Welcome to a little slice of paradise (slice–get it?)! The Local Pizzaiolo Atlanta (pronounced Pizza-yolo) just opened last week in Atlanta’s Westside. You shouldn’t have trouble finding it, but if you do–it has a streetside view across from Bartaco and next to Five Seasons Brewing!
A whole pie just for me? I think I found my happy place :)
One very cool feature of The Local Pizzaiolo Atlanta is that the are the first “fast service” restaurant to offer cocktails. And, might I add, they do it well. Pizzaiolo offers 4 draft cocktails, which I, of course, sampled all 4.
This is the Negroni. It is gin, sweet vermouth, and campari. It is definitely a vermouth and campari drink. Know that.
Now THIS one was my absolute favorite: The Neopolitan Storm (which is the Local Pizzaiolo Atlanta’s draft take on a Dark ‘n Stormy, my always and forever go-to), comprised of dark rum, ginger beer, and lime juice. Here is the cool part, though…Josh, the director of legal operations (and a lover of food and cocktails) teamed up with their Mixology consultant to create their Ginger beer IN HOUSE from fresh, effing ginger. It’s so fresh, the draft Neopolitan Storm only keeps a week, and you can literally TASTE the freshness. No lie. I could drink this every day.
Draft pours & gelato–what more could you ask for? The flavors below are Tiramisu (see the lady finger?) and a very dark chocolate.
Oh, mi amore, Pizza. This is the basic bitch, but totally rockin’ Margherita–San marzano tomatoes, fresh basil, real Italian parmesan…you get it.
Nutella, Lemon Meringue, Espresso, and Red Velvet gelato. These flavors will rotate.
Tired? Need a drink? Then this draft cocktail selection is just what you need…I present the Espresso Martini (Vodka, Kailua, & espresso). It is not a very sweet drink, and the coffee is very prevalent, nice and strong.
The neon sign at The Local Pizzaiolo Atlanta reads “You have a pizza my heart” and, truly, who DOESN’T love a good food pun?
I don’t know where my friggin’ photo of it went, but I am going to tell you about The Local Pizzaiolo’s flash-fried crust. That’s right, I said FLASH-FRIED CRUST, homie. In fact, Chef Giulio’s own specialty, all-rights-reserved, revolutionary method earned him his green card. It’s that damn good.
The pizza front and center (well, right-ish) here is the Mona Lizza, and if you like sweet & spicy, then this is your pick. The most notable tast elements are the ricotta cheese, salami, and hot honey.
Also of note is The Gypsy, which has a white truffle oil on it. The smell of the truffle oil is strong but the taste is mellow, and between those too things, it is such a chill slice. The Local (bottom right of the photo below) features Heirloom Market BBQ Beef brisket, pearl onions and basically just really tasty stuff.
In case you were wondering, YES, the Local Pizzaiolo Atlanta does serve gluten-free pizza!
In regards to most gluten-free pizza options elsewhere, Chef Giulio says, “Normally, it’s crap.” But not here at the Local Pizzaiolo. I, inexperienced with gluten-free goods as I am, could not tell the difference between the gluten-free crust and gluten-filled. In fact, due to the magical combination of toppings on the Puttanesca pizza (crushed organic California tomato, kalamata olives, capers, cherry tomatoes, and Sicilian oregano), I would legit order the gluten-free pizza for myself. I haven’t mentioned this before, but I bloody love capers, and they are roasted and toasted and perfection on this slice.
The Aperol Spritz–a bit on the tart side for me, and I drink Old-Fashioneds like water. Ok, not water. Like, tart-ish water.
Maybe I just wasn’t in the mood. My friend, Sara Longsworth, of Sara in the City, noted that it tasted EXACTLY like the Aperol Spritzes she and her hubby drank the entire time they were in Italy, so it is apparently really authentic. In case you were wondering, it’s made with straight-up just Prosecco & Aperol to my knowledge.
The flavor here at the forefront is the Farmer’s Market: Fresh mozzarella, brussels sprouts leaves,
crumbled goat cheese, and crunchy bacon. And let’s be honest, I saw brussels and just said, “YES.” Dude, I am so glad I did. The leaves are crisp and tasty and pairs perfectly with the (very high quality) goat cheese and inherent rich savoriness of the bacon. Yas.
This is a Roman-style pizza–like a pizza sandwich where the top layer is just more crust so more carbs and more deliciousness, amiright?
There are three varieties, so, obviously, I had them all. They are the Pizza al Metro on the menu, and the three varieties change daily. A couple of the ones here had cream cheese in them, like a panini/pizza cross and it was quite good. The cream cheese conveyed almost a freshness to it. One even had a pistachio cream cheese. And the meat on these I was told is Mortadella, and dang it, why have I never been fed this stuff before? Everyone in my life has failed me. It is some freaking good sliced meat. Buy it, try it. Boom.
On to the desserts: gelato and Nutella bites. I love Nutella. Or hazelnut spread since, you know, copyrights and ish. Case in point, the gelato flavor I chose was Nutella. Never too much of a good thing, y’all. Never too much.
As an aside, it was at this point that Chef Guilio himself walked by, and noticing that I was still consuming food, asked, and I quote “Are you still eating over here?”
Mmmmm, look at that fried dough goodness. YUM.
Check out The Local Pizzaiolo Atlanta’s full menu HERE.
Have you tried The Local Pizzaiolo Atlanta yet? Have you ever been to Italy? Tell me your thoughts on all things authentic Italian pizza in the comments! I would love to hear from you!
Leather Leggings: Spanx | Sweatshirt: Wildfox | Haircolor: Arctic Fox
Facebook Comments