Something Italian, downtown Des Moines' original purveyor of
pizza-by-the-slice, has been serving up lunch-time slices from
their Skywalk location inside The Kirkwood since 1999. The pizza
that best defines owner Louie Barrata's craft is the Papa
Luigi, built on a thin, foldable crust. With a red
tomato sauce topped with mozzarella, pepperoni, Graziano’s
Italian sausage, black and green olives, mushrooms, and yellow
pepper rings, the Papa Luigi is practically a
meal. Another red sauce build of note is the Spicy,
a solid base of Italian sausage topped with pepperoni and
home-grown peppers. Its ridiculously good! And they're no slouch
on the basics either, such as cheese, pepperoni, or Italian
sausage.
Custom builds I've ordered to go include a Four
Cheese with added pepperoni, and
salami with black olives.
Something Italian also offers pizza with homemade Alfredo sauce,
such as the Portabella
Alfredo with mozzarella, portobello mushroom, Roma
tomato, artichoke heart, and spinach; or singles meats such as ham
or pepperoni.
Deep-dish
pizza is served occasionally. Not as voluminous as a true
Chicagoland deep-dish,
but still a sight to behold with an ample portion of red sauce
atop. The crust is quite tender and well-browned on the underside
while the high-sided rind is crisp and easy to chew. Alfredo
versions also crop up as well.
The occasional specialty like a pizza with chili dog toppings,
and daily specials such as meatballs with marinara are popular
items. These firm, substantial meatballs swim in a zippy red
sauce. If you can find a better meatball outside of a Society of
Italian Americans Auxiliary dinner, I’m game to try.
The most popular daily special comes on Tuesday. That’s when
Something Italian takes a slice of their sausage pizza and heap
upon it a mound of lettuce, crushed tortilla chips, housemade
chunky salsa, shredded cheese, black olives, and sour cream. Its
not what you’d expect from a taco pizza. It is what it is: a slice
of pizza buried under a salad. I can’t possibly eat it by hand, so
I attack the salad with a fork until it reaches a more manageable
size, then fold up the remainder like a taco.
Daily specials also include specialty pasta dishes such as
sausage lasagne. One decadent example I've enjoyed tossed penne
pasta in a cheese sauce cobbled together from Alfredo sauce,
shredded cheddar, bacon, and salami.
On top of pizzas and pastas, Something Italian offers a number of
sandwiches, such as Italian sausage or meatballs tucked into
toasty house-baked hoagie rolls. Yet another daily special is the
Italian Grilled Cheese, pairing country Italian
bread with fresh mozzarella, smoked Gouda, Havarti, and Asiago
cheeses along with tomato, spinach, and a pesto spread. It's a
quattro formaggi overload! A salad and pasta bar rounds out the
lunch menu.
During the winter months, Something Italian is open for dinner on
Friday nights from 5 to 8 p.m., with beer, wine, and specials such
as the Hothead with spicy pizza sauce, pepperoni,
Italian sausage, spicy giardiniera, jalapeΓ±o, and Sriracha. Pizzas
made to order, cut tavern style, are available as well.
Operating from a tent on Saturday mornings during the Downtown
Farmers' Market' summer season, Something Italian offers a
plethora of breakfast pizzas and frittatas. Among pizzas the Veggie
and Meat Trio with ham, bacon, and pepperoni are
the most popular. More fanciful builds include pizzas with bacon,
smoked ham, and oven poached eggs; bacon and mini-waffles with a
pancake syrup drizzle; a Breakfast Supreme with
bacon, Italian sausage, green and black olives, and green and
banana peppers; sausage with egg and Sriracha; and pizza with
biscuits and gravy.
Louie's own mother, Rosina,
makes the breakfast frittatas. And the pride she takes in creating
them is revealed with every delicious slice. Varieties offered
include bacon; a three cheese with Gorgonzola, Blue and ricotta;
ham and potato; a hearty ham, portobello mushroom, and spinach;
and Italian sausage
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment