Review: Sauce On The Side in The Grove

Calzones are basically giant Hot Pockets, and who doesn’t want to be able to eat an entire pizza while driving? I will physically fight anyone who tries to tell me they’re not a kind of pizza, or perhaps change their minds with a piping hot calzone from Sauce on the Side. The newest location in The Grove has plenty of seating during lunch, where you can find me at the corner table, waiting with a calzone and a knuckle sandwich.

Five-0
This calzone is like a Hawaiian pizza, and there was a show called “Hawaii Five-0.” Get it? It’s the best of Hawaiian and barbecue pizzas and then some with pancetta, pineapple, red bell pepper, smoked cheddar, mozzarella, mascarpone, smoked chile oil and a barbecue sauce on the side. (Get it?) Spicy and sweet, the barbecue sauce made an excellent complement to the savory, gooey fillings – and it’s my favorite.

Cock-a-doodle Noodle
The Cock-a-doodle Noodle has a funny name, but the way the mac and cheese filling emphasized this calzone’s lightly crunchy shell was no joke. Pancetta, mozzarella and Provel melt with pulled chicken and green onions for some of the cheesiest mac in town. With Buffalo butter on the side, it’s Buffalo chicken mac that you can hold in your hand. Let that sink in, but be careful, since it comes out very hot from the kitchen. Let it cool down then let that sink in.

Smokehouse Salad
Sauce on the Side is no low-cal zone (Get it?), but if you want a hearty salad, look no further than the Smokehouse. It’s piled with butter lettuce, corn salsa, pancetta, smoked cheddar, pear tomatoes, basil and barbecue ranch dressing. Admittedly just calzone fillings with some crisp greenery added, it worked nicely for a smoky, creamy punch. The salads are so good, I’m not sure why all the calzones aren’t offered as salads. On the other hand, I’m not sure why anyone would give up the buttery, warm, flaky crust, either.

The Downside
I wasn’t kidding; these things are coffee-lawsuit hot. Unless you want molten cheese to burn the roof of your mouth, cut your calzone in half, enjoy your salad and let off some steam before enjoying your pizza pocket. For dipping, I wasn’t a fan of the garlic-butter sauce – the flavor was overwhelming and the consistency a little booger-y.

Sauce on the Side
4261 Manchester Ave., St. Louis, 314.932.7800, eatcalzones.com