Posted by Foodie Buddha
on December 12, 2011
Fuoco Di Napoli is Atlanta’s newest pizzeria obsession. Open less than 168 hours, pizza fans from all parts of Atlanta have made it over to Buckhead’s newest pizza joint to test the skills of Fuoco’s pizzaioli, one Enrico Liberato.
In his two-years in Atlanta, Liberato has become to pizza what Peter Chang is to Chinese food. In other words, he’s a kitchen hopper of the highest order. Liberato was brought to Atlanta by restaurateur Riccardo Ullio to help revitalize Ullio’s pizza restaurant Fritti. He soon fled into the arms of Giovanni Di Palma to help get things started at Antico Pizza. Then, Liberato quickly disappeared only to show up for yet another short lived stint. This time, Liberato took his trademark checkered hat and chose the remotely located Vingenzo’s in Woodstock as his next destination … “and like that, poof. He’s gone.”
Now, much like Chang, Liberato has resurfaced at a restaurant that he has a stake in assuring Atlanta’s food crazed minions that he’s here to stay (or so people hope). While we wait and see if that holds to be true, I … like several others … have already stopped in to see if Fuoco Di Napoli is worth a fuss.
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Posted by Foodie Buddha
on November 29, 2011
As I stepped into Pizzeria Mozza I was knee deep in the Los Angeles portion of my West Coast escapade. By then, my stomach was well-coated with some of LA’s greatest culinary offerings; but, that didn’t diminish my anticipation for this pie. Stationed just off Melrose Ave, one of Hollywood’s many famed thoroughfares, Mozza is widely cited pizza mecca as this Mario Batali/Nancy Silverton/Joseph Bastianich pizza joint comes backed by reputations steeped in greatness.
Greatness might be an understatement. Pizzeria Mozza has received lustful and unequivocally reverent praise from the famed Michelin Guide, the LA Times, the gang at SLICE, and just about every other foodie known to you or me. The bustling atmosphere and oodles of pizza porn further galvanized my about to be realized dreams.
Even on a random mid-afternoon Sunday, the pizzeria teemed with energy. Tables were full and bar patrons happily munched and drank the afternoon away. Meanwhile, servers whisked about and Mozza’s crack commando team of pizzaiolos slung dough with the symphonic-like moves of a master Kapellmeister. I was expecting to be face first in pizza glory just as soon as I could wrangle myself a seat.
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Posted by Foodie Buddha
on October 31, 2011
Subtly tucked into a corner next to Buckhead’s year-old La Fourchette is Tartufo Pizzeria. Since we first heard about Tartufo back in late May, the pizza parlor has grown from an abstract idea into a concrete and fully operational business.
As the name suggests (tartufo means truffle in Italian), Tartufo is yet another addition to Atlanta’s burgeoning gourmet/artisan/”insert fluffy adj. here” pizza scene. Paste heavy sauces, Kraft quality cheeses, and crunchy bacon bits are nowhere to be found. Instead, Tartufo can trace its lineage back to the origins of the ideal that popped up in Naples those many centuries ago. Keeping that in mind, it is unsurprising that more than one pizza fiend has made his or her way over to Tartufo in the opening weeks; you can count me amongst the guilty as charged.
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Posted by Foodie Buddha
on August 25, 2011
The Setting: My Home
The Meal: DaVinci’s, a Midtown pizzeria that delivers.
Important Note: These pictures are of well-done pizza as we requested that time.
Unless you’re a person in your late teens or early 20s, delivery probably isn’t a staple of your life. For those of us not knee deep in Maruchan ramen or “couch coin” funded burritos, delivery can still offer a utility. But whether you’re just trying to shut your kids up, take a night off from the world, or fool your dinner date into thinking you can actually cook, finding palatable deliverables is often difficult.
There are exceptions to every rule and front in center in that department is DaVinci’s Pizzeria, a two outfit chain with locations in Smyrna and Midtown Atlanta. The location in Midtown has been open some four months, and in that time, I have taken down at least a couple of their pizzas, their sides, and their sandwiches. So while I won’t hold them to the standards of some of the more high brow pizza spots in Atlanta, I will say that to date, I’ve been relatively pleased.
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Posted by Foodie Buddha
on August 08, 2011
Do at the View (as in dough – as in do-re-mi – as in not in pizza dough) is a relatively new Westside pizzeria that hasn’t gotten a ton of attention [at least from those of us interested in the food]. Opened in May, my first visit came during “the dark ages” – aka that time when I decided not to post for a while. I will leave my comments on the food for another time but I thought y’all would be interested to know that Wired magazine just did a little blip on the Italian eatery.
