A classic movie’s anniversary, another celeb book signing, and where to eat… today on Citybuzz!
Tag Archives: pizza
PHONE HOME – AUG 25
Two movies to choose from tonight — can you guess one?? — plus, where should you eat today?
Balena
The Bristol and Boka Restaurant Group have teamed up for this rustic Italian restaurant in the Landmark space in Lincoln Park, where a wood-burning grill and roasting spits work hard to turn out dishes such as cherry and duck bruschetta, whole grilled fish, pizza and panzanella.
Harry Caray’s Restaurant
Located near the main entrance to Navy Pier, Harry Caray’s Tavern waterfront location, family friendly menu, and Chicago’s premier sports museum combine to create a one-of-a-kind dining experience for guests of all ages. The extensive menu includes flavorful sandwiches and wraps, pastas, fresh salads, and homemade pizzas. The Chicago Sports Museum, featuring beautifully crafted display cabinets, highlights a rotating collection of museum-quality sports memorabilia, including an extensive collection of artifacts, photographs, and vintage newspapers celebrating Chicago sports legends, past and present. Harry’s extensive patio offers the perfect place to enjoy the beauty of Lake Michigan and the excitement of Navy Pier. Click here for more information.
Sfuzzi
Twenty five years ago, on this very street, Robert Colombo’s original Sfuzzi opened in Uptown Dallas. Known for it’s fresh, innovative italian foods, and lively social setting, Sfuzzi became a McKinney Avenue landmark for over 10 years. Even today it is remembered as one of Dallas’s most innovative and successful restaurants.
Now, Sfuzzi is back. The new Sfuzzi harkens back to the roots of an old New York City pizzeria, centered on our commitment to serving fresh pizzas and pasta, wonderful wine and beverages, and, oh yes, a dash of great music. Musically, you will hear everything from 80s dance songs, sing-a-longs of the 70’s, jazz and blues, current top 40 hits and classic rock of artists such as Johnny Cash and Bob Dylan.
Sfuzzi’s wrap-around patio rekindles beautiful memories of the original Sfuzzi patio scene, which set the social standard for McKinney Avenue. Equipped with flat screen panels, pulsating music, glass-enclosed fireplace, and fabulous food and drink, the patio at the newly evolved Sfuzzi will rival those of Miami’s luxury venues and the family oriented venues of the Grand Caymans.
Urbanize your pizza experience at Urban Crust
With more young professionals moving away from the city, Downtown Plano is moving from the down-home country atmosphere and bringing in a younger, cooler crowd. The new-ish pizzeria, Urban Crust, brings in both the family-oriented diner as well as the young drinking crowd with a big family-style interior and a rooftop bar, complete with 32 degree beers and an ice bar to keep your cocktail chilled. When it comes to the food, they serve up Neapolitan style pies with gourmet touches to either feed the whole family or soak up all that ice cold beer. Favorite pies include a four cheese pizza drizzled with truffle oil and the Urban Amore, featuring fig preserves, prosciutto, goat cheese, and arugula, as well as a slew of starters and delectable salads served family style.
Get an authentic Neapolitan pie at Brix Pizza and Wine Bar
Brought to you by Daniele Puleo of Daniele Osteria, Brix Pizza and Wine Bar in Fort Worth serves up gourmet Neapolitan pies and classic Italian entrees with an extensive wine list at reasonable prices. The atmosphere is open yet cozy, even if you’re not sitting on the quaint little patio. For starters, the bruschetta is especially special and the hell’s kitchen fries marry tabasco and gorgonzola in a mound of starchy deliciousness. The pizza menu changes a little here and there but the pies are always inventive and tasty. A few staples include the prosciutto and spinach and the classic margherita. With two Italian chefs working the kitchen, this is about as authentic as pizza gets in America.
It’s all about the Dough
Dough, a Neapolitan-style pizzeria out of San Antonio has opened up shop in North Dallas with gourmet ingredients and an 800+ degree brick oven. Dough hand makes their own mozzarella fresh daily or give the option of buffalo mozzarella imported from Italy, all topped off with a topping list to make any foodie salivate. A few favorite pies include the Fontina (oak roasted mushrooms and caramelized onion topped with Fontina cheese), the Pork Love (red sauch, Fior di Latte, salami, sausage, pancetta & speck) or the Margherita “STG” (traditional margherita topped with Mozzarella di Bufala and Parmesan Reggiano). Ingredients aside, it’s the hand-tossed pizza dough that turns into a puffy, flat bread-like crust that brings Dough’s pizza to the next level.
