A local restaurant’s classic pizza calls my name every Thursday night, and it’s not just for the deal but the pie’s oh-so-cheesy deliciousness.

Tamboli’s Pasta & Pizza’s formaggio pie, which is usually priced at $18.91, is just $11 every Thursday. The pizza uses a blend of shredded mozzarella, parmesan, hand-stretched mozzarella and creamy ricotta. 

I don’t get it every week, but when I remember it’s Thursday and I’ve got nothing in the fridge, I venture to the Italian restaurant at 1761 Madison Ave.

The restaurant’s pizza is “simple and straightforward,” according to owner Miles Tamboli, but he said there is one secret: the dough (though he also said the sauce should get an honorable mention). 

“We got a full-time dough guy making all our breads and pizza dough, and it’s an art and a science to get that dough right when the weather changes,” Tamboli said. “And then we use really good cheese. ... So, when you’ve only got three things — you know you’ve got your cheese, your sauce and your dough — each one of those things has to be really good.”

Before owning a pizza place, Tamboli used to be a teacher. He said the $11 Thursday pizza deal is his way of providing an option “for people like me” in his former life. 

Tamboli’s Pasta & Pizza also does daily happy hours, with half-off drinks and a $15 one-topping pizza from 4 to 5 p.m. and again from 8 p.m. to close each day.

On Tuesdays, the restaurant offers a discounted menu for people in the hospitality industry. Wednesday is for families, with a buy-one-get-a-second-half-off pizza deal and a discounted gelato scoop for kids. 

“It’s really easy to make a decent pizza,” Tamboli said, “but it’s hard to make a really, really good one. I want to make sure that folks have the option to try that.”

“The cornerstone of a pizza place is a good cheese pizza,” he said. 

Tamboli's Pasta & Pizza is located at 1761 Madison Ave. (The Daily Memphian file) 

But I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the recent buzz around Tamboli’s Pasta & Pizza, which led them to temporarily turn off their phone lines and online reservation system.

About a month ago, Tamboli’s turned away four National Guardsmen in uniform, sparking both support and outrage on social media.

Tamboli said most of the hateful comments have been from those who don’t live in Memphis and that the restaurant has had “so much support from within Memphis.”

And since mid-July, when they announced on social media what happened, Tamboli’s has had twice the amount of business. 

“I get folks not wanting to do something that could alienate some of their customer base, but if anything, what I’ve learned in the past couple of weeks, it’s a lot of work to deal with this kind of situation,” he said. “But financially speaking, it’s worked out for us because we have a lot more support than really I would have expected.”

Tamboli said he is really thankful for his staff, which has dealt with the backlash with grace and the increase in traffic with efficiency. He also mentioned that people “have been extremely generous, and tips are good.”

“That’s something beautiful about Memphis in that we’re not really a city that protests very much,” he said. “We’re more likely to show our support for positivity in a positive way than we are to riot as people do in some cities. I think that’s just the way that Memphians get involved, and it’s been amazing to see that.”

Tamboli’s Pasta & Pizza, located at 1761 Madison Ave., is open from 4 to 10 p.m., Tuesdays to Sundays. 

This week in food news

The Nineteenth Century Club at 1433 Union Ave. is listed for sale. (The Daily Memphian file) 

Belly Acres' two ownership groups will continue their legal battle for the brand at the end of this month. The groups — brothers Adam and Brian Leith and husband-and-wife duo Lee and Jennifer Scifres — have had long-ranging disputes about finances and operating rights. Chancellor Melanie Taylor Jefferson will eventually decide who keeps the brand at the end of the trial.

Abigail Warren reported that Cheffie’s Cafe closed its Collierville location with a year left on its 10-year lease. She spoke to a co-owner, who said Cheffie’s in Collierville never recovered after the pandemic. The remaining location in High Point Terrace will remain open. 

Tekila Group is selling its Union Avenue location, better known as the historic Nineteenth Century Club, for $3.8 million. The group bought the building in October 2023 for $2.1 million, then opened and operated a Tekila Modern Mexican for almost three years. The restaurant plans to remain open until the new owners tell them to vacate.

Jennifer Chandler gave readers the inside scoop on Melissa Cookston’s provoleta with chimichurri and roasted cherry tomatoes. Cookston is known for her award-winning barbecue, but Chandler said she can do more than pork, which is proven in her newest cookbook: “Fanning The Flames: Recipes and Tall Tales from BBQ Hall of Famer Melissa Cookston.”

Jimmy Hoxie operates The Ginger’s Bread & Co. (Meka Wilson/The Daily Memphian file) 

The Ginger’s Bread & Co. has leased a second spot in Midtown for its commercial baking operations. The bakery had plans for a Downtown location, but those plans fell through. Co-owner Jimmy Hoxie said they hope to open a small retail space inside the new space once they settle in.

In our latest $15 deal, Gracie Driver wrote about Mila’s Pupusas’ birria pupusas, which she said are “a crispy and gooey creation with an unreal cheese pull as soon as you break open the crust.” I am a birria fan myself, so I will be going to try these three classic pupusas, or thin corn griddle cakes, for $12 immediately. 

In last week’s Food Files, I talked to Midtown’s Pot Headz Coffee. And no, there is no cannabis in the drinks or food — nor will there ever be, according to the owners. The name comes from a coffee pot, which they prefer to drink out of themselves. Also, Ouri Matcha had its grand opening Saturday, Aug. 1, in Uptown.

Dave’s Hot Chicken is coming to Poplar Plaza’s high-traffic corner spot. The Pasadena, California-based hot chicken chain hopes to open by the end of the year in one of the five suites in the former 15,000-square-foot Spin Street space. 

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