I swear we eat more than Italian food.

I’m not even that big a fan of Italian food – and find myself feeling like a bit of a snob after the incredible pastas and pizzas we had in Italy.

The day we got home from Miami, we went to dinner with my family – my dad seems to only ever be in the mood for Italian, a “good steak”, or Chinese food.  Italian it was – my parents had been to Il Pizzaiolo before and enjoyed it.

The menu was a bit pricey ($15 and up for what I’d describe as a “medium” pizza), including $10 salads and $17-18 dollar pastas.  They do have an authentic Italian style menu with antipasti, pasta, pizza, and “secondo” options.  They also have a wine bar in a separate location (outside and upstairs), but we didn’t check that out during our visit.

I was debating between eggplant and mushrooms, then pizza or pasta, and settled on the mushroom pizza based on the server’s recommendation.

Funghi: San marzano tomato sauce, fresh mozzarella, wild mushrooms, pecorino romano, fresh basil, extra virgin olive oil

It had good flavor and texture, but not enough cheese and a little too much blackening from the brick oven in my opinion – the smokey flavor from the crust overpowered all of the toppings.

I was incredibly jealous of my Mom’s choice, which looked and tasted amazing – she always chooses better than me.

Baked eggplant, what a foreign idea!   It was delicious and definitely what I would order next time.

Adam’s pasta was delicious too – he chose pasta with vodka sauce, which I almost always love.  Delicious and cheesy!

 The food was better than average, the service was very good, and I’ll definitely be back – just not going to order pizza.

Do you like charred pizza crust? I’m super picky about my crust – I want it thin and crispy, but not too dark!