By Dennis R. Getto
Journal Sentinel dining critic

Published: Apr. 5, 2002

"I wouldn't taste it when I first started here," our waitress said. "I thought, 'A pizza with mayonnaise? No way!'

"Then I tried it. It was really good."

We were at Ricardo's, and the waitress was responding to our question about an unusual pizza on the menu - a "BLT" ($9.25 for a 9-inch mini to $19.25 for a 17-inch family-size). It had been recommended by a reader who suggested I try this casual 80-seat establishment in downtown Greendale.

Ricardo's pizzas, which come in nine different versions as well as custom-made varieties, are served hot and fresh on crisp, substantial crusts. But they're not the only reason to visit the restaurant. Pasta, barbecued ribs and even a Friday fish fry are all well worth the trip to Greendale.

32 years, 2 locations

Ricardo's 32-year history begins in 1970, when the husband-and-wife team of Rick and Kathy Loch opened Ricardo's in a space that was one-third the size of the present restaurant, Rick said. Three years ago, when all of downtown Greendale underwent renovation, Ricardo's moved to its new location, which features a front non-smoking dining room and a rear bar room with tables for smokers. The restaurant's back door opens as frequently as the front: Roughly half the business at Ricardo's is carryout.

The front room is decorated in light, restrained colors with two salvaged windows hung on the wall to create the illusion of an Italian courtyard. A trendy Italian beverage poster lights up the front wall with splashes of red and yellow.

To see the main visual attraction at Ricardo's, you have to venture into the back dining room. Just west of the bar is a huge aquarium filled with more than 50 tropical fish. Watching them dart in and out of the rock catacombs at the back of the tank provides some pleasant entertainment over good food.

Ricardo's entrees fall into five basic categories: sandwiches (including grilled Italian-style versions called panini), barbecue, pasta, pizzas and three items listed under the simple title "dinner:" chicken tenders ($8.50); shrimp ($10.95); and a Friday fish fry ($9.50). I found something worthwhile in each of those groups.

Yet another BLT twist

Let's take the pizzas first. That BLT pizza took me by sheer surprise. In 20 years of reviewing restaurants, I've seen all sorts of things with the letters BLT in their titles. Eagan's downtown serves a BLT with lobster; Beans & Barley on North Ave. serves a BLT with tempeh (a soy product). I've even eaten BLT soups at several places.

But never a BLT pizza. And when it arrived at our table, with a lattice of mayonnaise atop a small round cloud of shredded lettuce, I'll admit to having second thoughts. But those thoughts don't stop a restaurant critic for long, and within minutes I was crunching away at a creation that tasted like a cross between a club sandwich and veal parmesan. The striking contrast between the chilled lettuce and the hot crust alone was worth the price of the pizza.

The Hawaiian Pizza ($8.50 to $18) wasn't quite as strange. It tossed chunks of pineapple and Canadian bacon atop what looked to be a blend of mozzarella and cheddar cheese. The fruit's sweetness livened the pizza's overall flavor nicely.

My favorite pizza creation was one that my dining companion and I assembled on our own - cheese, mushroom, sausage, pepperoni, fresh tomato and black olive ($9.50-$20.25). The combination of a well-baked crust (which had a pleasant, wheat flavor) and perfectly fresh ingredients (including fennel-flecked sausage), scored the biggest hit with me.

Ribs ($16.50) form the main foundation of the menu's barbecue section; we sampled them as an appetizer ($7.50). The five ribs we were served would have made a nice lunch; the meat was smoky, lean and offered pleasant resistance to the tooth. Producing ribs this good without a barbecue pit seemed like quite an accomplishment.

Pasta to match the pizza

Many places that produce good pizza can't match it in the pasta department. Ricardo's isn't one of them. The mostaccioli ($7.95) I tried with meatballs ($1.50 extra) was covered with a long-cooked tomato sauce that hinted of sweetness and lacked the acidic edge often found in Milwaukee's Southern Italian restaurants.

The next time I go back to Ricardo's probably won't be a Friday, because that's when decision-making is hardest.

In addition to top-notch pizza, pasta and ribs, Ricardo's serves a great fish fry. For your $9.50, you get three pieces of battered cod, fried crisp, with coleslaw, soft marble rye and the choice of fries or a crisp potato pancake. After two bites of the pancake, I couldn't imagine ever ordering fries.

If there was any weakness in the Ricardo's food line-up, it was in the sandwich department. Italian Beef ($6.95) with mozzarella cheese ($1 extra) needed a more aromatic meat juice to bring it to Chicago standards. And a Tuscany Panini ($6.50), though made with real prosciutto (Italian air-cured ham) and mozzarella, was sour tasting and so wet its juices dribbled all over my friend's shirt when he tried to eat it.

For dessert, the house Raspberry Truffle ($4.25) was quite good - soft Italian gelato surrounded by a dark chocolate shell.

Our waitress suggested I try the Cookies and Cream Truffle ($4.25) on my next visit. I might also follow her advice about those exotic pizzas.

"I still won't eat the Cheeseburger Pizza," she said. "It has dill pickles on it."

I think I'll pass that one up.