Scornovacca's Ristorante: Over 40 years of awesome.

UPDATED Thursday, December 25, 2014

On recent visits I had the pleasure to enjoy Scornovacca's comforting food. It's clear why they been in business since 1973.

For a pizza I ordered up a Barille Deluxe with Scorno's housemade Italian sausage, plus capicola, mushrooms, roasted sweet peppers and pepperoni. A half-order of onion rings to whet the appetite seemed appropriate. Crunchy and lightly sweet, a touch of table salt is all the seasoning you'll need.

Scorno's pizza is tavern cut. The Deluxe is a solid build, piled high with cheese and toppings on a sturdy, competent crust. In between lies a generous slather of red sauce with a pleasing amount of spice, offering a nice throat tingle. I adore fennel and welcome its presence in Scorno's Italian sausage.

Having gotten a taste, I was anxious to enjoy to try an Italian Grinder on my return. And what a grinder it was, but first a Dinner Salad and Cheese Sticks to enjoy.

The salad was quite appetizing with iceberg lettuce, grated carrot, and slices of cucumber, tomato, and pickled banana pepper. Scorno's Creamy Romano dressing pairs vinegary brightness with grated Romano cheese.

The Cheese Sticks here aren't the overseasoned premade variety so prevalent elsewhere, but house breaded – golden and crisp – with mozzarella sourced from Graziano's, a superior southside Italian grocery [see blog post]. A side of Scorno's spaghetti sauce for dipping is richly flavored.

As for the grinder? One of the best I've enjoyed in town. A hoagie chocked full of flavorful loose meat sausage, topped with red sauce and mozzarella, and baked to perfection.

On a return trip in 2014 I tried a simple meatball pizza. It was tasty but the finely chopped meatballs were sadly lacking on this build. The abundant mozzarella dominated so much that I had to pick out the meatball chunks to appreciate their flavor and texture. The crust was blonde, but exhibited a good balance between density and airiness. Firm and crisp on the edges, but pliable enough from the 'honeypot' to bend in half and eat like a pizza taco.