Piola’s Pizzas Bring a World of Flavor to ATL
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Hidden next to RA Sushi, across the street from the Loews Hotel, Piola is truly one of Atlanta’s best kept secrets. Part of a worldwide chain originating in Italy in 1986, Piola has a laid-back, fun, international vibe. Cozy and colorful, Piola is great for unwinding alone, with friends or with a special someone. The warm and inviting atmosphere just takes the edge off the day.
Grab a seat at the bar and make a request for
the fabulous Coconut Mojito, which is not necessarily on the menu. A must try is also the Sgroppino Al Limone, or simply lemon ice cream (well gelato) and vodka; it’s a signature drink for a reason. Happy hour is from 5pm-8pm and there are always some free appetizers to sample.
Venture past the bar for more extensive dining. Pizza- thin, brick oven style – really is the thing and the Margherita is always a winner, but it’s far from the only pizza option. Piola has Featured Piola “Pizze,” like the Rio de Janeiro with chicken, catupiry cheese, parsley, tomato sauce and mozzarella; Classic Pizze, like the Margherita; and Le Pizze Bianche, or White Pizza, which is are the classic pizzas without tomato sauce. Piola is also known for its gnocchi and hosts monthly, all-you-can-eat “Gnocchi Day.” And, for dessert, you can’t go wrong with a classic tiramisu.
When it comes to having a laid-back good time, Piola truly knows what makes the world go round.
Pizza Lounge in Expo Park serves up creative pies in a creative setting
Exposition Park’s Pizza Lounge is the kind of place you’d expect to see in the Dallas section of Lonely Planet. The interior gives off an eclectic ambiance with purposely-mismatched couches and lounge chairs around every table. Pizza Lounge is conveniently located across the street from Fair Park, is right by a DART station and it’s only a skip hop and a jump from Deep Ellum.
The menu is an entertaining read unto itself with cleverly named dishes and pies. A few good choices are the Nickel Bag/Dime Bag (small/large spinach and broccoli rabe), the Margherita (it seems like a boring choice until you realize they throw capers on there), or the Sofa King: a pie so loaded with meat it guarantees to make you “Sofa King Full.” Pizza Lounge also loves vegans as much as vegans love animals with several vegan options and substitutes conveniently labeled with a green “v” symbol. Don’t be cruel – eat tofu.
Rubirosa – for a memorable slice of pizza
Unless you are in Italy, it is not easy to find a venue where you can have a perfect slice of pizza, in an welcoming environment. Fortunately for New Yorkers, there is Rubirosa , located on Mulberry between Prince and Spring Street. This little Italian restaurant is one of the coziest venues I know, and their pizza is one of the best I ate in New York so far. But don’t get distracted by the pizza only, because most of their dishes are simply delicious. And caution – no matter what you order from their menu, it is going to come in a large quantity. Being lunch or dinner time, Rubirosa is always crowded, and their staff always friendly. The gorgeous wooden bar, the wooden floors, and dimmed lights make the place look rustic and warm, reminding of a nineteen century farm in Italy’s countryside. But what makes Rubirosa truly memorable is certainly the foo
d.
Spacca Napoli: not Chicago’s typical pizza place
Forget Chicago’s famous deep-dish stuffed pizza. Ravenswood’s Spacca Napoli Pizzeria is all about Neapolitan pizza perfectly toasted in a wood-fire oven.
While Spacca is known for its super-thin crust pizza–forget a fork and just roll it up–the Italian eatery also offers a mix of traditional Naples appetizers. Even simple dishes like caprese con bufala are mouth-watering delicious.
Also check for cannoli on your way out. The hostess will occasionally offer the dessert for free.
Insider’s Tip: Just want your pizza to go? Spacca will make it in a jiffy but still offer a sample of Prosecco on the house for while you wait.
Spacca offers the thinnest pizzas available in all of Chicago.
Piece: Eat Your Pizza in Peace
When you think Chicago and pizza, the image of a 100 pound deep dish usually conjures. Not the case at Piece Pizzeria and Brewery in Wicker Park. Nope. Here slices of just about anything you want can be made and the most popular is actually the “New Haven” style.
From clams to sauteed mushrooms, the topping selections means no one goes home hungry. And the beer? What other perfect accoutrement could one need? With its seven barrel brewery, Piece produces award winning micro brews thanks to brewer John Cutler who was even named top brewmaster at the World Beer Cup Champion as was this small brewpub. Prost!
Revolution Brewery: We all Want to Change the World
Micro-breweries are so hot right now. Chicagoans said they want a revolution (from dull beer) and they got one with Revolution Brewery.
Managing Partner, Josh Deth is just the man to bring on the revolution as his long history with beer (working with, not only drinking) began with iconic Chicago’s Goose Island Brewery.
