Celebrating the classic Italian dish: Spaghetti
By Angele Sionna
We’re in the midst of Italian-American heritage month. So what better time to talk spaghetti, one of the most popular dishes at Italian restaurants world-wide.
Lots of cultures (Italian, Chinese, Arab, and Greek) claim the invention of spaghetti- the pasta, dating back thousands of years. But the spaghetti dish as we know it today, complete with a tomato sauce, is much, much younger. Tomatoes are native to the Americas and they weren’t combined with pasta until modern times. According to InMamasKitchen.com the first recipe bringing together tomatoes and pasta was written in 1839 by Ippolito Cavalcanti, Duke of Buonvicino and the spaghetti dishes we love today came to America with the huge Italian immigration in the early 1900’s.
Here’s a look at where in Flagstaff, you can dine on the classic Italian entrée…
Pasto Cucina Italiana
19 E Aspen Ave
779-1937
menu at pastorestaurant.com
For fine Italian dining and spaghetti Pasto is your place. This romantic restaurant brings the love with its Spaghettini e Polpette (spaghetti and spicy meatballs)… the best in town. The spiciness in this sauce is more flavor than burn and is sure to please. It comes in two sizes. The large is a slim portion, so I wouldn’t opt for the small unless you’re ordering that for a child or its going to be just one of many courses for you that night. Pasto makes their own pasta as well as the meatballs and sauce, as you’d expect from a high end restaurant. They open at 5pm everyday (besides Sunday) for dinner only.
Dominic’s Italian Bistro
1850 N Fort Valley Rd
779-6400
menu at: flagstaffpizza.com
From the recipes of Great Grandma Lucia comes the bold, home-style taste of the spaghetti at Dominic’s. They give you a plentiful portion, just like grandma would too. Dominic’s menu says, “We’re not pretentious here– we proudly serve old fashioned one of a kind comfort foods at an affordable price” and that does seem to be what you get there. Dominic’s serves up this classic dish (with meatballs or chicken if you want as well) from 11am-2pm and 5-8pm Monday through Saturday.
Pesto Brothers
120 N. Leroux, suite 104 (in the Old Town Shops downtown)
Pestobrothers.com
774-3020
The family run Pesto Brothers has a homey feel and classic food. The walls are decorated with pictures of the owner’s kids and you get that same kind of touch in your meal. Pesto Brothers saves their spaghetti just for the dinner crowd. Order the Papa Tony’s (aka spaghetti with meatballs) from 5-9pm any night of the week.
Mamma Luisa Italian Restaurant
2710 N Steves Blvd (at Kachina Square)
526-6809
Mamma Luisa is a family run, cozy place serving Flagstaff for almost three decades. It may be tucked inside a strip mall but you’d never guess it from the quaint atmosphere inside. Spaghetti here comes served several ways, with tomato sauce, meatballs, meat sauce or mild Italian sausage. It comes with soup or a salad. You can order this dish at dinner only, which is served 4:30-9pm Monday-Thursday and 4:30-9:30pm Friday-Sunday.
Strombolli’s Italian Restaurant
1435 S. Milton
773-1960
Strombolli’s also serves up this classic dish. Here you can order spaghetti with tomato sauce, marinara, spicy Italian sausage, or meatballs. Strombolli’s says the tomato sauce has a pork base and the marinara is a vegetarian sauce with more of a spice to it. The spaghetti is served with soup or salad 11am to 9pm everyday.
Roma Pizza
1800 S Milton Rd
779-4425
menu at: romapizzaflag.com
Needing a spaghetti fix late night or any other time of the day, then Roma Pizza is your spot. This small little joint serves up spaghetti and meatballs with a house-made marinara sauce everyday from 11am to 10pm. It comes with breadsticks too.
Showing posts with label dominic's italian bistro. Show all posts
Showing posts with label dominic's italian bistro. Show all posts
October 30, 2009
September 24, 2009
Flagstaff's best calzones and stromboli
By Angele Sionna
If pizza and sandwiches had a baby – it would be the calzone… or its cousin the stromboli. The popular pizza alternatives are sometimes mistaken for each other as they’re so similar and delicious. Calzones are "a stuffed pizza that resembles a large turnover" that originated in Naples, Italy, according to the Epicurious.com food dictionary. Strombolis, on the other hand, they say, is a specialty of Philadelphia and is rolled to resemble a loaf as opposed to the calzones’ crescent-moon shape. Some insist that a calzone has ricotta whereas the stromboli does not. Whatever you want to call them – calzones and stromboli maximize the flavors of the ingredients in different ways then their pizza parents. Here’s a look at some of Flagstaff’s best…
New Jersey Pizza Company
2224 E Cedar #6
pizzaflagstaff.com
New Jersey Pizza Company has by far the best calzones in town. They are created with the freshest ingredients – which are mostly locally made/grown and organic- with flavors that pop to perfection with each bite. The calzones here come in two sizes – regular ($8) and large ($11). The regular is perfect for a filling lunch or dinner at about a foot long, 4 inches-ish wide and an inch or so thick. New Jersey’s calzones include mozzarella and reggiano cheeses and your choice of three ingredients. My suggestions: mushrooms, fresh tomatoes and ricotta fresca. It tastes fresh from the garden and the oven.
The sauce (which tastes like its made with just off the vine tomatoes) is served at room temperature on the side. That’s a little weird at first – but the taste blows you away. The ingredients are perfectly proportioned and delish!
