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| - I loved the Providence Road location so much that I would make the half hour plus trek down to Deep South Charlotte once or twice a month for this delicious pizza. Woe to my waistline and pocket book now that there is an Inizio in Dilworth, much closer to both my home and office.
I lived in Italy for 4-years and will happily admit that I'm a huge pizza snob. (I'm also a huge wine, pasta and gelato snob for what it's worth.) I went to the original Inizio with reservations, thinking no way would they live up to true Napoli pizza. I've never been so happy to be so wrong!! Equally happy that their Dilworth location is just as good.
Everything from the family style tables to the goopy pizza is true Naples. We've had the Pistachio, Margherita, Maria, Diavola, Cavoletti, and Raffaele pizzas. The Pistachio is my favorite, hands down. The Maria is a close second. I love the wood fired crust and the understated smokey flavor the pizzas get from being quick fired in their Italian ovens. I also love the "wetness" of the pizzas. True Napoli pizzas are gooey and goopy from all the sauce and cheese and occasionally grease (from meat toppings, especially). Inizio's pizzas do not disappoint on the goop factor. They are a messy delight, hard to eat without a knife and fork.
I love the water and condiment area, too. I'm a sucker for infused water and they always have a dispenser with lemon/basil H2O or some other refreshing concoction. On the same counter, they also have the most amazing hot oil. Approach this one with caution if you don't like spicy as it has a serious heat. I love dipping my crust into this spicy, peppery oil. It's delish! They also have regular olive oil, fresh minced garlic, red pepper flakes, grated parm... The list goes on and on.
I know it's going to be hard with such beautiful pizzas staring you down, but try to make room for a salad -- the Italian Chopped, Caprese and Arugula are both great! If salads aren't your thing, then save room for dessert. The cannoli are out of this world and filled to order with house made cream. I dream about the salted caramel gelato.
As if all of that wasn't enough, they also have a good beer and wine selection. I was impressed to see 5 or 6 craft beers on draught, including Peroni if you want to go 100% Italian.
Counting down the days until our next visit!
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