Thr3e Wise Men

Thr3e Wise Men is the latest project of Scott Wise, who owns the Scotty’s Brewhouses and Scotty’s Lakehouse at Geist.  I always joke that the surest way to stir things up is to write a review of a Scotty’s enterprise. These reviews always seem to bring people out for comments. I will be interested to see if this is the case with this review.

Anyway, I already liked this place when I saw the fact that the menu is so much more limited than others in Scotty’s arsenal.  It is pretty much pizza, sandwiches, a salad and a few appetizers (fear not fried pickle lovers, they are there).  But the focus is pizza-type foods and beer, which they are also brewing in house.

We had put off going up till now because I had heard there are no backs on the seats in the restaurant (mostly picnic tables, but there are some tables in a banquette with backs) and we were waiting for a nice day to sit outside at the tables and chairs out there (with backs).  Hubby has back problems and gets cranky if he doesn’t have a back.  However, I will have to say, for picnic tables, they look like they are about the most comfortable ones you could imagine.  The seats are padded and the tables are topped with a thick coating so you aren’t going to have those tables that never really get clean.  I actually really liked the interior—it felt more welcoming and more family friendly than the Lakehouse which has always felt like a bar inside to me more than a Lakehouse.

But we sat outside with the kids who already instantly loved the place as soon as our server set down the bucket of popcorn which is being popped freshly near the back of the restaurant (the first smell I noticed when we walked in).  Seriously, they could eat nothing else and get fresh popcorn and be happy. They are easy.  Thr3e Wisemen doesn’t have a specific kids menu, but with pizza as a main item, most kids I know are going to be happy.

We started with an order of breadsticks ($4) and the tableside tossed salad ($7 for serving for 2).  The breadsticks were a hit with the kids as well—they were pretty good. Nothing amazing, but solid and I liked that they seemed to be brushed with some garlic butter giving them a little flavor without dipping them into anything.  They did bring their housemade marinara and the standard nacho cheese dip.  I am still waiting for someone to come up with something different to dip breadsticks into, but maybe that’s just me.  I would love just a bit more of the garlic butter on the side at Thr3e Wisemen --that would be tasty.  The marinara is pretty good though—very thick and savory in flavor, none of that over-sweetness I don’t like.

The salad was chopped lettuce with spinach, red onions, mushrooms, bacon, mozzarella and goat cheese.  We went with the house dressing which is an Italian-type vinaigrette.  It was properly dressed (tossed and dressed at the table) and served its purpose as a nice accompaniment to the pizza. The dressing leaned a bit toward the sweet side for me—I would prefer a bit more vinegary flavor, but that is probably a matter of taste.

The pizza though, wow, the pizza was really good.  Hubby and I split a small pizza with red onions and mushrooms ($11).   I appreciated that our server stopped us when we tried to order a medium, telling us she thought we would be better off with a small.  She was right.  The small is plenty big.  The crust is super thin and done the way a thin crust should be. Nice and crispy but with just a little chewiness. It had a great yeasty flavor, not sure if it is from the dough, or the fact that they use some of their home brewed beer in it.  Same marinara here—the right amount so it didn’t take over the other flavors and just the right amount of toppings.  The cheese is also a blend from a local dairy and had a little more flavor than your standard pizza mozzarella.  If you like a really thin crust type pizza, this is a place you need to try.  The kids had a cheese (with extra cheese) pizza ($9.50) and seemed to enjoy it as well.  Extra cheese may be a bit much for the crust, but they were happy.  On this subject, I think if you were to load up the crust with too much meat, it may not hold up as well either, but I could be wrong. I would love to hear from other people what they have liked on their pizzas at Thr3e Wisemen.

This is good pizza.  Hubby and I were both really happy to have found a handmade pizza with good flavor so near our house. We have a ton of pizza places around us, but we are not in love with any of them.  The pizza at Thr3e Wisemen may just fill our void for a good thin crust pizza.  We will know for sure when we see how well it travels.  But the current plan is to put it into the rotation for sure.  I am glad to see that the narrower menu has allowed for certain menu items to really shine.  The service was also very friendly and professional while still being low-key. I like that it doesn’t seem like they are trying too hard.  All around, this is a nice family friendly Broad Ripple option with some high quality menu items. (Kudos to the stools in the bathrooms for kids to reach the sinks and the fancy hand dryers).

Thr3e Wise Men (is it just me, or does the “3” in the name make it more difficult to find online?)

1021 Broad Ripple Avenue

Indy 46220

317/255-5151

http://www.thr3ewisemen.com/