• Reviews

Pizza, the way God intended

By JOAN GORDAN, Norwich Bulletin

On the Boston Post Road in Flanders Four Corners, there’s an unpretentious little building with a sign that looks kind of like a partially squished tomato.

Inside is a place that many consider to be one of the best pizza restaurants around.

Get thee there, because Pizza Cucina is just that, and more. Our senses were assaulted as soon as we opened the car doors – aromas of baking dough and garlic perfumed the parking lot air.

The entrance leads to the staging area: take-out counter, ovens, stove and assembly line. A hearty “Hello!” and the heady smells of good food cooking envelop you with genuine, welcoming warmth.

Chef and owner Robert D’Agostino hails from, as he puts it, “the Jersey side of Philly.” As a former Philadelphia resident, I can tell you that that’s a good training ground for Italian cooking.

A few steps up to the right are two separate dining areas. We headed for the larger of the two, where more diners had congregated. Décor is modest. Framed drawings by local children of their favorite pizzas mingle with family photos and a period wedding portrait of the chef’s grandparent’s. Even a string of red Christmas lights added a little glow.

The front of the menu featured the daily specials while the two inside pages listed the regular offerings.

Almost everything is fresh and house made.

We ordered from both sections. Arriving first, in a wide rimmed, white bowl (actually, most dishes except pizza are served in the same type bowl), was a spinach and Portobello appetizer.

Sautéed fresh baby spinach leaves, cubed and roasted Portobello mushrooms, strips of meaty sun-dried tomatoes, fresh tomatoes and roasted garlic were all anointed with a modicum of fruity olive oil and fresh-ground pepper. It was a treasure.

A bowl of crusty wedges of the house-made focaccia should have come with a “Bet you can’t eat just one!” warning. This crispy pizza bread was baked with little sprinklings of Romano and Parmesan cheeses, toasted rosemary and a hint of garlic. Curly leafed lettuce salads came with our dinners.

It’s hard to retreat to the ordinary packaged dry pasta after having the silky texture and sensuous taste of the fresh kind. The difference is quite remarkable. All the pastas at Pizza Cucina are the house made variety, and can be ordered in either angel hair, penne or linguini. We ordered two of the entrees. The chicken Siena special deserved an honorary degree of creativity. Bite-sized chicken, sliced mushrooms, sun-dried tomatoes, crumbled bacon and fresh linguini all luxuriated in an Asiago cream sauce that oozed pure decadence.In the mood for fire breathing, I tried the shrimp diavolo. Every forkful was a “hunk-a burnin’ love. It contained thick chunks of plum tomatoes, Italian flat leaf parsley, fresh basil (it could have used more) and was loaded with sweet, medium sized shrimp curled up as if to avoid the flaming hot peppers.

The pizzas we tried were top shelf. Not only because of the high-end ingredients, but as a certain basketball announcer might exclaim, “It’s the crust, baby!” It was thin – but not cracker like – and even the plain edges tasted good. Clams were sweet and fresh. Light sprinklings of Romano and Parmesan cheeses, garlic and an excellent olive oil made the combination a slam-dunk.

The shrimp and broccoli pizza had a light cheese base. Shrimp were meaty and plentiful; broccoli florets were bright green and al dente. Very tasty. The red pizzas were excellent, as well. They were not the kind of pies we’ve been accustomed to in this country: no homogeneous tomato sauce out of a jar, no glob of bubbling mozzarella hot enough to burn the roof of your mouth.

Both versions we tried had the same gourmet approach as the white pizzas. The three-cheese started with the chunky fresh tomato sauce, and then was sprinkled with Parmesan, Romano and finally Gorgonzola for an extra tang. All three flavors blended beautifully.

Our red number two was a spinach, bacon and tomato pizza.

Atop the same base were layers of baby spinach, paper-thin crispy bacon – sweet, smoky and salty – and finally thin slices of fresh tomatoes. Parmesan was lightly scattered onto the surface.

Desserts were a selection of Italian water ice (a Philly favorite), biscotti and house-made tiramisu and Oreo mousse cake. We shared a piece of the mousse.

Three layers of whipped mousse went from dark chocolate down to a white layer. The crust, of course, was crushed Oreos.

D’Agostino is genuinely concerned about pleasing.

He often makes the round of the dining room, sincerely asking customers about his creations with an eye to improvement.

We were immensely satisfied with everything we tried. My only complaint is that they’re only open for dinner..