Overall Rating: Good to Very Good (**1/2)
Pizza type:
New York style pizza
Pizza ordered: Pepperoni, Italian sausage, beef, Canadian bacon, mushroom, onion, green pepper and black olives
Pizza ordered: Pepperoni, Italian sausage, beef, Canadian bacon, mushroom, onion, green pepper and black olives
Crust: The bakers at Vitolli's prepare a good hand-tossed crust, although, and with a bit more heat and care in the preparation, it could be very good for its type. The crust did display some good crispiness around the edges and chewiness as you got into the thinner portion; however, in places, the edge was too thick and had a bit of a stale crispiness. Also, the crust was a bite under-cooked in the center of the pie...maybe from thickness vs. temperature of the oven. There was some nice char on the bottom of the crust, but not nearly enough. It is certainly a good New York style crust, but needs some fine tuning.
Sauce: Vitolli's sauce was rather neutral in tomato flavor with some spice shinning through. It gave the pie a nice tomato presence without any added saltiness, acidity or overpowering flavor. They do a good job of not over-applying the sauce...just enough.
Cheese: I found the cheese to be of good quality, pizzeria mozzarella. The cheese was not over present and didn't add any greasy or sour, separated taste to the pie. As with the sauce, they knew how to added just enough without making the cheese a dominant flavor.
Other Topping(s): The pepperoni was mildly spicy and rather lean, but not dry and added a nice zest to the pie. The Canadian bacon added a nice smoked flavor without greasiness; however, the beef didn't seem to standout at all. The Italian sausage was a bit bland and fatty in flavor, and didn't seem to add any interesting personality to the pie. The mushrooms were tender and flavorful, and well distributed as were the black olives. The green pepper and onion came across as fresh and tender and added a nice clean, lively vegetable flavor to the pizza.
Atmosphere: I really enjoyed the cozy, classic neighborhood pizzeria atmosphere at Vitolli's. They had a decent selection of beer and wine available at very reasonable prices. The space is not too loud and is very family-oriented.
Service: The table service at Vitolli''s is exceptionally friendly and skilled. The service was never rushed and very attentive without being intrusive.
Utensils: Sturdy silverware and substantial napkins.
Overall: We're seeing more and more New York style pizza kitchens on the Gulf Coast and the quality varies greatly. The descendant of Neapolitan pizza, the New York style pizza, is sold in a wide variety of venues from large franchise outlets to one-of-a-kind establishments. Vitolli's is a solid, good neighborhood pizzeria with a good product, great staff and cozy atmosphere. With a bit of work on the crust, they could produce a consistently, very good pizza!
Payment: Cash /Credit cards
