Chicken Pizza: Baked chicken breast, mushrooms, and a fresh basil, garlic, tomato sauce with mozzarella cheese from Zachary’s Chicago Pizza in Berkeley, CA.
Zachary’s Chicago Pizza
1853 Solano Ave.
Berkeley CA 94707
Phone: (510) 525-5950
Hot Italian Announces New Affogati Menu
Good news, Hot Italian just received their liquor license, and in addition to now stocking a full bar, this has allowed them to add a few new dishes to their menu. We were recently invited to sample a few items from their new line of Affogati (Italian for “drowned”) desserts: a heaping scoop of gelato literally drowning in your choice of liquor. Of course, we couldn’t pass up also ordering a pizza or two in the process.
Christine on the Fiori Pizza
Okay, yes we were technically there to try the new Affogati menu, but when we walked through the doors fresh from a long day at the office it was hard to resist the pizza calling (yelling!) our names. We started the evening with a Fiori Pizza (tomato sauce, mozzarella, arugula, mushrooms, prosciutto parma, truffle oil) which is a standing favorite of the foodies. Hot Italian has officially convinced me that any pizza drizzled with truffle oil is a good thing. Since this was the “opening” of the new liquor license we also felt it necessary to taste a few of the cocktails so I had the Cuba Pestato (dark aged rum and cola with muddled brown sugar and lime). Yum and yum.
Liz on the Borriello Pizza
Two words: burrata mozzarella – that’s all I needed to read before I knew we were ordering this pizza. If you’re not familiar with burrata, it’s different from regular mozzarella because of its very creamy and soft texture – it’s almost spreadable. Besides burrata, the Borriello is topped with tomato sauce, fresh heirloom tomatoes and basil, and in my book, it does not get better than that. The pizza plus the Sgroppino Limone cocktail (made with Limoncello, vodka, prosecco and limon sorbetto) topped off with affogati galore and my night was officially a success.
Cristina on the Dark Chocolate with Frangelico Affogati
As any woman will tell you, we are suckers for chocolate. Take that and pair it with Frangelico and you have one happy lady. Hot Italian was nice enough to invite the SacFoodies to taste the new addition to their menu, Affogati. Although I was lucky enough to taste all the variations, my favorite was the Dark Chocolate with Frangelico. The gelato was rich and creamy and well balanced with the hazelnut flavor of Frangelico. The flavors married well and followed a meal of salad and pizza perfectly. Will definitely go back and bring my husband.
Cecily on the Mr. Espresso with Kahlua Affogati
When Andrea, one of the owners of Hot Italian, described the new Affogati menu as “a selection of adult sundaes,” I was immediately sold. I mean, who doesn’t like sundaes?? Each Affogati selection comes with two scoops of gelato drowned in liqueur and topped with crushed hazelnuts and fresh panna. Mouth watering yet? We were lucky enough to try three of the new selections and, while my sweet tooth had no problem going for second (and maybe third!) bites from all of them, my favorite was definitely the Mr. Espresso with Kahlua. Give me coffee with a splash of Kahlua any day and I’ll be a happy camper!
Jenna on Madagascar Vanilla with D’Sarrono
Anyone who knows me knows that I am ALL ABOUT everything almond. Almond croissant? Yes please. Medium soy latte with two pumps of sugar-free almond syrup? That’s me. So when I saw the Madagascar Vanilla with D’Sarrono on the new Affogati menu, I had to make it mine. The vanilla gelato was delicious dunked in the D’Sarrono amaretto – a true almond-lovers delight!
Hot Italian, located on 16th and Q in Midtown, has always been known for their specialty pizzas, but as you can tell, we are delighted they’ve been able to put their new liquor license to good use with their delicious new line of desserts.
March Foodie Events
Looking for some fun things to put on your schedule this month? Here are a couple local foodie events worth checking out!
Festa Della Donna – Festa Della Donna, also known as International Women’s Day in Italy, is coming up on March 8! What better way to celebrate womanhood than with your girlfriends, sisters, and mothers at Hot Italian? From 6 p.m. -9 p.m., women (and women only!) will be treated to free pizza tastings, $5 prosecco cocktails and wine, films featuring female fashion designers, and more. To get more background information on Festa Della Donna or to RSVP to the event, visit the event page, or call (916) 444-3000.
