Tucson Restaurant Review : Pizzeria Vivace
By Kathleen Allen
Arizona Daily Star
Tucson, Arizona | Published: 06.24.2009
Let's talk pizza crust.
Some like it thick and yeasty. Others cracker thin.
My definition of perfection is crust that is thin but yeasty, not too crackery, not too doughy.
And that's what the dough at Pizzeria Vivace, Daniel Scordato's newest venture, is: perfect. Thin but substantial enough to support toppings without drooping under the weight. You bite into it, and you know that this is bread with a crust that we're willing to bet even the kids would love.
Scordato said he worked on the dough for about three months, and we're told he tried more than 20 recipes. Work well done.
We made several visits to the nearly two-month-old eatery, across the St. Philip's Plaza patio from Scordato's signature restaurant, Vivace.
The restaurant, comfortably settled in the old 58 Degrees & Holding space, has a sleek coolness to it. It's also got the Vivace vibe — that is, the staff carries a confidence that it knows what it's doing and does it well.
There are no tomato-sauce-stained menus here (not yet, at least), and while the red-hued wood tables are bare, they look chic in the pale yellow rooms accented with red and black walls.
This is not your everyday wolf-it-down pizzeria; it is a sit-down-and-savor-the-pie restaurant. To that end, take-out orders are not accepted.
The mozzarella cheese is homemade and abundant in the mozzarella and tomato salad ($7.50). Balls of bouncy, delicate mozzarella were surrounded by slices of sweet tomatoes that tasted fresh and sun-kissed. They were drizzled with a reduction of white balsamic (white balsamic is a touch less sweet than the darker balsamic vinegar) and basil oil, and served with a piece of La Brea Bakery bread swiped with garlic butter and toasted. Sublime.
All pizzas are 12 inches, and while we truly wanted one all to ourselves, most are so rich with flavor we found even the big eaters couldn't consume a whole one.
Like the prosciutto, arugula and tomato pizza ($14.50). The dough was covered with a blanket of fontina and mozzarella, slightly crisp from the melting, the edge of the crust barely splashed with the cheese. Next, the nutty arugula, fresh tomatoes and wide ribbons of salty, paper-thin prosciutto. Lots of those ribbons. The textures and flavors, combined with a pie jubilant with color and freshness, made for a near rapturous dining experience.
The sausage was homemade, peppery and abundant in the sausage and onion pizza ($14). The Cippolini (a pale Spanish onion that is sweeter than the norm) was roasted, making it even sweeter — and a sublime contrast to a spicy pork sausage sharply spiked with fennel. These sat on a thin layer of quiet tomato sauce, with mozzarella and fresh sage.
Vegetarians will delight in the pizza with chunky, slightly resistant-to-the-bite veggies such as eggplant, zucchini and roasted red pepper on a bed made up of mozzarella, the tomato sauce and a basil pesto sauce. This pizza tasted a tad underseasoned, and had us reaching for the red pepper flakes.
The priciest pizza on the menu is the shrimp, mozzarella and Pecorino Romano cheese pie ($17). It's worth every cent. The shrimp, cut up into small pieces, was packed with flavor and cooked to keep it. The melted cheeses formed a not-too-cheesy surface for the tomato sauce; garlicky basil pesto was drizzled on the top.
This was a sophisticated pie worthy of a knife and fork.
Contentment slowly enveloped us as we lounged over the pizzas.
Then the cheesecake ($5.50) at the next table caught our attention. A couple who had been chatting all evening stopped all talk as they shared a piece. They seem to sink into a state of euphoria. We wanted some of that.
The dense cheesecake is covered with a frothy zabaglione (basically egg yolks and sugar) squirted with lemon and spiked with the Italian sparkling wine, prosecco. Who wants to talk when presented with such delicious decadence?
Which made the meal end with the way it began — with perfection.
Contact reporter Kathleen Allen at kallen@azstarnet.com or 573-4128.
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