"...and the gloves come off..." (Part 3)

The tension is building, you can cut it with a knife: Not only do the Fighting Eagles play for the championship this coming Saturday at Justin Sienna H.S. in Napa, the results of the EMAF "Who Makes the Best Pizza in Sonoma County" will be announced next week. Ah, the anticipation, the, the, the...drama!

Today, we're going to look at Pizzio's Cucina Italiana. Now Pizzio's is a great opposite of Mombo's. It's...refined. It's a beautiful restaurant in Northwest Santa Rosa with a full menu of pasta dishes. Pizza just happens to be something they do (and do very well), because, well, people EXCEPT an Italian restaurant to serve pizza.



My favorite by far is the #10, the Rosa Pizza. This beautiful pie has pepperoni, fresh tomatoes, tomato sauce, mozzarella cheese, fresh garlic, light black pepper, and a generous helping (per the menu) of Romano cheese. The sweetness of the tomatoes balances perfectly with the bit of the pepperoni and pepper and garlic.

I also LOVE their pesto pizza. If you love pesto like I do, you HAVE to try a Pizzio's pesto pizza (#1 Pizza Alla Genoa with Pesto or #11 Pesto & Ricotta).

The Pizzio's pies are much thicker than Mombo's, more dough/bread-like, which brings up an important point: they don't "drip" as much. In fact, someone posted a comment earlier that Pizzio's pizzas don't have much, if any, grease. So right! Again, it's a refined pizza experience with a bread-y base, super-fresh ingredients, and served in a beautiful Big Night-type setting. If you want to impress some friends or settle in to a pie and still feel light enough to go see a movie, you can't beat Pizzio's---particularly if you go with the pesto.

Pizzio's Cucina Italiana
2848 West Third Street in West Santa Rosa, in the Big Oak center
(707) 546-2593

Coming next week: On Thursday Oct. 25, we'll announce the winner of the first annual EMAF best pizza pie award.

"...and the gloves come off..." (Part 2)

Whew, what a day. On my second Red Tail Ale in twenty minutes. Left the house at 7:00 a.m. today for a jaunt into the heart of san fran...and arrived two-and-a-quarter hours later. Had lunch at a fabulous 95-year-old sf lunchery (more on that story later). My beloved Indians are 1.3 games from the WORLD SERIES. And then tonight the Fighting Eagles 6th grade girls volleyball team, led by the stellar serving and overall awesome play of Mad, won a thrilling overtime semi-final match against arch-rival St. A's by the scores of 20-25, 25-20, and 16-14, putting us into the championship match this coming Saturday in Napa at 11:00 a.m. (Tickets go on sale Thursday at 11:00 a.m., for anyone interested.)

But now in this moment of calm, and dark, and quiet, it's time to move to the really important subject at hand: the pizza face-off that has stimulated so much interest and comments among FROTB. Tonight it's all about MOMBO'S PIZZA.

I have to admit, I have a fondness for Mombo's for the simple fact that it's JUST REALLY ONLY ABOUT PIZZA. It's not fancy, in other words. (In fact, I WOULDN'T recommend eating in.) And I like the fact that you can order by-the-slice. I like to try new things, and this is a great way to do so. Their pies come with a thin, oven-baked crust (you can get Sicilian Style, too) that holds the fresh ingredients perfectly. I'm a HUGE pesto fan, and I believe their PESTO PIZZA is some of the best pesto around, period. Some of my favorites in addition to the pesto are:

Marguerita Mombo

fresh tomato, fresh basil, and parmesan cheese

Mondo Mombo

ricotta cheese, Italian sausage, Bermuda onion, fresh garlic, and parmesan cheese

Again, Mombo's isn't fancy, the locations aren't much to look at, and here's another thing: this is greasy pizza. Stuff drips, you need napkins, etc. Now to a lot of people, that's a turn-off. I however, think that that's part of that allure. Pizza, especially pepperoni, SHOULD be greasy; it's part of the tactile fun of eating pizza.

Anyway, Mombo's has two locations:

1880 B Mendocino Ave, Santa Rosa (528-3278)

560 Gravenstein Highway North, Sebastopol (823-7492)

Check em out sometime.

Coming Thursday: Pizzio's

"...and the gloves come off..." (Part 1)

My brother, Toby, loves hockey. We speak two or three times a week by phone, and during hockey season Toby keeps me regularly updated on all the important hockey-related topics, including which teams are playing well (and thus, at least for the moment anyway, looking particularly cup-worthy), which goalies are making the acrobatic saves, who is the league’s hot new phenom (of late, one Sidney Crosby), and that magical question which intrigues and fascinates hockey fans to no end: Who is the league’s fastest player (the fascination stems from the sheer God-given talent; you can teach hockey fundamentals such as stick handling and cross-checking, but you can’t teach speed).

Invariably, our conversation turns to Toby’s favorite hockey topic: the fights. Now hockey fights are as old as the game itself, and still have a huge following today. (There's even a web site devoted to everything hockey fight-related). They all start basically the same way. The Really Good player on team A scores a goal. The Goon on team B then gives Really Good player a cheap shot, enraging the Goon on team A and setting up a Goon A vs. Good B showdown. Toby was friends with a hockey player once, and Toby swears that the player told him that 98% of the hockey fights start this way:

Goon A: Wanna go?
Goon B: O.K.

