Crazy for Stratford's Pazzo

As featured in the December 15, 2011 edition of Dining Out, Waterloo Region Record.

Stratford transforms into a charming Victorian Christmas card this time of year. Downtown gleams with wreath-encircled lampposts, white lights, garland and red velvet bows. Add gently falling snow, and your heart can’t help but ignite with the magic of the season.

Holiday shopping Stratford’s unique storefronts provides a refreshing alternative to the mall, and a great excuse to eat in a city known for award-winning cuisine. Having lived there several years, I had the privilege of enjoying numerous fine meals prepared by meticulous Stratford chefs, many of whom unite with local farmers to bring fresh, honest, intrinsically good food to your table.

I feel like a kid in a candy store when deciding where to eat in Stratford. But after a recent downtown shopping excursion on a blustery December afternoon, one comfort food came to mind: pizza. Specifically, the best pizza I’ve ever had, found at Pazzo Pizzeria.

Articulating its splendor should come easy to a writer. However, I’m not sure there’s an English word to do it justice. Let’s just say that ‘pazzo’ is Italian for ‘crazy’ and you’d be crazy not to go.

My recent Pazzo reunion started with an old-time favourite: Caesar salad ($9), which is nothing shy of extraordinary. Its tangy, from-scratch dressing has the perfect combination of garlic, anchovy, lemon and Worcestershire. Fresh bite-sized romaine hearts layered amidst crispy pancetta, quality parmigiano-reggiano and airy herbed croutons. You haven’t truly appreciated a caesar salad until you’ve tried this version.

My husband’s antipasti plate ($12) was an assortment of marinated olives, artichoke hearts, pickled cauliflower and beets, roasted shallots, goat cheese, mozzarella, prosciutto, spicy salami, capocollo and arugula. Its fresh, local, quality ingredients bellowed, “Welcome to la dolce vita!” on a plate.

I forgot to mention the bread. Spongy focaccia with a delicately salted crust (prepared at Pazzo’s Bakery next door) accompanies every meal along with a shallow dunking dish of fruity olive oil and syrupy balsamic, demonstrating again that ‘quality’ and ‘simplicity’ forge a powerful union.

Onto the main event: the thin-crust pizza, available in plain or whole wheat. A variety of cleverly named renditions – the don corleone, soprano, Vatican and marco polo, to name a few – are all virtuoso in their own rights. My favourite, the medici ($10), is a spicy little number with hot peppers, kalamata olives, diced tomato, pesto and buffalo mozzarella. The smell alone has imprinted my memory for dentist chair visits when I need to go to my “happy place.” What’s more, it sings ‘O Sole Mio’ when dipped in Pazzo’s signature chili oil.

My husband ordered the ricotta gnocchi ($13) after our server said she could eat it all day and all night. Now we get it. Tender pillows of potato perfection, drenched in a rich Gorgonzola cream sauce balanced with colourful grilled radicchio: delightful.

There was no turning back now so tiramisu with espresso cream ($7.50) and a flourless chocolate square with double-chocolate sauce ($7.50) followed. The quality of the chocolate and coffee percolated through each bite.

The pizzeria’s ambiance– Stratford’s oldest cellar transformed into a sleek but warm urban resto-lounge – is molto cool; yet not so cool that you couldn’t bring your kids. Our two-year-old always enjoys dining at Pazzo.

While we’re visiting family in Stratford this Christmas, I think we might grab a meal from the new ‘Pazzo to go’ take-out menu. Perfect for those frosty late-December days when you feel like eating like kings in the comfort of your own pajamas.

Pazzo Ristorante, Bar and Pizzeria
70 Ontario St., Stratford
519-273-6666
www.pazzo.ca

Pizzeria Hours
Sunday to Thursday: 11:30 a.m. – 9 p.m.
Friday and Saturday: 11:30 a.m. – 11 p.m.
Closed Mondays

Wheelchair Accessibility
Through the back door off Erie Street. Ristorante accessible through Ontario Street.

Cuisine
Simple, fresh, quality Italian food made spectacularly. Locavores live here.

Reservations
Recommended, especially during the theatre season.

Atmosphere
Pazzo is divided into two restaurants: the downstairs pizzeria is a swanked-up cellar that’s hip, casual and warm. Pazzo’s street-level ristorante (only open during the theatre season, although occasionally for New Year’s Eve) provides a stunning and formal atmosphere with a more adventurous menu. Take-out meals can be picked up at the Pazzo Bakery next door.

Menu
Amazing salads, appetizers, pizza, pasta, gnocchi and a few gluten-free dinner mains such as risotto, beef short ribs and olive brine braised chicken.

Drinks
An extensive drink list dominates the menu. A variety of martinis, manhattans, sparkling wines and cocktails, local and imported beers on tap and in bottles, premium and bar-brand liquors, selection of whiskeys. Wines are available by the glass ($6-$10), by 500 ml-, 750 ml- or 1,000 ml-carafes or bottles ($38-$75). Dessert menu features Italian liqueurs, grappa, sherry, port and specialty coffees. A few fancy non-alcoholic options as well.

Service
Down-to-earth, knowledgeable, easy-going and attentive.

The bill
$82.49 (including tax, before tip) for two glasses of wine, and two orders of appetizers, entrees and desserts.

In a nutshell
Three and a half forks.