Settebellos

Pizza twice?! At Settebellos, yes!

http://settebello.net/
260 S 200 W
Salt Lake City, UT 84101
(801) 322-3556

Price: $$

Pizza has been on my mind recently. Can you tell? This is the second pizza parlor I’ve been two in two weeks, rather a few days, and I have no regrets. How can you when you start off your weekend with Pizzeria 712 and then follow it up with Settebellos, arguably SLC’s best pizzeria.

I’ll jump right to it and claim Settebellos the best pizza in the valley. The pizza is brick oven, wood fired and adheres to the qualifications to make it authentic Napoletana pizza. If you’re wondering what that means, check out this BBC article:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_depth/7435480.stm

Anyhow, basically put, this pizzeria makes an extraordinary Margherita pizza using important ingredients from Napoli and high quality American products when needed. What this creates is not only an authentic flavor but a taste of Italy seldom found in Utah. Now I’ve never been to Italy (unlike some of my friends, ahem Amy) but I’ve had pizza from across the country (Boston to California, with California pizza being terrible) and the flavors I found at Settebellos made me feel like I had indeed been to the country known for their fine foods, high culture, and romantic language. Unlike the “traditional” pizza that we often associate with American chains, when pizza is at it’s best is when attention is paid to high quality ingredients, careful preparation, and lastly good company. My visit to Settebellos had all of these qualities and a good Pellegrino Citrus.

The pizza’s are 12″ single servings but one pizza is enough for two people. The menu provides more background on the VPN certified pizzeria and even explains how traditional Napoletana pizza should be eaten:

Traditionally pizza in Napoli is served unsliced and then eaten with a knife and fork, torn by the hands or cut into slices and folded over to eat. While we serve our pizzas in the traditional Italian manner, we will be happy to slice any pizza upon request.

I never realized I’ve been eating pizza wrong. Sliced? Psh. Pizza will not be enjoyed torn from the larger portion, in a feral, natural approach to good food. I’m salivating as I think of having my next pizza wild style.

For my personal pizza, I chose the Margherita Con Acciughe (anchovies).  Don’t let anchovies scare you, if you’re never had it, there is still time for you to repent.  Margherita pizza is pizza basica (I believe that’s Italian or Spanish for basic…. I hope) with a Crushed Tomato sauce, Mozzarella, Basil, Parmigiano Reggiano, and Extra Virgin Olive Oil.

Hidden in the sauce is a sweet and salty treat!

What this creates is a savory sweet pizza base which complements the salty (but no overly fishy) taste of anchovies importer from Italy. Paired with a good tonic water or in this case, my Pellegrino, the pizza highlights the natural flavors of Napoletana style pizza.

Sono Affamato!

The second pizza we had was the Del Cafone  – made with Wood Oven Roasted Fennel Sausage, Roasted Peppers, Roasted Onions,
Mozzarella, Basil,  and Extra Virgin Olive Oil. The sausage used in this pizza had a very gamey taste, perhaps from the fennel and the overall taste of the pizza had a wooden palate. It was delicious but needed some extra flavoring with the incredible spicy olive oil and red pepper flakes.  For those unfamiliar or new to non-red sauce pizza, this would not be the best choice. But the flavors were strong enough to give the pizza a thumbs up.

The highlight of my meal though was the caprese. If I was Italian and rich, I’d start my day off with a plate of freshly and thickly sliced tomatoes (any type), which a sweet and creamy mozzarella wheel sliced in equal thickness topped with fresh Italian Basil, drizzled with extra virgin olive oil and dusted with fresh sea salt and peppercorns.

Steak size cuts of mozarella!

The caprese here at Settebellos was exactly this, with pieces large enough to be considered a flank of mozzarella. I know the next time I visit, the caprese will be an automatic order.

Last week Pizzeria 712 offered me an eclectic and neo-american view of pizza done sustainable. This week, I was lucky to get pizza done Napoletana. Do I prefer one over the other? No. It merely attest to last week’s point that pizza is a versatile meal that can mirror the best there is to offer in ways of ingredients, culture, and cuisine.

la cena era deliziosa!

Friend Meter: Elisa, Tony