LET THE FEAST BEGIN - Anello

LET THE FEAST BEGIN

By Chuck Graham, TucsonStage.com

To help get through the coronavirus crisis Bernice Chesi and I want to encourage you to dine out now and then in the comfort of your own social distance observing home.

Each weekend we are going to order out dinner from an iconic local restaurant, create as much of a restaurant atmosphere as possible at home, pretend we are dining out and report on the experience!

 

 

 

This week we ordered several gourmet dishes from Anello, a secret treasure of Tucson's pizza aficionados. This East Sixth Street place is so well known among the pie-eyed cognoscenti, it doesn't even need a sign. We were happy to find it anyway.

 

The address is 222, just a few doors west of the Crooked Tooth Brewing Company. Place your order online and it will be all boxed up waiting for you at the door.

 

The online address is anello.space. Facebook also has a busy page for Anello, with a number of encouraging recommendations from customers. It opened in 2017 without a sign and, since then, word of mouth has done all the work.

 

Andi Berlin of the Arizona Daily Star was there on Oct. 12, 2017, to tell the story of the tiny restaurant's proud link to the Phoenix pizza guru Chris Bianco.

 

All of which is a long and reassuring introduction to a truly unique Tucson favorite that deserves  to survive the coronavirus crisis. Not only does Anello take pride in its "properly fermented natural sourdough pizza," and its wood-fired oven from Naples, Italy, but also wants to put locally rased vegetables "whether pickle, grilled or raw" more directly into the dinner table spotlight.

 

"We need to get back to what makes a great food and make it available to everyone" reads the promise on the website.

 

The takeout menu is limited to a few different pizzas, a couple of salads, some seasonal veggies,  gelato and cake. Beer and wine selections are also available.

 

We selected  the three original pizza combinations that put Anello on the local gourmet map -- the Marinara ($12), the Margherita ($13) and the Bianca ($14). Representing those vegetables were two Market Salads ($7 each) and two helpings of Seasonal Veggies ($8 each). To drink, we chose a fine Chianti.

 

The music was, of course, the Frank Sinatra channel on Pandora. Although something from Verdi or Puccini would have been equally appropriate.

 

Those flavors on our plates were often exquisite, silencing in their simplicity. A meal to be enjoyed thoughtfully, savored. Pondered, even.

 

To get the full effect, if you must drive more than 10 minutes, it might be important to pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees before leaving home to pick up your order. These pizza crusts are thin, with crunchy edges. Let the toppings get a little bubbly in your own oven so all those rich flavors are chasing after each other.

 

Each piece is about the size of a large dinner plate, a one-person pizza for sure. The Marinara begins with a robust tomato sauce enhanced with garlic, oregano, basil and olive oil.

 

The Margherita adds slices of fresh mozzarella. The Bianca is built from fresh mozzarella and ricotta, with garlic, basil, olive oil and chiltepin peppers.

 

Eating each slice is kind of like two different experiences. The center is thin, a soft crust holding up all those blushingly fresh ingredients.

 

As you eat thoughtfully toward the thicker cruncher edge, the bread acquires more character, a heartier personality that ends with a satisfying snap.

 

Assuming the actual ingredients in the Market Salad and Seasonal Veggies changes from time to time, what is important to report is the freshness, that immediate pop of peak satisfaction.

 

Both dishes were full of various ingredients, hills and valleys of unexpected harmonies among the taste buds. Totally delightful, and this was just the meal's opening act. 

 

Ordering pizza from Anello is definitely a candle-worthy opportunity. Just thinking about turning on the TV should get your knuckles smacked with a ruler.

 

Look, instead, for that special bottle of deep red you've been hiding in a corner of the wine cabinet. Give all five of your senses something to celebrate.

Chuck Graham and Bernice Chesi.