A pizza loaded with toppings.
When cooking dinner is not in the cards, our household tends to alternate between trying somewhere new and returning to a few tried-and-true favorites. The north side’s Cafe La Bellitalia has been a recurring favorite in recent years, and everything I've eaten there has been delightful, from gnocchi to the meatball platter to lasagna. But in takeout/delivery mode, I rarely make it past the Pietro Special pizza, which mixes simple ingredients in a very satisfying way. The topping mix will intrigue the meat lovers but is well balanced with vegetables: Sausage, ham and bacon are joined by mushrooms, green peppers and onions. A bit of oregano and parmesan cheese finish off the toppings. The homemade thin crust somehow ends up like two pizzas in one, with the outer ring staying surprisingly crispy and the interior pieces soaking up just the right amount of greasy goodness from the toppings for a more gooey experience. I always get the traditional tomato sauce, which is a nice blend of tangy and sweet; other options are a spicy peperoncino-based sauce and a lightly garlicky Sicilian matarocco sauce. If I can keep from gobbling up the whole thing in one sitting, it also reheats in the oven very well for a second meal.