“When they drop the sticks and the gloves come off,” Toby likes to say with that particular anticipation in his voice, “it’s time to do the man-dance.”

I think that time has come for this blog regarding a topic of critical important to Sonoma Country eaters: Which Sonoma County restaurant makes the best pizza?

Now granted, this is a huge topic, one which, if given its proper treatment, might take years to research and cost several million dollars (and maybe a life or two along the way). To save that time and potential loss of life, EMAF has been diligently studying this topic for the past six months. Our researchers have been canvassing the pizza joints throughout this fine county, conducting random eater polls, even combing through grease-coated menus studying styles, ingredients, and names.

The results? We’ve narrowed this challenge down to two contenders: Mombo’s Pizza and Pizzio’s Cucina Italiana.

This week, we’re going to provide an in-depth look at both. Feel free to comment, vote, even offer other contenders. Then on Friday, we’ll announce the Every Meal A Feast Pizza Grand Prize Winner. It’s surely—surely—something not to be missed.

Iron Chef Incanto-Style

Just a quick note that Incanto restaurant chef Chris Cosentino is a contestant on the Food Network's "The Next Iron Chef" show, which airs Sunday evenings at 9:00 p.m. This is an eight-part series in which one of the contestants will be named, of course, the next IRON CHEF. Good luck, chef Chris!

The cast from The Next Iron Chef:

(These people play all day with fire and knives.... Is is cool to be a chef, or what???)

Who's Your (Sugar) Daddy?

The benefits to FROTB just keep coming: all, here's an invitation to help support the Sonoma County Public Library Foundation by tasting chocolate and watching a great old-time movie. See why you should never miss an EMAF posting?!? I mean, come on: does it get much better than that?

The SC Public Library Foundation's annual Chocolate Tasting at the Rialto takes place October 17. The tasting begins at 6:00 p.m., followed by the movie Singin' in the Rain at 7:30 p.m. Needless to say, there will be a huge and fascinating assortment of chocolate from places like Michelle Marie's Patisserie, Powell's Sweet Shoppe (AWESOME web site--check it out), Dinner's Ready Catering, and Petaluma's Water Street Bistro. Tickets are just $30 per person or $50 per couple. All proceeds benefit the Library Foundation. NOTE: This event sold out last year, so don't delay. To purchase tickets or to receive more information (or if you can't go and still want to make a donation), contact Melissa Kelley, who is President of the Library Foundation, at:
mkelley@sonic.net
(707) 537-8783

To get you in the chocolat mood (as if that's ever an issue, right?), you might want to rent the movie Chocolat or check out La Maison du Chocolat in Paris.

Anyway, I hope to see you at the Rialto on the 17th, and remember, this charity event is for the kids!

Hello Darkness My Old Friend...

October has arrived with its cooler days and growing darkness. Dinner last night was chili and cornbread (smeared, of course, with butter), definite fall comfort food for a., mad, and myself. I'm starting to gear up for some fall/winter foods, including homemade chicken soup, a crock pot with a pot roast and veggies, my sweet potato casserole, and so on. And, of course, one of my favorite desserts: pumpkin pie.

Here's a pic of mad at the pumpkin patch, taken last year.

It's one of my favorite pics of her, with that look on her face which I know all too well and the uncontrollable urge (like her dad) to sometimes bite off more than she chew. I have to admit, I have a certain nostalgia about a lot of things, but thankfully I'm losing my desire to visit pumpkin patches. It's always like 90 degrees, there's NO shade, it's dusty as heck, and there's no beer or wine. Anyway, enough of that. Stayed tune later this month for my pumpkin pie recipe.

Napa Valley Everyday: Part 2

Man, how time flies! Back in July (see my post of July 4: Napa Valley Everyday: Part 1), I began the first of a three-part series on "Napa Valley Everyday" restaurants--small, off-the-beaten path places I love for lunches while in the northern part of the Napa Valley, on Highway 29 stretching from St. Helena north to Calistoga. Now, finally, it's time to move to Part 2: Buster's Southern Barbecue and Bakery.

Buster's is located at the main stoplight in Calistoga, at Highway 29 and Lincoln Avenue. It's a low-slung building with neon signs and, best of all, an outdoor barbecue pit. I love to drive by in the early morning on my way to a meeting and see brisket and chicken and pork smoking on the grill...and just knowing that I'm going to be hitting there at lunchtime.

Sandwiches basically fall into four categories: tri-tip, pork, chicken, and hot links. I love to get a chicken sandwich slathered in their awesome bar-b-que sauce (I go for mild; and fyi, yes, hot means HOT) with a couple of sides, usually chili beans and cole slaw. And of course I wash everything down with a Black Diamond Amber Ale. Ahhhhhh. Buster's also serves homemade desserts, including cookies, muffins, and my favorite: sweet potato pie.

It doesn't get much better than this:

Ahhhhh:

Buster's is great home-made food made with care by real people (yes, there really is a Buster--I see him all the time). Anyway, check it out sometime.