772 978-5800 - 620 Old Dixie Hwy
The Pizzo Family
Title.
Authentic Neapolitan dishes served here Excellent Posted: 2010 Jan 28 - 23:40
By Julie L. Cleveland
For Hometown News
VERO BEACH - It all started with a quest for great authentic Neapolitan food and a pile of bricks.
James Pizzo took his passion for food, along with a desire to give people great value for their money, and put it into the endeavor known as Pizza and Pasta House in Vero Beach.
Mr. Pizzo and his wife, Rozlyn, began their adventure by being taught to cook the "right way" by his mother, Edwina Pizzo. Mrs. Pizzo holds the key to the recipes used in all of the entrees that are served, while Mr. Pizzo perfects the pizza products.
All of the food that is served has been created in the strict Neapolitan tradition, using only ingredients that are considered local to Naples. San Marzano tomatoes and Italian wheat flour are musts in the creation of the authentic pizza.
When the Pizzos relocated to Florida from New York, they had occasion to go out for dinner on the weekends as they explored their new home. As they settled in, Mr. Pizzo found himself cooking for their friends on the weekends instead of going out, and from there it was a natural progression to open his own restaurant featuring his own recipes.
Mr. Pizzo explained to his wife that he wanted to do things in the traditional Neapolitan way and use a wood-burning brick oven to do all of his cooking.
"When the oven came, James says to me, 'There's the oven,' and I am thinking of something already put together and it was a pile of bricks," Mrs. Pizzo said.
Over the summer, their 11-year-old son, James III, and his father started every morning at 5 a.m. to assemble the brick oven that is now the cornerstone of the pizza house.
As it turns out, James III cannot only build a mean oven, he can toss a great pizza, as well.
I was there for lunch and on the advice of a regular patron, I ordered a generous portion of the lasagna that came from Mrs. Pizzo's recipe collection.
Packed between layers of four different rich creamy cheeses that melted into the marinara sauce were tender slices of noodles and bits of fresh basil. The marinara was tangy and each bite was a delight. As a fan of cheese and all things creamy, this was heaven on a plate. The lasagna was topped with grated Parmesan and a fresh basil leaf.
Presented with the dish was a basket of soft, delicately sweet white Italian rolls. Served warm with soft butter, they were perfectly capable of doing double duty as a roll or a dessert. I took mine home for dessert.
The entrée menu of Pizza and Pasta House has been diligently researched and documented for uniformity in a test kitchen with Mr. Pizzo doing all of the baking and cooking while daughter, Olivia Pizzo, took notes and compiled a complete record of all of the ingredients and particulars to those dishes. This documentation allows for a consistent taste that patrons are quickly growing to love.
The restaurant is in the process of being remodeled, as the Pizzos make the transition from new to established. The maximum capacity is 75 and as the traffic ebbs and flows from lunch to dinner crowd, other than Friday nights, you can expect to be seated and served relatively quickly.
The pleasant scent from the wood-burning brick oven lends the restaurant in progress a certain homey feeling.
Pizza is the main draw at Pizza and Pasta House and though I did not sample it this time around, I will be back for it.
Their authentic Neapolitan pizza is served strictly with fresh mozzarella that Mrs. Pizzo makes, along with those San Marzano tomatoes, fresh basil, fresh garlic, imported Reggio Romano and imported olive oil. There are no toppings available for this pizza.
Just as the pizza is created in the traditional way, the oven is used as it was originally intended, which gives all of the baked goods that come out of it an authentic taste that cannot be duplicated by any a gas or electric oven. The temperatures can exceed 800 degrees, which is perfect for the flours that the Pizzos use, which don't even begin to bake until they are over the 600 mark. Pizzas can be cooked in less than a minute at those temperatures.
"It might take me 5 minutes to put the toppings on your pizza but it will cook in less than 2," Mr. Pizzo said.
Pizza and Pasta House's pizza is not restricted to the Neapolitan pizza. New to the menu is the all-vegan gourmet pizza. The pizzas are priced beginning with a personal pizza that toppings are added to a la carte, to the largest pizza in Vero Beach at a whopping 22 inches. If you are planning on taking this home in a box, be prepared to take a vehicle that can accommodate that size. I found out that the front seat was not the place to put the box.
Pizza and Pasta House may be a little off the beaten path on Old Dixie Highway in Vero Beach, but it will soon find its way into the hearts of pizza and pasta lovers as they recognize that Vera Napoli (true Naples) is alive and well in Vero Beach.
The bakery portion of Pizza and Pasta House is always active, and Mr. Pizzo begins baking bread in the wee hours of the morning. Because the oven is up and running while we are all still sleeping, when we get ready to head over to Pizza and Pasta House for breakfast, the bagels and rolls are fresh, warm and delicious. Add eggs, sausage or bacon to that and it will definitely get your day off to a fresh start.
Pizza and Pasta House is located at 620 S.W. Old Dixie Highway in Vero Beach and can be reached (772) 978-5800. They are open seven days a week from 6 a.m. until 9 p.m. Call ahead on Fridays to make sure you get a table.
