Welcome to a Permanent Home Pizza Tonight

Pizza Tonight now provides your favorite pizza along with other delectable offerings in a non-mobile location. The old Aziza's received a much-needed makeover. The exterior is painted a smart black with red accents. The big brick wall that had divided the dining room from the kitchen is gone, making way for more dining space, a longer bar, and a pizza oven up front. The restrooms have doubled and look fabulous.

Pizza Tonight Entrance

We arrived early on a Friday evening with two nephews in tow: one who likes to try different things and one who is so picky we weren't sure if he would order anything. Reservations are only taken for large parties, so early dining was optimal since after 7 PM there were no seats left.

Wood-fired Oven

While cocktails beckoned to us (barrel aged negronis, spritzes, etc.) we gravitated to wine (or water for my nephews). Pizza Tonight has an all-Italian list with many offered by the glass. The Morellino di Scansano worked well with our meal.

The Pizza Tonight menu held an abundance of deliciousness. The wood-fired oven in the front is reserved for pizzas, but the oven in the back is for other dishes, like Charred Octopus with White Beans and Sugartoads with Bagna Cauda. We stuck to more of the basics for starters: Lamb and Pork Meatballs and Burrata with Caponata and Arugula. Neither nephew had tasted lamb before and, surprisingly, both tried the meatballs and wolfed them down. Big and meaty with a delicately spicy tomato sauce. The cheese dish had one nephew raving and the other one avoiding the dish at all costs. For myself, this was my favoprite dish. Of course, the creamy fresh ball of cheese is always delicious. The arugula added a slight pungency. The roasted red pepper caponata was the star. Dressed in just enough vinegar and tossed with capers - a perfected sweet-sour balance. One recommendation - offer an order of wood-fired or grilled rustic bread as an optional accompaniment.

But we were really here for the pizza and, yes, the pizza was delicious. We ordered a variety of pies - Margherita; Sausage, Tomato, Rapini, and Ricotta;  Caprese, Fennel, and Tomato; and Potato, Rosemary, Chiles, and Grano Padano.

No matter how the pizzas are topped, the crust is all important. The Pizza Tonight crust arrived thin with just the right crunch on the bottom to stand up to the toppings and just the right chew when devouring. The wood-fired blisters added a final taste touch. The crust also reminded me of my time in Florence, Italy and scarfing up wood-fired pizzas in that historic city.

Margherita Pizza

The Margherita was as expected and will always be the go-to pizza. The Sausage competed with the richness of the ricotta globs and was the one slice that we took home. The Caprese sausage had a pronounced spicy kick which paired nicely with the tomato sauce giving it a sweeter essence than normal. Once I had the Caprese, I could not taste the chiles in the Potato pizza. Instead I used the Potato pizza as a tongue detingling device. I really liked the pop of rosemary and garlic.

All in all a wonderful meal and an introduction of what pizza is capable of being to my nephews. I also want to give a shout out to Kay, who provided wonderful service and was patient with all of my questions.

Welcome home Pizza Tonight!

Another Visit to The Roosevelt

Earlier in July we headed back to The Roosevelt to enjoy another meal. This time a rehearsal dinner filled half the space. A bit strange since there is no way to partition a group gathering. And when the best man stood up to make a speech, all I could think of was Four Weddings and a Funeral. It took an enormous amount of effort to keep from rolling my eyes and bursting out with guffaws. I do wish the bride and groom a happy journey despite my cynicism.

In any case hubby and I ate, drank, and made merry. We began with cocktails: Jasper's Rum Punch and The Orange Door Hinge. Hubby enjoys rum and on this blazing hot night, it was very refreshing. My Hinge contained Espolon tequila and blood orange juice with a jalapeno hint and Kentucky Ale 8 soda. I have lately been won over by Espolon. The taste of the tequila shines through no matter what is added. This is a very good thing. I liked the black sea salt around the rim, too, but beware, it will temporarily turn lips and tongue black.

Jasper's Rum Punch

The Orange Door Hinge

We shared a salad and a snack: Peach and Burrata Salad and Fried Pork Rinds. The salad was the best thing we encountered all night (the rest was good, this was simply outstanding). The salad also contained arugula and hazelnuts with a Banyuls vinaigrette. So yummy. The pork rinds were still crackling as they were served - a grown up version of pop rocks and a nice crunchy companion to the salad.

The Virginia wine of the evening was a King Family Meritage. Once again, I'm happy that The Roosevelt had the gumption to only offer Virginia wine and that they select quality producers.

For dinner proper: Flap Steak with Fingerling Potatoes and Housemade A1 and Smoked Duck Leg with Cheddar Grits and Oyster and Sausage Gravy. The flap steak was similar to a flat iron. Hubby enjoyed it, but was not a fan of the A1 sauce. I was lured in by the duck, which was fabulous. I even enjoyed the oysters. The grits were too rich for me and I really could not eat them. I have to be careful about creamy-cheesy offerings be it quiche, alfredo sauce, or even mac and cheese. Other diners would have scarfed them down and asked for more, I'm sure.

Richmond has been blessed with some wonderful places to experience good food and drink. The Roosevelt continues to be one of these special places. Go soon and enjoy for yourself. And one more thing - despite the temperature of 100 degrees outside, the restaurant was cool and comfortable inside. A difficult thing to achieve with older buildings.

Some Yumminess From Last Week

Last week we enjoyed some mighty fine dishes.

Burrata at Enoteca Sogno. OMG. Creamy, soft goodness. Simple, yet so satisfying. I've raved about this before. I'm sure I will rave again.

We went to brunch at The Boathouse at Rocketts Landing. The Fried Shrimp starter was so good. I know where I will go when I have my next hankering.

Word to the management, however. We made reservations and arrived on time; while you did not have any outside seating available (which we did not request when making the reservation) you said you would seat us by the window; this made us happy. So which table were we seated at? The booth by the BRICK WALL. There were plenty of other tables. We asked to switch (our waiter promptly accommodated). We then proceeded to watch everyone else entering for brunch ask for another spot, too. The brick wall booth should be the seat of last resort.

Braveheart Beef Strip Steak with garlic and parsley compound butter with First Press Cabernet Sauvignon at Arcadia. The steak was indeed outstanding (better than the area steakhouses) and decently priced ($26).

And the Cab was tasty, hearty, and paired well with the medium rare entree.

One other thing about Arcadia: The owner John Van Peppen graciously greets all of his restaurant patrons as they dine. He has this wonderful ability to sincerely express his appreciation for their visit. Always nice to see, which, in turn, acts as an example for his staff who also provide excellent and engaging service.

Enoteca Sogno Deliciousness

Since Enoteca Sogno is now in my neighborhood, we visit more frequently and can walk there. Lucky, lucky us.

We have enjoyed everything we have ever ordered. On this night we ehoyed some of the evening specials.

Seared scallops with balsamic vinegar. Some of THE BEST scallops. The pan searing - perfect without drying out the little seafood morsels. The drizzle of balsamic enhances the flavor without hiding what the scallop has to offer.

Burrata with tomatoes. We fell in love with this soft mozzarella with the creaminess inside while we were in Italy. Here, it's hard to get burrata. Enoteca Sogno sourced it from a producer in Maine. Heavenly.

Roasted Cornish Game Hen with a mustard-influenced sauce. A very healthy hen where I was tempted to pick up the bones and gnaw on them to get at every last bit of flavor. Since the bird was big, I took half of it home and gnawed my bones in the privacy of my own abode.

We washed it all down with a 2008 Rosso di Casanova di Neri. Mmmmm!