an old friend gets a new name
capricciosa pizza
Kate and I had just finished a great yoga class at my new home, Flow Yoga, and were looking for somewhere to grab a good bite to eat, but also get away with our post-yoga glow.
Admittedly, there’s not a lot around that area (Smithe and Burrard) that isn’t a chain. I was curious about Pacifico Pizzeria Ristorante, as it used to be the home of a Lombardo’s – the same one that you can find on Commercial Drive. It was pretty busy, so we decided to give it a whirl.
The curiosity was killing me, so I asked our server. Turns out two people – one connected to the Commercial Drive location and the other an independent – opened the restaurant under the Lombardo’s name. The partner tied to Lombardo’s decided not to stay, so the other continued the restaurant under the new name. Everything except the name and a few items on the menu remained the same.
The menu was definitely expanded on the pasta side, which I always thought was a little sparse under the Lombardo’s banner. A few items struck me as a little strange, such as Spaghetti alle Cozze – B.C. Honey Mussels sautéed with garlic in a light coconut curry reduction. But for the most part, it stayed true to its theme of Italian cuisine with touches of BC ingredients.
I tried really hard to find something different than my usual, but sometimes tried and true is best. My absolute favourite pizza is the Capricciosa, which has Genoa Salami, ham, artichoke hearts, black olives, mushrooms and mozzarella cheese. I discovered this pizza while travelling in Italy eight years ago, where it often called quattro stagioni (four seasons) pizza.
Kate and I also decided to order a carafe of wine (okay, so we may have negated any effects of the yoga class… but so what!). We decided to go with cheap and cheerful and ordered the Naked Grape Shiraz. No, it didn’t exactly blow us away, but it hit the spot that rainy Thursday night.
our cute carafe of wine
The pizza arrived and it was like an old friend returning home. I tore into it so quickly that I forgot to take a picture until I was a slice and a half into it (my first attempt at taking photos with my Blackberry – not bad!).
“I don’t think I’ll be able to finish this,” said Kate, who had ordered a half vegetarian and half Vesuvio (pepperoni , spicy Italian sausage, capicollo and Genoa salami, topped with mozzarella and quark cheese).
“Oh, I’m finishing mine,” I said. “Even if it take me all night.”
What is it that I love so much about the Capricciosa? In a simple sense, I love all of the ingredients separately. Maybe it’s the way earthiness of the mushrooms ground the saltiness of the olives, artichokes, ham and salami. Maybe it’s the occasional hit of spice from the salami. Or maybe it’s like an unlikely couple. It’s hard to imagine the two of them in a relationship, but when you see them together, it just works.
Needless to say, I finished every bite of that pizza (although it did take me a while).
The server said that many people who’ve been to both versions of the restaurant swear they’ve changed the recipes (although he says they haven’t). It doesn’t matter to me. All I know is that my old favourite was just as satisfying as ever. But maybe next time I’ll try something different. Maybe.
Pacifico Pizzeria Ristorante
970 Smithe Street
Vancouver | BC
604.408.0808
pacificopizza.com
