Raniero’s Pizzeria

Pizza and beer. When you’re in college, isn’t that pretty much all you need to get by? Other than a 2.1 GPA? For NKU students, Raniero’s is pizza and beer. Just off campus (and U.S. Route 27), Raniero’s has firmly established itself as the place a student with a nearly-maxed credit card can get a crispy slice and a brew. And with more than 15,000 students at Northern, the place can get packed Friday and Saturday nights. The food here is a big fat combo of real pizza, hoagies, and tempting bar food, which will make acing that freshman 15 quota before the end of fall semester a breeze. The homemade garlic knots and the Queso Cheez Stix are joined by an arsenal of just about everything you can stick in a deep fryer, like Pepper Jack Cheez Bites, pickles, banana pepper rings, zucchini, wings, and fries. It’s like a candy store of appetizers.

The pizza is the real thing from scratch with a thin crust, tangy sauce, but not an excess of ingredients. And like any honest pizza place, Raniero’s makes their own fresh crust. So Papa Mo’s Mucho Meat Pie will be the taste students look back on in 20 years and say “Remember that place with the most incredible pizza?” Funny how the beer and good times influence the flavor the further you get from graduation. Raniero’s is nice enough you wouldn’t be embarrassed to take visiting parents. Other than being embarrassed to be seen with your parents by your drinking buddies. Advice to students: Take the folks for an early dinner before the party starts.

Raniero’s Pizzeria, 16 Martha Lane Collins Blvd., Highland Heights, (859) 442-7437