Bartlesville pizza scene gets a sweet addition with Lollipops Woodfire and Grocery

It's no secret — Bartlesville loves pizza.

In addition to the roster of national pizza chains, Bartlesville also plays host to Hideaway, an Oklahoma original known for excellently crafted toppings.

Added to this list is a new style of pizza: artisan-style flatbread pizza found at Palace Lounge's new spinoff eatery, Lollipops Woodfire and Grocery.

"Canaan worked on the crust recipe for a month," shares owner Adrienne Kallweit, referring to her gourmand son, also the Palace Lounge's bartender.

"We ate so much pizza," Kallweit said. "You know how the crust is a lot of people's least favorite part? Yeah, we weren't doing that."

Canaan Kallweit's final crust recipe is a stunning success. With flour imported from Italy, the light, slightly sweet crust is so delicious I wanted to savor every morsel.

Each Lollipops table comes complete with a small squeeze bottle of hot honey, which perfectly compliments many of the pizza toppings available on their specialty pizzas or kicks that tasty crust up a notch even further.

My husband and I ventured out to Lollipops over spring break to try this new pizza we kept hearing about. With its comfortable booths and moody lighting, Lollipops would make a fun date night restaurant, but it is also plenty family-friendly.

One of my favorite touches is a door to Palace Lounge cleverly concealed behind a "wardrobe" installed on the shared wall – offering a trip to next door's boozy Narnia.

While I love a traditional New York-style pizza, I also love the more Cali-inspired flatbread style offered at Lollipops. With the base ingredient of Italian-imported flour, I might even say this pizza is more authentically Italian than many pizzas found in the heartland.

Lollipops offers some original specialty pizzas not found elsewhere, twists on the familiar.

Since it was "$12 Pizza Night," my husband and I tried three different pizzas: the Neaty Meaty, the Spicy Chick and the Caprese Balsamic. In addition to these three, the Kallweits brought us the new gluten-free pizza crust to try, as a Caprese Balsamic.

We enjoyed the topping combinations on all three specialty pizzas, each with its own twist on the familiar.

The Neaty Meaty, a twist on a classic "All Meat" pizza, features two classic Italian types of meat typically found on pizza — sausage and pepperoni. Still, this unique meat-forward pizza also includes salty prosciutto and spicy Andouille sausage for that special kick. As a Cajun food lover, I especially loved the Andouille sausage on this pizza.

The Spicy Chick, a recommendation from a friend, has Alfredo sauce as its base instead of the typically tomato-y red sauce. I love Alfredo pizza, but this one is extra special with its toppings of woodfire chicken, roasted garlic, red onions and dried guajillo peppers, a flavor combination I had never had before. This pizza was extra special with the hot honey drizzled over the top.

Though all three pizzas were worthy of ordering again, the Caprese Balsamic won the night for me. A twist on a classic Margherita Pizza, the Caprese Balsamic is topped with red sauce, a delicious tomato confit, creamy mozzarella, fresh basil and a sweet-and-tangy balsamic drizzle. The flavor combination is fresh, indulgent and tangy — I couldn't get enough of this pizza. It just sings.

Although we only tried the pizza on our first visit, Lollipops also has entrees fresh from the wood-fired oven and dinner-sized salads. If the salads are anything like the standout salad I tried from Palace Rooms, they will be full of fresh ingredients and good flavors.

Another fun feature of Lollipops Woodfire and Grocery is the little shop located in front of the pizzeria. Want some artisan chocolate, fresh flowers for your kitchen table with your carryout or a nice focaccia bread as a side?

These are all available in the market area, providing a very European feel to the restaurant. And, of course, any of the drinks from Palace Rooms are available through the wardrobe door, so you can make a night of it.

Lollipops Woodfire and Grocery is located at 311 S. Dewey Ave. They are currently open 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Saturday.