Last night was Industry Night at Il Cane Rosso, and the kids (Jeffers and Zielke) from Smoke and Bolsa were serving up pie. Local and delicious were the themes.
The bar stools across the pizza pit directly in front of the mouth of the big red alien-like oven are the best seats in the house on any even slightly chilly night. The heat from the wood-burning stove penetrates out, and it's hard not to stick your hands out to catch more of the warmth.
The Bolsa kids brought over a spicy wild-boar sausage, cold smoked cherry tomatoes, smoked garlic, ricotta salata, smoked salt, Tom's basil and Zip Code honey. Oh. And "love." All of this atop dough and sauce from Naples, quickly toasted in the 900-degree oven.
Bolsa's spicy-boar sausage should be in beauty pageants. We'd all gather on parade routes to wave at her. Tom's basil was so fresh that each bite of pizza was laced with its aromatic scent. The Zip Code honey was lightly drizzled and offered a subtle balance to the heat the peppers and sausage provided.
Paired with the new Backslider Blonde from Deep Ellum Brewing Company, it made for a dandy Monday night dinner.
Next Monday, Kent Rathbun will be in the pizza pit from 6 to 10 p.m. On the weekends, Il Cane Rosso typically has at least an hour wait. Avoid that hoopla and check it out on the more laid-back Monday nights.
