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
Pizzeria 712
Thanks for the picture AJ!
320 South State St.
Suite 147
Orem, Utah 84058
801-623-6712
(Look for the big half-done apartment building place on the east side)
Pizza is an interesting dish. To me, it’s a relationship built on “crust,” and heartiness. I’ve always been the deep dish kind of pizza gourmand. There is something appetizing about a thick, yet light dough that has the perfect crispiness to balance it out. As many of your know. I love sandwiches and pizza to me is an open faced sandwich but toasted. Chicago is the home of the deep dish but many of my friends, the Italians primarily, seem to enjoy NY Style thin crust pizza. They often remark that it’s more convenient, more “pizza like” and doesn’t require a knife and fork to eat. Particularly, I hear often as well that thin crust was the way pizza was meant to be. It’s more focused on the toppings and flavor than a thick bready crust.
I disagree but can understand the preference.
Pizzeria 712 is part of the reason why. Located, rather nestled in a big giant and abandoned apartment project, Pizzeria 712 was a happenstance visit. I have read about the pizzeria in Salt Lake City magazine and have heard countless positive reviews from those in Happy Valley but this was still a new experience.
I didn’t quite know what to expect particularly when entering the restaurant we felt immediately thrust into the crowd since the entrance, hostess stand, and seats were all cramped together. It’s certainly a smaller seating arrangement but honestly if the food taste good I could sit squatted over like I was during my Cambodian trip eating fried bananas. (pictures of that upcoming : ) ).
The pizza menu is sparse with roughly 6 different offers. But what the menu lacks in size, it makes up for in-depth and quality of taste. The owners thrive on the new trend of sustainable food and all the ingredients on the menu are local and fresh. My party started off with two appetizers, both the braised beef short rib, anson mills polenta with horseradish and the house cured bacon with winter squash, pine nuts, and allred orchards apple reduction.
Braised Short ribs - yummy!
The dish was small, consisting of only a few bites but it was the perfect lead up to an excellent meal. The beef short rib was braised to succulent and tender perfection and the polenta was grilled as a foundation for the meat.
It was then topped off with a tangy horseradish sauce that was more like a sour cream. The house cured bacon was just as flavorful and had an excellent cru
st that accentuated the saltiness of the bacon. The pine nuts and apple reduction sauce added a very rustic and earthy taste to the meal. Both appetizers were superb.
So good, I couldn't take a picture before someone stole a slice
Strange looking, yes. But tasty, indeed!
For our pizza selections, I chose the potato, mushroom, leeks, rosemary, and blue cheese combination and the other guest in our party chose the speck soppressata, tomato sauce, garlic and mozzarella combo. The latter tasted just like a regular pepperoni pizza but the sauce was more pronounced than typical store-bought or pizza parlor sauces which are often over salted. My pizza selection was very unique. It had a taste similar to a pot roast minus the meat but the mushroom and bleu cheese combination filled in just fine for the protein. This pizza reminded me that pizza as a base can be used to incorporate many cuisines. Noting the success of chains such as California Pizza Company, as long as your imagination can think it up, you can make it a pizza. Luckily, Pizzeria 712 follows this model but keeps it simple and enjoyable.
PS: 712 represents the ideal baking temperature (or so I’ve read on Utasty)
Friend Meter: Elisa, Tony, Rachel, Brody, Rachel
Peng's Palate 