walnuts and dried apples in its topmost layer create a rustic and bitter flavor, which contrast its thick cream, tangy-sweet center, encased in a sweet, sandy textured graham crust. Its subtle lemon flavor creates a stronger taste than most New York-styled cheesecakes.
But cost presents one of the challenges of using certain ingredients to create gourmet meals.
“We don’t want to raise our prices for the customer,” Roberts said. “We definitely want to work with the local farmers as much as we can afford to.”
Spinach has been one of the easiest ingredients for the restaurant to purchase from local farmers on a regular basis, which appears in many of its salad offerings, such as its baked goat cheese salad. Tangy vinaigrette tops young, cool, nutty greens and crisp carrot shreds. A small medallion of baked goat cheese adds a creamy and rich balance to a fresh, light salad. Its rustic bread, lightly coated with olive oil complements the salad with its robust flavor.
In its vision to offer quality food, Ted’s Most Best also wanted to serve quality beverages. Happy Hour is every day from 3 to 6 p.m.
“We wanted to translate gourmet to our drinks, as well,” Roberts said. “We’ve received mixed reviews.”
A high and differentiated volume of customers has visited the restaurant. The Grit, its elder sister, mainly attracts those who are environmentally conscious and from a mid-to-high economic bracket and offers a semi-formal atmosphere.
“They wanted an express a very efficient service with counter service that didn’t use as much labor,” Roberts said. “We wanted it to be a high volume restaurant – get ‘em in, get ‘em out, with low labor and low prep time.”
Overall, the food is very satisfying and Ted’s Most Best, it seems, has accomplished its goal.