By Julie L. Cleveland
For Hometown News
VERO BEACH - It all started with a quest for great authentic Neapolitan food and a pile of bricks.
James Pizzo took his passion for food, along with a desire to give people great value for their money, and put it into the endeavor known as Pizza and Pasta House in Vero Beach.
Mr. Pizzo and his wife, Rozlyn, began their adventure by being taught to cook the "right way" by his mother, Edwina Pizzo. Mrs. Pizzo holds the key to the recipes used in all of the entrees that are served, while Mr. Pizzo perfects the pizza products.
All of the food that is served has been created in the strict Neapolitan tradition, using only ingredients that are considered local to Naples. San Marzano tomatoes and Italian wheat flour are musts in the creation of the authentic pizza.
When the Pizzos relocated to Florida from New York, they had occasion to go out for dinner on the weekends as they explored their new home. As they settled in, Mr. Pizzo found himself cooking for their friends on the weekends instead of going out, and from there it was a natural progression to open his own restaurant featuring his own recipes.
Mr. Pizzo explained to his wife that he wanted to do things in the traditional Neapolitan way and use a wood-burning brick oven to do all of his cooking.
"When the oven came, James says to me, 'There's the oven,' and I am thinking of something already put together and it was a pile of bricks," Mrs. Pizzo said.
Over the summer, their 11-year-old son, James III, and his father started every morning at 5 a.m. to assemble the brick oven that is now the cornerstone of the pizza house.
As it turns out, James III cannot only build a mean oven, he can toss a great pizza, as well.
I was there for lunch and on the advice of a regular patron, I ordered a generous portion of the lasagna that came from Mrs. Pizzo's recipe collection.
Packed between layers of four different rich creamy cheeses that melted into the marinara sauce were tender slices of noodles and bits of fresh basil. The marinara was tangy and each bite was a delight. As a fan of cheese and all things creamy, this was heaven on a plate. The lasagna was topped with grated Parmesan and a fresh basil leaf.
Presented with the dish was a basket of soft, delicately sweet white Italian rolls. Served warm with soft butter, they were perfectly capable of doing double duty as a roll or a dessert. I took mine home for dessert.
The entrée menu of Pizza and Pasta House has been diligently researched and documented for uniformity in a test kitchen with Mr. Pizzo doing all of the baking and cooking while daughter, Olivia Pizzo, took notes and compiled a complete record of all of the ingredients and particulars to those dishes. This documentation allows for a consistent taste that patrons are quickly growing to love.
The restaurant is in the process of being remodeled, as the Pizzos make the transition from new to established. The maximum capacity is 75 and as the traffic ebbs and flows from lunch to dinner crowd, other than Friday nights, you can expect to be seated and served relatively quickly.
The pleasant scent from the wood-burning brick oven lends the restaurant in progress a certain homey feeling.
Pizza is the main draw at Pizza and Pasta House and though I did not sample it this time around, I will be back for it.
Their authentic Neapolitan pizza is served strictly with fresh mozzarella that Mrs. Pizzo makes, along with those San Marzano tomatoes, fresh basil, fresh garlic, imported Reggio Romano and imported olive oil. There are no toppings available for this pizza.
Just as the pizza is created in the traditional way, the oven is used as it was originally intended, which gives all of the baked goods that come out of it an authentic taste that cannot be duplicated by any a gas or electric oven. The temperatures can exceed 800 degrees, which is perfect for the flours that the Pizzos use, which don't even begin to bake until they are over the 600 mark. Pizzas can be cooked in less than a minute at those temperatures.
"It might take me 5 minutes to put the toppings on your pizza but it will cook in less than 2," Mr. Pizzo said.
Pizza and Pasta House's pizza is not restricted to the Neapolitan pizza. New to the menu is the all-vegan gourmet pizza. The pizzas are priced beginning with a personal pizza that toppings are added to a la carte, to the largest pizza in Vero Beach at a whopping 22 inches. If you are planning on taking this home in a box, be prepared to take a vehicle that can accommodate that size. I found out that the front seat was not the place to put the box.
Pizza and Pasta House may be a little off the beaten path on Old Dixie Highway in Vero Beach, but it will soon find its way into the hearts of pizza and pasta lovers as they recognize that Vera Napoli (true Naples) is alive and well in Vero Beach.
The bakery portion of Pizza and Pasta House is always active, and Mr. Pizzo begins baking bread in the wee hours of the morning. Because the oven is up and running while we are all still sleeping, when we get ready to head over to Pizza and Pasta House for breakfast, the bagels and rolls are fresh, warm and delicious. Add eggs, sausage or bacon to that and it will definitely get your day off to a fresh start.
Pizza and Pasta House is located at 620 S.W. Old Dixie Highway in Vero Beach and can be reached (772) 978-5800. They are open seven days a week from 6 a.m. until 9 p.m. Call ahead on Fridays to make sure you get a table.
