We made a mistake the first time we had pizza at grazie PIZZERIA WINE BAR. As we have searched for edible pizze in the United States, we have largely been disappointed in the quality of the pizza and in the lack of understanding restaurants have demonstrated relative to this simple, but potentially elegant food. There are only a small number of good pizza restaurants in America, and they are few and far between. We at The Artisan have been disappointed in the pizze found not only on the on the Central Coast of California where we live, but also in other areas of California where we have ordered pizza.. We have built a wood fired oven to make pizze at home, and have done this to a certain extent as the only way to have the kind of pizze we have on visits to Italy. Most restaurateurs in the United States who make pizza simply do not understand the product they are foisting upon an unsuspecting public.
Back to our mistake when at grazie. We are used to pizza in restaurants coming to the table undercooked and often soggy. Seeing that grazie had a nice wood fired oven, we assumed that once again we might be treated to undercooked pizze. Thus, we asked the waitress and the owner, Maurizio, to leave the pizza in the oven longer than they usually do as we liked our pizze blackened a bit as in Italy. Wrong thing to do! The first pizza we ate came to our table overcooked as we had requested, but it was dry. We rapidly realized that this restaurateur knew how to make pizza, and we had outsmarted ourselves. The next pizza was much, much better when we allowed the restaurant to make it the way they normally do. Back to that later.
grazie is located on the shorter side of Main Street in Old town Scottsdale at 6952 East main Street (At Goldwater). It is a small square restaurant that has a patio in front, and not much ambiance inside. The tables are unadorned with table cloths of any type, the napkins are simple, and the decor is refreshing, Italian pizza restaurant decor. Nothing fancy, just good smells, friendly wait staff, and a welcoming host and owner, Maurizio. The predominant totems in the room are the corner pizza oven, and a small but well stocked wine bar. There were 72 wines on the wine list, and more that had recently arrived, but not yet on the list. A few labels were those of well known producers, but most were not. We ordered a bottle of 2001, Anfora Zinfandel. It was medium dry, full bodied, and had a wonderful nose, as well as finish. At $23.00 a bottle, we felt that it was fairly priced. grazie's wine list is interesting in that diners can buy a glass of wine, or a bottle. They may also buy a bottle off of the same list at retail prices. For example, our wine cost $23.00/bottle in the restaurant, but only $17.00/bottle if we wanted one to take home.
On our first trip to grazie, we ordered an appetizer, Carpaccio Bresaola. A large plate of this wonderful cured beef, covered with fresh arugula, and Parmesan cheese arrived along with house made bread. The dish was presented exactly as described, and it was absolutely delicious. Most surprising was the cost - $10.00, a bargain given the price of good quality Bresaola.
We next ordered two pizze. The first was a Marinara - Tomato sauce, Garlic, Basil, Oregano and Extra Virgin Olive Oil. The tastes were good, but the pizza was dry, as this was the pizza that we requested to be cooked longer. Chalk that up to our error not the restaurant's
We next ordered a Toscana pizza. This was a pizza made with Tomato sauce, Mozzarella, Mushrooms, Italian Fennel Sausage, and Extra virgin Olive Oil. This pizza was very good. The crust was firm but not hard, and the flavors were perfect, especially the sausage. It became clear that grazie knew how to make pizza, and needed little help from us.
We passed on dessert as we had eaten quite a bit and were full. We were tempted by a Dolce della Casa, described as a "Slightly charred Calzone filled with chocolate Hazelnut and banana, topped with Vanilla Ice Cream" - $10.00. We spotted it at a table near us, but decided that this was a dessert for much younger folks than us.
The next evening in Scottsdale we had appetizers at an other forgettable restaurant, and after that experience - not a terrific one - decided to come back to grazie for some real food. We sat at the wine bar, ordered a couple of classes of the same Zinfandel, and a Roma pizza - Tomato Sauce, Mozzarella, Anchovies, Capers, Kalamata Olives, Oregano, and Extra Virgin olive oil. We asked that the Kalamata olives be felt off of the pizza, as we did not feel that they were the right olive for this combination. In our opinion, an oil cured Italian black olive would have been better. This pizza was even better than the night before. As it was quite a bit later than the previous evening, it may have been that the oven was hotter, and the dough had relaxed a bit more.
All in all we rate grazie PIZZERIA WINE BAR a very good Italian pizza restaurant, and recommend that anyone who desires authentic pizza without the hype and glitter of some other Arizona Pizza parlors try it. Not only is the food exceptional, but the service is great, and the owner available and willing to discuss anything on the menu, as well as special requests.
Was there anything we would suggest be done differently? Only one, and this is a personal preference item. We believe that the pizza would be even better if the hydration level of the dough were a bit higher - not much but a little. This would make a better canvas for grazie's wonderful ingredients.
Dinner for two on the first evening including wine tax and tip cost $71.43. The second evening's lighter meal was $35.18.
Last updated on: 06/27/03 01:27:26 PM