All draft beers at the bar appear as arms and fists, a slew of revolution hungry revelers. And the brews that pour from them? Salivate over the sounds of the Iron Fist Pale Ale: dry-hopped American ale featuring centennial, cascade, chinook and amarillo hop or the summer special, Rosie: tart summer ale infused with 12lbs of hibiscus flowers and orange peel with a sexy pink hue.
And though beer technically is a food source (right?), they do serve chewable food as well – and darn good grub at that. A hearty brunch, tasty pizzas and the classic Iron Fist Fish & Chips.
Keste is Neapolitan for “This Is It”
San Marzano tomatoes, buffalo mozzarella flash-frozen in Campagna, Italy before shipping to New York, sea salt, volcanic stone heated to one thousand degrees: these are just some of the necessary ingredients for a true Italian pie at Keste Pizza & Vino. And this attention to authentic detail is working, as the newest contender for the best slice in New York, it has already ranked #1 on NY Mag’s list of NYC’s Top Pie.
Keste Pizza & Vino offers over twenty pizza pies ranging in price from $9 to $19 with striking toppings such as imported cooked ham, butternut squash cream and truffle spread. Once the order is placed and the toppings are spread over the dough, pizzas cook in just one minute thanks to the thousand degree oven.
Chef-owner Roberto Caporuscio is a traditionalist when it comes to making his twelve-inch Neapolitan pies. With an oven that was made by artisans flown in from Naples, Keste Pizza & Vino is the newest contender for the legendary New York slice status, even if it is through and through Italian. The name sake pie has tomatoes, buffalo mozzarella, prosciutto di parma, arugola, gran cru and extra virgin olive oil. And for the purist there is always the simple elegance and perfection that is the equally popular Margherita.
Joey’s Brings it Home With Classic Italian
Serving up a new menu every day, classic Italian dishes never get old at this inviting eatery. Homemade pizza with only the freshest ingredients will have your taste buds tickled. Located in an up and coming art district, Joey’s is a masterpiece itself.
Diggin’ Deep Dish at Gino’s
There are two types of pizza in this world. New York thin slice and Chicago deep dish. Sorry, Italy – your pizza doesn’t really even register anymore. If you ask the DJs Deep Dish, their answer is simple – Chicago pizza takes the cake (or pie). When they moved to the USA, they fell so in love with it, that they named themselves after it.
When looking for that classic Chicago deep dish, the place to go is Gino’s East . Don’t expect the most glamorous ambiance or the best service, no, no. This is all about the checkered table cloth, simple service but amazing pizza. There’s just something about that cornbread crust.
Beginner’s beware: You don’t need a lot of pie here. One piece will likely fill you up in a beautiful way. Also, if you think you’re in a hurry – forget it! A deep dish pizza at Gino’s will run you a minimum of 30 minutes – but hey, heavenly taste don’t come easy baby, so chill.
Tony’s Pizza Napoletana Serves World Champion Slices
Home to a large Italian-American crowd, any old bloke will tell you that North Beach is the neighborhood to be in if you’re looking for a scintillating slice of San Francisco’s finest pizza. But with more than a dozen pizzerias within a five block 
radius, how can you tell the run-of-the-mill from the cream-of-the-crop? Leave it to the professionals. Tony’s Pizza Napoletana is the dough and marinara of nine-time World Pizza Champion Tony Gemignani — the first American and non-Neapolitan to ever claim the prize for “Best Pizza Margherita.”
With ingredients imported from Napoli each week alongside produce from local organic farmers and artisan cheese makers, Tony handcrafts his award-winning pizzas in the heart of Little Italy from the same 900-degree, wood-burning oven that catapulted him to fame. Just steps away from Washington Square Park, the full-service restaurant turns out a limit of 73 celebrated medium Margherita crusts a day, fresh-as-can-be ingredients permitting. If you’re not one of the chosen ones, you can take your pick of more than 25 other varieties, from truffle to quail egg and speck to the New Jersey-style “Original Tomato Pie.” If baked dough isn’t your cup of tea, praiseworthy antipasti, pastas, inslata, and dolci also await.
Wine, Pies, and Good Times at Coal Vines
If you venture into the uptown scene in Dallas, you know that Coal Vines is the hip hangout where pizza and wine are accessories to a great time. For several years now, Coal Vines has provided a meet-up spot to grab cocktails and a slice of pie before a big night out or a late night patio date. Wines of cabernet, chardonnay, merlot, pinot noir or sparkling…there is no shortage of the perfect sip to go along with coal oven baked pizzas. If pizza won’t hit the spot, perhaps Rigatoni or Fennel Crusted Salmon will do the trick.
Though it’s a small venue and there isn’t much room to move around, the space reverberates a neighborhood vibe that is comfortable and familiar. Whether it’s a first or last stop on your night out, Coal Vines can rev up or wind down any excellent time.
