3 stars at most for the food, but maybe 3.5 overall because the restaurant itself is pretty awesome.
Saturday afternoon for lunch – had reservations, definitely didn’t need them as only 4 or so tables were taken. It’s a lovely, large, open space. So well decorated, just a great ambiance. I wish I liked the food more! It would be a great place to go for a date, a small group, or even a large group. I love the decor.
Neapolitan pizza is our thing and we’ve spent considerable time eating it and understanding it. This place doesn’t get it quite right, which really makes me sad given the above.
Marinara – basil, garlic oregano. The dough is nothing to write home about. Not much taste at all, way too charred despite our emphasizing lightly done, and unfortunately the dough might as well have been taken from a national chain pizza place. It’s not even really the right shape – all one level. The tomato sauce is good, but not special. Not enough garlic, basil was fine, but not a fresh basil taste.
Margherita Rossa – mozzarella, basil, and tomato sauce, but we added onions. Same dough comments as above. Not quite enough tomato sauce on this one, needed a little more. Mozzarella, though, actually wasn’t bad and I’m a very tough mozzarella critic. It didn’t have that rubbery texture that many others do at Neapolitan pizza places, so that was definitely a plus. And it blended well into the pizza instead of just sitting on top. The onions were a disappointment. We were expecting raw onions, but they came completely drenched in olive oil. If you’re going to marinate or caramelize onions, make them good and flavorful. These were just white onions that had been sitting in bland olive oil for hours, or so they seemed.
We ate both the pizzas in their entirety, but had to leave most of the crust, which we never ever leave when it’s done the proper way. I wish it were better!
Also, when we asked for our pizzas lightly done, the waiter tried to tell us that if they didn’t cook the dough a certain amount, we’d get sick. First, we always get our pizzas like that and the response is generally sure no problem, and second, that’s weird. Why would we get sick?