Fratelli Pizza
119 W. Phoenix Ave and 2120 North 4th Street
fratellipizza.net
As you’d expect from this popular pizzeria, Fratelli’s serves up calzones as good as their beloved pizza pies. They have several pre-designed “Giant Calzones” ($8.50) on their menu or you can create your own by putting together any 4 fillings plus mozzarella cheese. The Veggie – which has mushrooms, broccoli, tomato, artichoke hearts and mozzarella- and The Big H – with pepperoni, Italian sausage, meatballs, mushrooms and mozzarella- are the ones to get here. All come with Fratelli’s yum sauce on the side for dipping. That sauce is the key to the greatness of this dish… and they’ll even cook you a special calzone with the sauce inside as well as on the side if you’re like me and love it saucy.
Roma Pizza
1800 S. Milton Rd.
romapizzaflag.com
Roma serves up both “Gigantic Calzones” ($9.75) and “Gigantic Stromboli” ($9.75). Yes, those are their official names – and they’re fitting because these babies are huge and filled with toppings galore. The crust is light and airy and just the right amount to hold in all those ingredients. But this big of calzone needs a little more sauce on the side for optimum enjoyment and I’d like to see a little more cheese sneak inside there as well. You can order a calzone with up to four toppings plus mozzarella and sauce or pick one of their menu favs. Good options to try at Roma - the Three-Cheese Calzone or the more unique Pesto Calzone.
Dominic’s Italian Bistro
1850 N. Fort Valley Road
flagstaffpizza.com
Dominic’s is the place to go in Flag if you’re feeling a stromboli calling your name. And true to definition they are indeed a long, thick rectangular loaf filled with the delight of a pizza inside. If you’re big on sauce, these strombolis ($8.95) are for you, as they’re filled with a nice helping of sauce inside along with the other fillings. The breading on these is more like that of a crusty Italian loaf then your traditional pizza dough, which really adds to the unique flavor. Here I recommend trying Dominic’s Favorite, which is stuffed with sausage, pepperoni, onion and bell peppers. Other choices include veggie or meatball strombolis or a 5 topping design your own option.
*Note: This article originally was published (and written by me for) Flagstaff Live!)
If pizza and sandwiches had a baby – it would be the calzone… or its cousin the stromboli. The popular pizza alternatives are sometimes mistaken for each other as they’re so similar and delicious. Calzones are "a stuffed pizza that resembles a large turnover" that originated in Naples, Italy, according to the Epicurious.com food dictionary. Strombolis, on the other hand, they say, is a specialty of Philadelphia and is rolled to resemble a loaf as opposed to the calzones’ crescent-moon shape. Some insist that a calzone has ricotta whereas the stromboli does not. Whatever you want to call them – calzones and stromboli maximize the flavors of the ingredients in different ways then their pizza parents. Here’s a look at some of Flagstaff’s best…
New Jersey Pizza Company
2224 E Cedar #6
pizzaflagstaff.com
New Jersey Pizza Company has by far the best calzones in town. They are created with the freshest ingredients – which are mostly locally made/grown and organic- with flavors that pop to perfection with each bite. The calzones here come in two sizes – regular ($8) and large ($11). The regular is perfect for a filling lunch or dinner at about a foot long, 4 inches-ish wide and an inch or so thick. New Jersey’s calzones include mozzarella and reggiano cheeses and your choice of three ingredients. My suggestions: mushrooms, fresh tomatoes and ricotta fresca. It tastes fresh from the garden and the oven.
The sauce (which tastes like its made with just off the vine tomatoes) is served at room temperature on the side. That’s a little weird at first – but the taste blows you away. The ingredients are perfectly proportioned and delish!
Fratelli Pizza
119 W. Phoenix Ave and 2120 North 4th Street
fratellipizza.net
As you’d expect from this popular pizzeria, Fratelli’s serves up calzones as good as their beloved pizza pies. They have several pre-designed “Giant Calzones” ($8.50) on their menu or you can create your own by putting together any 4 fillings plus mozzarella cheese. The Veggie – which has mushrooms, broccoli, tomato, artichoke hearts and mozzarella- and The Big H – with pepperoni, Italian sausage, meatballs, mushrooms and mozzarella- are the ones to get here. All come with Fratelli’s yum sauce on the side for dipping. That sauce is the key to the greatness of this dish… and they’ll even cook you a special calzone with the sauce inside as well as on the side if you’re like me and love it saucy.
Roma Pizza
1800 S. Milton Rd.
romapizzaflag.com
Roma serves up both “Gigantic Calzones” ($9.75) and “Gigantic Stromboli” ($9.75). Yes, those are their official names – and they’re fitting because these babies are huge and filled with toppings galore. The crust is light and airy and just the right amount to hold in all those ingredients. But this big of calzone needs a little more sauce on the side for optimum enjoyment and I’d like to see a little more cheese sneak inside there as well. You can order a calzone with up to four toppings plus mozzarella and sauce or pick one of their menu favs. Good options to try at Roma - the Three-Cheese Calzone or the more unique Pesto Calzone.
Dominic’s Italian Bistro
1850 N. Fort Valley Road
flagstaffpizza.com
Dominic’s is the place to go in Flag if you’re feeling a stromboli calling your name. And true to definition they are indeed a long, thick rectangular loaf filled with the delight of a pizza inside. If you’re big on sauce, these strombolis ($8.95) are for you, as they’re filled with a nice helping of sauce inside along with the other fillings. The breading on these is more like that of a crusty Italian loaf then your traditional pizza dough, which really adds to the unique flavor. Here I recommend trying Dominic’s Favorite, which is stuffed with sausage, pepperoni, onion and bell peppers. Other choices include veggie or meatball strombolis or a 5 topping design your own option.
*Note: This article originally was published (and written by me for) Flagstaff Live!)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
