| rev:text
| - Stefano Fabbri, owner of Pomo Pizzeria, is not only passionate about his food, but he has a contagious enthusiasm that's informative and downright convincing.
The Pomo Pizzeria Napoletana at the Borgota in Scottsdale is a sleek and beautiful space. The dining room has soaring ceilings, dark furniture and a mural showing someone riding a scooter in the streets of Italy. It appears to be another trendy, albeit sexy, pizzeria, but it's actually more than that.
Pomo recently earned a certification from the Naples-based Associazione Verace Pizza Napoletana, meaning that everything from the flour, olive oil, kneading and baking meets exacting standards. This is a pretty big deal considering there are only a few dozen restaurants in the country that have this certification. But the staff doesn't let the honor go to their heads; service is friendly and attentive.
Pizza is the name of the game here, and seeing it prepared is a blast. In the open part of the kitchen you'll see a classic red Berkel meat slicer used to prepare the selection of cured meats. This is one serious meat slicer that I can only dream of having in my own kitchen. To see it in action I ordered the Affettati Misti ($14.95), a plate filled with the chef's choice of paper-thin slices of bresaola, prosciutto, salami, olives and cheese.
At lunchtime, Pomo serves a handful of Paninis, but these are not the typical grilled sandwiches. They quick bake fresh dough in a blistering hot oven that yields a slightly charred, yet light and crispy bread. Then they stuff it full of Italian goodness, like the Salami Panini ($9.95), which was filled with spicy salami, arugula and mozzarella cheese. Served with a simple side salad, the panini was excellent and satisfying.
Like the panini, pizzas are cooked in a wood-fired oven at around 900 degrees. This means that a pizza takes only about a minute and a half to cook. By Naples standards, the pizzas are decidedly thin though surprisingly the crust isn't ultra crispy as one might expect. Instead the crust is light and moist with an excellent toothsome chew.
Fabbri recommended starting with the basics, and since he'd know best, ordering the Regina Margherita ($11.95) was on point. The tomato sauce was bright and sweet, then the flavor of the milky fresh mozzarella kicked in which was enhanced by fresh chopped basil.
Another way to enjoy the stupendous crust was the Calzone Napoletano ($14.95), which is not your run of the mill calzone. It was filled with spicy salami, tomato sauce, mozzarella and ricotta. Each creamy bite deserved another, as I wickedly ate the whole thing.
What better way to end than to order dessert? While they do have standards like Tiramisu ($7.95) and Panno Cotta ($7.95), the light and airy Semifreddo Di Mandorle ($7.95) was a standout. Each bite of the partially frozen mousse was accented with a toasted pistachio crust. More please.
With a passion for tradition, this might be as close to an authentic Italian pizza as you'll get without going to Italy.
|
![[RDF Data]](/fct/images/sw-rdf-blue.png)
![[cxml]](/fct/images/cxml_doc.png)
![[csv]](/fct/images/csv_doc.png)
![[text]](/fct/images/ntriples_doc.png)
![[turtle]](/fct/images/n3turtle_doc.png)
![[ld+json]](/fct/images/jsonld_doc.png)
![[rdf+json]](/fct/images/json_doc.png)
![[rdf+xml]](/fct/images/xml_doc.png)
![[atom+xml]](/fct/images/atom_doc.png)
![[html]](/fct/images/html_doc.png)