New Museum’s Lisa Phillips Dines at Gemma
As the director of the New Museum of Contemporary Art, Lisa Phillips knows a thing or two about the “renaissance,” as she calls it, of Bowery Street. The New Museum, is after all, at the center of that explosion of art on Bowery with its Guggenheim-esque new building that opened on December 1, 2007.
When Lisa isn’t at the forefront of all things innovative, she heads up a few blocks on Bowery to the New Museum’s antithesis, Gemma. “This is where I spend most of my time and eat most of my meals,” Lisa told citybuzz of the East Village area.
Gemma’s an Italian restaurant that’s as rustic as you can get in ultra-modern New York City. There’s the classic thatched red wine bottles, wooden table tops and copper covered bar that evoke a feeling that Dorothy is no longer in the East Village anymore. The menu is filled with tried and true favorites like delicious wood-fired pizzas and soft gnocchi with a hearty Bolognese sauce. The easy setting and reliable food leaves diners like Lisa Phillips with the impression that, as the New York Times stated,”Gemma has an unlabored panache that makes an evening go down very easy.”
*** Lisa Phillips has been the Director of the New Museum of Contemporary Art since 1999.
Grimaldi’s: New York Style in a Southern Locale
Just east o
f the West Village, Grimaldi’s Pizza can get you in a New York state of mind; it’s the closest thing you’ll find to New York style pizza this far south. The coal-fired brick oven pizza is cooked until the crust is delightfully crisp, and everything is homemade or shipped from back east.
With a range of toppings including jalapenos, artichokes and good old pepperoni, you can’t go wrong adorning your pie. Tomato Basil pizza comes highly recommended, as well as the nice selection of beer and wine. If weather permits, enjoy your meal outside and drink a bottle of wine from the Cork wine bar next door. With traditional Italian decor and Rat Pack music playing overhead, you just might forget you aren’t dining in the Big Apple.
Vetri’s Osteria is Italian at its Best
Marc Vetri’s name in Philadelphia is known across the city, whether you’re talking about his flagship and namesake restaurant, or the charming and rustic Osteria. Homemade pastas, thin crust pizzas, wood grilled meats and fish are always in season, making Osteria the perfect place to dine year-round – the ultimate perk being that the menu changes every three months.
Although the Italian menu may be a bit hard to read, the descriptions are universally delectable. Pizzas range from “le pizza tradizionale,” i.e. the Margherita, to Vongole Pizza, with cockles, cherrystone clams, mozzarella, parsley and anchovy pesto. Antipasti plates range from farm-fresh vegetables dressed with bright vinaigrette and local cheeses, to house-cured salumi. And pastas are endlessly creative, straying deliciously far from Momma’s spaghetti and meatballs.
This passionate food is served up along side a 100 bottle Italian wine list from every region of the country. It’s the perfect place to try Marc Vetri’s infamous Italian cuisine without worrying about a fully booked reservation list.
Pizzeria Mozza: The People Will Tell You It’s Amazing
The pizza is fabulous, the caprese salad is mouthwatering, and the olive oil ice cream is to die for. Owned by Italian culinary heavyweights Mario Batali and Joseph Bastianich (son of Lidia Bastianich), don’t be surprised to see that every patron wal
king out of Pizzeria Mozza raves about every single dish on the menu.
The portions, ideally shared family style, bring the best Italian food to Los Angeles from some of the most talented chefs in the world. The collaboration that is Pizzeria Mozza is far more casual than it’s sister Osteria, but the food is in no way sacrificed.
If you plan on making reservations the day before, think again. Though you might find yourself eating at the bar, the food is that good that you might not even care. This Hollywood hotspot brings fancy food to a casual setting, and that my friends is “Amore!”
Midtown Mainstay: Baraonda Caffé Italiano
With its Peachtree address, intimately rustic decor and flower-lined sidewalk patio, Baraonda Caffé Italiano could easily coast on atmosphere. But the wood-burning brick oven is a sure sign that this lively pizza-and-pasta parlor does no such thing. The thin-crust pies are the real deal, most topped with simple, classic combinations like prosciutto, mozzarella and arugula—no barbecue sauce or ranch dressing here. In fact, the whole menu hews to Italian tradition, be it Sicilian-style rigatoni alla Norma with fried eggplant and ricotta salata; beef carpaccio with parmesan, capers, lemon juice, and olive oil; or uove in purgatorio (eggs baked in tomato sauce) for brunch. Meanwhile, oenophiles are sure to appreciate a wine list scattered with lesser-known varietals like Insolia, Brachetto, and Rosso di Montalcino—not least because the prices rarely break $40.