As Wired is a technology based endeavor, it follows that their article on Do has a distinctly technophile theme to it. Essentially, the article focuses on the restaurant’s all out plunge into the world of technology.
Not only do customers order using an iPad, but they are also tortured by treated to a bevy of lame impressive features thanks to Do’s fondness for technology. Gimmicks abound as customers can chat with each other online, fight over the music blaring on the speakers and tell the valet they want their car … all from the provided iPad. Wired also points out the lack of mirrors in the bathrooms (you guessed it – cuz of the iPads mounted over the sinks).
Author Charlie Sorrel isn’t exactly laying on the charm and I’m not sure if he’s been to the restaurant. However, I can confirm, through first hand experience, that this gimmicky system is likely to give people a headache.
[from COM via Wired]
Posted by Foodie Buddha
on July 27, 2011
I checked out the very new Westside Pie pizzeria last week and needless to say, I wasn’t running home to write them up. Owned and operated by part of the team that brought you SLICE, that two-headed Downtown pizza chain, you’ll find Westside Pie at the foot of the Apex Midtown apartments on the outskirts of Westside (sometimes called West Midtown).
I don’t know much about owner/operator Karen Smiley other than she hails from Savannah and has something to do with the aforementioned SLICE. There seems to be more to the ownership arrangement, but even so, Smiley is the one who is front and center.
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Posted by Foodie Buddha
on June 24, 2011
Let me lay the groundwork for a shinning example of a faux pas. Restaurant provides you with an abridgement of pizza history, aromatic fluff words and descriptors worthy of a James Cameron romance flick. In accordance with strict guidelines for Napoletana pizza, said restaurant will not serve sliced pizza or pizza in to-go boxes. A quick glance at the to-go menu results in a head scratcher. Right smack dab in the middle is a section dedicated to pizzas that recounts what I just mentioned.
[A subsequent chat with their PR maven confirms that there is no to-go option for the pizza]
This type of slip up is a perfect example of the experience I had at Double Zero Napoletana. A cursory glance might leave me feeling okay about the meal. However, in the moments after, I found myself somewhat frustrated by the details … namely the price point, a few culinary mishaps, and some general oversights in the attention to detail.
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Posted by Foodie Buddha
on May 27, 2011
A few weeks back, I meet up with Madame Flipper (remember – all my friends have aliases) for a little grubbing at La Fourchette, that Buckhead offspring of the now defunct JOEL Brasserie. During the course of our conversation with the various employees, a few of them mentioned that the restaurant was expanding … sort of. Word from them is that Tartufo Pizzeria will go in next door to the mothership’s location. The name, in case you are wondering, derives from the Italian word for truffles (mmmm … truffled pizza!!!). And while you may be scratching your head as to why (and how) a French restaurant is going to open a pizza joint … don’t be too surprised. La Fourchette has been known to put out some flatbread from time to time. That’s all she wrote folks! I don’t have too much more information than that and nothing official has been put out … so time will tell if this actually comes to fruition.
Posted by Foodie Buddha
on October 18, 2010
So the Slice pizza blog, powered by the gang at Serious Eats, took some time yesterday to recap all things pizza here in the peach state. While a good bit of focus was given to Atlanta’s pizza scene, Slice actually took the time to cover the entire state. It’s by no means a comprehensive list, but they do make sure to hit up all the big hitters (aka Varasano’s & Antico Pizza). If you have a few minutes to kill, you should definitely check out their post.
[via Slice]
Posted by Foodie Buddha
on July 30, 2010
You know you’re a food addict when you find yourself verbally sparring with some pseudo parking attendant in the hopes of navigating droves of drunk club bunnies in an attempt to grab a late night fix. Truth be told, my recent exchange with some dude at the intersection of Crescent Ave & 14th street was far from contentious … but it just sounded better to imply otherwise.
Nearly every late night drive over the past year and change near that aforementioned intersection has served as a reminder that a food cart (specifically a gyro/pizza stand) awaits. If you show up at Opera Nightclub, or any of the nearby drunk tanks, towards the end of any given week you’re bound to find a sea of people milling about. This of course assumes that the sun has gone down. It’s been some time since I’ve been in that part of Midtown past midnight. This mostly due to the fact that I know my presence would send mass amounts of drunk ladies in their Sunday best to levels of ecstasy (the pill … not the emotional state) not seen in sometime.
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