mizchef

posted by admin on May 7

Hi, gang. Phew, now that I’m working again, it’s becoming a struggle getting my weekly blogs done. I missed last week but I’m going to try and be diligent from now on. No promises, though.

Anyway, this week, I’d like to talk about a great little restaurant I had the pleasure of visiting in Old Colorado City (part of Colorado Springs), Colorado. I’d first heard about this place in a magazine called Alegria Living Colorado Style, which focuses on certain counties in central Colorado. The restaurant is called Pizzeria Rustica, offering—what else?—pizza. But this is no ordinary pizzeria and the owner is no ordinary pizzaioulo.

Owner, Dave Brackett, went to Italy to take a month-long culinary course, then went to Marina del Ray, California, to study at Antika Pizzeria and learn how to make real, true pizza. Consequently, Brackett’s pizzas are made in the traditional Neapolitan style.

The menu is sparse, but their focus on the few things they offer really pays off. There are four appetizers, 8 pizzas (with various extra toppings available), and a few desserts. If you dine there, you can also check out the chalkboard for the dishes di giorno, or daily specials.

The wine list is not your typical vino menu—it goes beyond the pedestrian offerings of most pizzarias. Your meal will be superbly enhanced by a glass of Tré Donne Barbera d’Alba from Piemonte, Italy, or Seghesio Pinot Grigio from Sonoma Valley, CA.

My dinner companion and I started our meal with a house  A-Mano Primitivo/Zinfandel, which was a light and refreshing red. Our appetizer was the Insalata Caprese, which is fresh mozzarella, tomatoes, and basil drizzled with extra virgin olive oil and served with balsamic vinegar.

Let me pause here to talk about the mozzarella. The mozzarella is handmade on-premise daily. It truly was so fresh that I was taken aback. It’s not often that I encounter such freshness in restaurants. It was soft, smooth, and tasted the way fresh mozzarella ought to. Pair that with flawless, vine-ripened tomatoes and fragrant basil leaves, and this plate was perfection in simplicity. The balsamic vinegar served as a paradisaical accent to it all.

We ordered the Rustica pizza. This was a thin-crust pizza with tomato sauce, mozzarella, grana padano, prosciutto, and what they call a “ricotta suprise”  (I’ll get to that). It was sublime. The crust, made from imported Italian Tipo “00″ flour (which is extremely soft and fine and lower in protein than regular flour) and North American organic whole-wheat flour, is hand-stretched (as opposed to being pushed through a machine), and is delicately thin. The sauce is made from hand-chopped San Marzano tomatoes grown at the base of Mt. Vesuvius.The center of the crust wasn’t as crunchy as I usually like it, but it wasn’t soggy, either. But the edges were wonderfully crispy and made up for the rest of it. The mozzarella was just as delectable melted as it was cold and the grana padano and prosciutto were in just the right quantities.  The “surprise” was than on one slice of the pizza, the edge of the crust enveloped fresh ricotta, so that when I bit into it, a soft, warm dollop of ricotta slid into my mouth. We ate it ALL up!

Furthermore, they are a totally green establishment. They use—

* locally made linens and recycled butcher paper
* fossil fuel-free appliances
* no plastic or Styrofoam
* a no-smoke oven that is EPA, UL, and NSF compliant
* low water-consumption equipment
* environmentally friendly cleaning supplies

They recycle or compost 80% of their waste and serve filtered water only upon request. The Green Restaurant Associate awarded them 3 stars. How cool is that?

I’m very elitist about pizza. Hey, being Italian and growing up in Brooklyn, that’s just how I am, okay? So, when I wax poetic about a pizzeria, it’s not exaggeration. I really mean it.

So, if you’re ever in Colorado Springs, take a ride to Old Colorado City and stop in to Pizzeria Rustica. I guarantee you a very fine meal. Enjoy the week, all.

Pizzeria Rustica
719-632-8121
2527 W. Colorado Ave
Colorado Springs, CO 80904
info@pizzeriarustica.com

P.S. Check out the old railroad chalkboard at the entrance.