RéNapoli Pizzeria & Chicago Italian Beef opened three weeks ago in Old Greenwich at the old home of Beyond Bread.
This pizzeria sells three styles of pizza: Napoletana, New York , and Romano. Not to mention, they’ve also got a couple award-winners.
Chicago Italian Beef
You’ve probably seen it on Food Wars on the Travel Channel where Al’s and Mr. Beef battled for the title of Best Chicago Italian Beef based on a blind taste test. Of course, I won’t tell you who the winner was, but that episode got me itchin’ to try a Chicago Beef Sandwich.
So what’s a Chicago Italian Beef sandwich?
A Chicago Italian Beef sandwich is a regional specialty of Chicago, and is made of thin slices of seasoned roast beef, dripping with meat juices, on a dense, long Italian-style roll, which is then dipped in the beef “au jus.”
At RéNapoli, there are 4 variations of the sandwich:
- Traditional – Italian beef, spicy giardiniera, $9
- Combo – Italian beef, housemade fennel sausage, spicy giardiniera, $10
- Cheef – Italian beef, mozzarella, spicy giardiniera, $10
- Tomato Beef – Italian beef, crushed peeled tomatoes, spicy giardiniera, $10
You can have it dipped 3 ways: dipped (quick dunk), juicy (even wetter), or soaked (dripping wet).
I tried the traditional sandwich with a quick dunk. It was actually pretty good, especially for it being my first Chicago Italian Beef. The bread was soft, from the dunk. The meat was flavorful. You can taste the Italian spices in it. And the giardiniera had some kick, coming from the pickled hot peppers.
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| Chicago Italian Beef – traditional style |
Off the pizza menu, I tried RéNapoli’s Napoletana style Margherita pizza. Quoting the menu:
Dough mixed by hand using Caputo 00 flour, proofed in Neopolitan wood boxes, San Marzano tomatoes dop, trapani sea salt, fio di latte mozz, fresh basil, evoo, $16
The pizza was excellent. The dough was soft and the crust was crunchy and not too thick. The sauce was amazing. The cheese was excellent too. All in all, the perfect ingredients/attributes for a perfect pizza. I was impressed. I’m sure their pasta dishes must be great.
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| Margherita, Pizza Napoletana World Pizza Cup Winner Naples, Italy |
I’ll be back to try their other pizzas. Thankfully, they also sell pizza by the slice so I can try a couple at a time.
I had a chance to speak to the owner, Five-time World Pizza champion Bruno DiFabio, after my meal and he said he has a couple locations in NY and CT, all under different names. Two locations in Connecticut include Pinocchio Pizza and Pasta restaurants in New Canaan and Wilton.
RéNapoli Pizzeria & Chicago Italian Beef
216 Sound Beach Avenue
Old Greenwich, CT 06870
Tel: 203 698 9300
http://www.renapoli.com
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