Cosimo's Brick Oven, Middletown, NY

Cosimo's Brick Oven in Middletown has been around since 1995. That's seventeen in human years, and close to a hundred in restaurant years where the life expectancy of a restaurant is less than five years (seventy percent of new restaurants close within the first five years). I've only been there a few times, but I was satisfied each time. 

We stopped by today after nearly walking into an Olive Garden. You see, I was in the mood to try someplace we hadn't been to in a while and Olive Garden seemed worth a visit. As we were about to enter we both had the same thought, that we were going to regret it. We got back in the car and went down the road to Cosimo's.  

I decided on the tapenade flatbread pizza shown above at $13.00. It had shrimp, olive tapenade, cherry tomatoes, plenty of cheese and zucchini. It was quite tasty with a crispy crust and just the right flavor notes. Everything had a fresh, clean taste, especially the shrimp which made me think they were fresh not frozen.

Teresa got the half Margherita pizza and Caesar salad for $9.00. She said the pizza was okay and the salad looked to be of good size. 

We tried an old favorite and we were not disappointed. What I found interesting was that there was a line inside of the Olive Garden waiting for a table while Cosimo's was not all that busy at two in the afternoon. This simply proves that mediocrity sells if the name is familiar. Cosimo's is a small chain (four restaurants of that name and Torches on the Hudson) but it is locally owned and managed.