Cavalli's Pizza - That's Amoré

I (Sara) first heard about Cavalli's from a man in line at a car spa. He said it was the most authentic Italian pizza he has ever had in Dallas and that they were the first restaurant in Texas to be certified by the Associazione Verace Pizza Napoletana. For a man in a car spa to be that fervent about pizza (especially to a total stranger) I knew this place had to be special. I went home and googled it immediately and when I saw the menu, I knew this had to be our next stop on the Foodie Adventure Tour.

We went to the Irving location which is BYOB and is right off Belt Line by 635 (there is also a location in McKinney). Haley, Britney and I each ordered our own individual pizzas so we could maximize our exposure. The laundry list of specialty pizzas on the menu made it very difficult to order. The pizzas ranged from the Bismark with eggs, ham and basil to the Clams Casino with clams, bacon and garlic to the traditional Margherita Extra.

Haley decided on the Ortolana pizza topped with eggplant, bell peppers and artichokes. When the pizza arrived, the toppings were unexpectedly seperated into 3 sections. There were two slices of artichoke pizza, two slices of bell pepper pizza and two slices of eggplant pizza. While we were slightly caught off guard by the segregation of the toppings, the colors made the pizza look more like italian art and it was indeed delicious.

Britney ordered the Pesto Chicken pizza. This pizza comes with not only mozzerella, but also ricotta cheese, which gave it a creamy twist. The pesto on this pizza tasted very fresh and herbacious, and no component overwhelmed any other.

I ordered the Salame E Funghi pizza which was topped with salami, mushrooms, garlic, basil, fresh mozzerella AND smoked mozzarella. My pizza was awesome - salty, garlicky and earthy, but much to my dismay, as soon as I picked up a slice all my toppings literally slid right off. I was woefully forced to eat my pizza with a fork. I will say, however, that my pizza was the only one out of our three that didn't seem to have a tight grip on itself and I suppose I can get over using a fork for the right kind of pizza.

We were all captivated by the char on the crust of our pizzas and the almost smokey flavor of the dough itself from the wood burning oven. When we tried to decide which one of our pizzas was our favorite, we honestly couldn't pick a front runner. Each pizza was memorable in it own distinct way. Actually, not only were all of our pizzas great, but the pizzas of the loving couple sitting next to us looked great too...we tried not to stare.  

By this time in the meal, yes, we were full and yes, all three of us needed a to-go box, but this dinner did not stop there! Perhaps the best part about Cavalli's is that they have DESSERT PIZZA. I am talking nutella, s'mores, chocolate and rum - take your pick. Well we picked the La Nutella. This dessert pizza is in the style of a calzone and is made from their original pizza dough stuffed with hazelnut spread, dark chocolate and chopped roasted hazelnuts, topped with a chocolate drizzle. The saltiness of the pizza dough was the perfect balance to the hot gooey chocolate that was all over our faces (ok...maybe just my face) and the crunch of the roasted hazelnuts added the perfect texture. The only thing missing was a tall glass of ice cold milk. BYOB? Make that BYOM.

Cavalli's pizza lived up to its original allure and would be great for a casual date or just for something fun and different. Before we even  finished our meals we were already deciding what we would order on our next visit.... now that's amoré.

http://www.cavallipizza.com/ 

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