The Northwood section of West Palm Beach still isn't a place I like to go to, since it doesn't feel safe and is just steps from street walkers and drug dealers. I recall many years ago a builder in West Palm Beach mentioning to me that the smart money was heading to the north of downtown and closer to Northwood. Well safe to say I haven't seen any smart money these ways, nor do I think anything smart will happen for several years. A few restaurants recently took advantage of the cheaper rent up these ways and decided to take a shot at attracting some folks to frequent the area.

One of these restaurants is Cafe Centro which has a pizza place called Allora Pizza attached to it. Not sure why they have a different name since they share the same bathroom, kitchen and servers it seems. But, here we were at Allora Pizza or Cafe Centro or whatever it was. All I knew is they had pizza and that my friend was buying.

It took a little while for someone to come and greet us once we sat down inside Allora Pizza. We happened to have been the only patrons but Cafe Centro had a few tables filled. I personally ordered a plain pie, and the guys I was with ordered some pizza with a bunch of toppings on it.

Just to see what he would say, I asked the waiter if he thought the pizza was good here at Allora Pizza, and he told me he is confident that it was the best. After trying the pizza I wish I never had these "best" expectations, since I wasn't sure if he meant he was confident they had the best pizza on this block of Northwood (since they might be the only one) or that he thought they were the best pizza place that is next to Cafe Centro?

My pizza was undercooked, and in my personal opinion had an overbearing cornmeal taste to it. Usually I enjoy the cornmeal that some pizzerias use to firm up the crust, but this was just too much. The cheese was decent and was probably my favorite part of the pizza. The sauce was applied lightly which was a good thing because in my opinion it needed a little more flavor.  For $6.95 it was a good size pie for the price, and I have zero complaints with this aspect of what I ordered. The amount of flour on the outer rim of the crust was something that I have lots of complaints about though.

Although Allora Pizza is a place in my opinion that I wouldn't go back to eat at, Cafe Centro certainly looked appealing and I think I will try it out. The guys I was with didn't seem to mind the pizza as much as I did, and they proudly ate all their toppings like I was missing something, but I go with the plain pie and only judge that when I can.

Allora Pizza in West Palm Beach gets 4 out of 8 slices.