Fireworks pizza is OK!

We stopped at our favorite pizza joint in Connecticut and wondered Why Is It So Hard to get this stuff in Vermont?! So we decided to give Fireworks a try. It's a newish place in downtown Brattleboro, VT, right on Main Street. The atmosphere is close and cozy--we were almost touching elbows with the diners on either side of us, and we could all definitely eavesdrop on each other. This seemed fitting however, as the space used to be a great little cafeteria and I'm glad it retained some of that cheek-by-jowl charm. The walls are a warm burgundy color and the stamped tin ceiling painted a chestnut brown. We got there at 8pm on a Saturday and got a table, though the place seemed fairly full. (We were told to either get there right when they open at 5:30 or to wait until after 7:30. They close at 10pm.)

Since we are on a budget and don't eat out much, we were ready to have a treat and not be TOO stingy. So we weren't put off by the $14 pizzas (1 pizza has 6 pieces and is about a foot wide). We also treated ourselves to some red wines--I liked the Wolftrap wine from South Africa and my companion got a Côtes du Rhone from the "cheap" list. (They really do divide up the wine list that way!)

My favorite dish of the night was not a pizza but a starter called Hearth Baked Feta Cheese. It was just amazing--savory, sour, hot, with fresh herbs, some melty tomatoes and olives around the edges and nice hot flatbread strips to scoop everything up with. I'd go back just for this and a couple glasses of cheap red. For pizza my companion got a margherita with pepperoni and I had the special--Italian meatballs with fresh mozzarella and some greenish sauce that tasted a tad capery. I can't remember what it was called... The pizza was fine and the crust just what I was hoping for--light and thin and crisp, but substantial enough to hold everything. They forgot the pepperoni on my companion's pizza so it got cooked again and came out a little black on the bottom. The diner next to us said his pizza had arrived burned and had to be made again. (I guess that stone oven is HOT!) But we were satisfied and had a nice evening. We skipped dessert and went to Flat St Brewery for drinks and chess, but that's another story...

I'd say Fireworks is good for a cozy date night if you want to spend a few extra bucks on pizza than elsewhere in the area. They also do takeout (the mac & cheese with melted chèvre has been highly recommended to me) and have a kid's menu.