Epicure & Discoveries in Wine – If you feel like treating yourself to a night of indulgence and food education, Pajo’s Boutique Catering is collaborating with Anani Lawson of ATL Wine Consulting and Sommelier at The French Laundry Restaurant to bring together a fabulous night of food and wine on March 27. The evening will start with a cocktail and canapé reception at 5:30 p.m., followed by a formal seating.
Rare ingredients will be featured and cooking tips and recipes will be shared throughout the evening including menu items such as Royale De Foie Gras, Purebred Japanese Kurobuta, Medjool Daates, and Brilat Savarin. For more information, click here.
Chicago Fire, Folsom
Who doesn’t like pizza – bready, cheesy wonder that it is? So, when my book club recently planned our February meeting for the Folsom location of Chicago Fire, I couldn’t wait to tote my camera (in addition to my book) and check it out.
After a thirty-minute wait on a Friday night (they don’t take reservations) and a glass of wine (they have a nice selection of wines by the glass and a separate bar area), we were rewarded with a booth that offered some privacy from other diners. The dark wood and brick interior created a warm atmosphere for us to study the menu and determine our selections.
We were unanimous in wanting to order the thin-crust, Chicago-style pizza, and decided to share a large vegetarian version. After all, Chicago Fire calls itself “THE tribute to Chicago pizza,” and I couldn’t agree more. The pizza was delicious! And so were our salads, which were generously sized and fresh. What impressed me, too, was the tremendous value of the food, which did not break the bank. The salads start at $2.95, and the pizza was reasonably priced, too.
Great food and wine, great discussion and money still left in my wallet – that’s what I call a great night out. I will be heading back for more Chicago Fire.
Chicago Fire
641 Sutter Street
Folsom, CA
916.353.0140
Chicagofirerestaurant.com
Hot Italian’s New Brunch Menu – That’s Amore!
Brittany – I love brunch. And I love pizza. Now I’m no mathematician, but I’d like to think that in the case of brunch and pizza, the whole is even greater than the sum of its parts. Are you following? To clarify …
BRUNCH + PIZZA = AMAZINGLY DELICIOUS
How did I discover this, you ask? Recently, fellow Sac Foodies Cecily Fuller, Julie Berge, Christine Schunk and I had the pleasure of sampling what we now know is one of the best brunch offerings in town, and it’s found at none other than Hot Italian. We feasted on pizzas and, of course, dabbled in the dessert, my favorite being the Zucchero – organic Italian chocolate hazelnut spread wrapped in a delicious dough then dusted with powdered sugar!
Cecily – I was looking forward to brunch at Hot Italian all week and I wasn’t expecting anything short of delicious – and boy did they deliver! Each entrée combines two of my all-time favorite foods (pizza and eggs) but with new and oh-so-yummy flavor like the Ventura pizza that features two sunny side up eggs, tomato sauce and fior di latte cheese! I also enjoyed the traditional Italian music that the restaurant plays during brunch hours.
Julie – As a recently converted vegetarian, I have come to learn that breakfast and brunch dishes without a ton of carbs and still full of flavor are hard to come by, which is why my taste buds were thrilled to discover the Nibali pizza at Hot Italian. The thin-crusted pizza consisting of scrambled eggs, mushrooms, spinach, truffle oil and crescenza cheese was incredible and a definite group favorite. (Note: for those meat lovers, there is the option to add prosciutto for just $2 extra.) I also especially enjoyed washing my meal down with the tasty Prosecco cocktails that are offered in three flavors including bellini (peach), tiziano (strawberry) and arancia rossa (blood orange). Finally, the icing on the pizza pie was that there was no wait to sit down and begin enjoying our Italian brunch experience.
Christine – I can’t wait to go back before this local breakfast secret gets out, because it’s just a matter of time that this place will be buzzing in the mornings. I definitely agree with Julie that the Nibali pizza was my favorite – perfect brunch pizza that could easily pair with a nice Italian latte, or a Prosecco cocktail (we “sampled” with both just to be sure, hee hee). I always knew pizza for breakfast was a good thing, but pizza made for breakfast is even better!
Hot Italian’s brunch menu is served on weekends from 11 AM – 4 PM.