More Stuzzi, buffalo milk mozz

Went back to Stuzzi on Friday afternoon and it was packed as usual but there always seems to be a few seats available at the bar which is preferred for a drinker like me.  Unfortunately the beer is grossly overpriced which is keeping me from eating here more often.

I ordered the margherita with the mozzarella di bufala or buffalo milk mozzarella for those who aren’t pizzatalian.

Great stuff all around.  If you eat enough pizza you may be able to pick out the distinct flavor and texture differences between fresh mozz and buffalo milk mozz, especially since the buffalo milk mozzarella is aged.  You can pick out a more stinky cheese with the buffalo milk.  It’s a bit creamier and a little tougher.  The fresh mozz tends to blob around on a pizza, probably due to a higher water content.  The buffalo milk stuff is tougher, retains its shape better and just provides a different flavor.  Very few places do this as this type of cheese is quite a bit more expensive.  Definitely worth checking out.

Overall, this pie was better than the first one I had at Stuzzi.  Their crust is a bit less chewy but still plenty to chomp on.  I still wish they wouldn’t have such a large crust end but that’s just nit picking isn’t it?

Great charring on the bottom!

Eating our words: Stuzzi is great

Ok.  We had our reasons for expecting Stuzzi to be a bit of a disappointment and I personally have a bit of disdain for such uppity pizza places with their fancy menus in half-assed Italian and their adoration for the awful lager that is Peroni.  I feel more comfortable in a place that is as simple as the food itself.  Dingy,  cheap, utilitarian.

With that said, we have finally made our first stop at Stuzzi pizzeria napoletana and I am really stoked to say that it is the first of hopefully many visits to come.  We eat our words with smiles on our faces.

From what I hear Stuzzi has been very busy since it opened earlier this week.  We walked in on a Wednesday evening and there was only seating available at the bar which we gladly accepted seating to.  Inside, the place is quite nice but really doesn’t overwhelm you with gaudy taste.  Wearing t-shirts and shorts, none of us felt under dressed even though most of the patrons were dressed a bit more dainty.

Here, you can see the men in action in front of the brick oven which looks to be completely wood-fired.

Time for the pies.  We placed our order collectively, ordering 3 pies at once.  We waited for no more than ten minutes before we were served.  Visually, the pizzas are stunning.

I will only comment on my pizza for now while the others chime in at a later time.

Above you see a salami, basil, fresh mozzarella and San Marzano tomato pizza.  The flavors absolutely pop here.  No single ingredient comes off as too dominant.  I love the salami on this.  Very salty and spicy with no acidic after taste.  The cheese is very creamy, fresh and well balanced.  The sauce is great as well.  If you’ve had fresh San Marzano tomato sauce before you’ll recognize its pure, bittersweet flavor.  The toppings are very well balanced on my pie, nothing is over dressed.

The crust is my only point of complaint.  Don’t get me wrong, this stuff is very, very good.  My gripe is that there is too much cornicione than I’d like and on my pizza, it was just too much to chew on.  I’d like to see a lighter, more “fluffy” crust if there is going to be this much edge crust on the pizzas.  I simply felt too full after crushing the remainder of the crust.  Dropping $12-14 on a fairly small pizza I tend not to leave anything behind.  One thing I like about 8 1/2′s pies is that they keep their cornicione to a minimum, giving you more area for the toppings to rest on.

Here are the pictures from the other pies that were ordered and hopefully we will hear from Andy and a special guest comment from Braden at Carytown Bicycle Company.

new pizza!

Richmond seems to be a never ending pizza garden with new pizza parlors popping up every week.  This time it’s Stuzzi coming in at 1 North Belmont.

“We’re doing something that should make national headlines,” they say on Richmondmagazine.com.  We’ll see about that.  I’m just about sick of these places that think they can make an impeccable neapolitian pie with “homegrown” ingredients and fancy San Marzano tomatoes.  Just make a fucking decent pizza and save the shmucky VPN ingredients for another day.

I hope I get to eat my words.

street view google