On our way home from a day spent in the Payson area Jeanne and Willie Stecher and I decided to stop at this lovely Italian restaurant in Fountain Hills.
I wasn’t going to eat anything because I was still stuffed
from lunch. Jeanne and Willie ordered drinks (Jeanne a Cosmos..Willie a
Guinness)…a Caesar Salad and a Monte Etna pizza. We shared everything but the drinks. I did taste Willie’s though and it was a
different variety of Guinness but I am not a Guinness fan..all the same it
tasted pretty darn good.
A small bowl of freshly grated show Romano cheese was brought
to the table…then a bowl of garlic knots and oil bread. Yummy!
I am pretty sure it was Romano cheese.
How can I question my Romano cheese taster. You will never know the amount of Romano
cheese that I have graded in my life with Grandma Filicetti…and the tiny hard
piece always left at the end was popped into my mouth and savored. Yummy!
I love the tang of that cheese.
But since the Mannos do make homemade mozzarella..I just
don’t know…now I will have to go back and ask…anyway the cheese was
wonderful. I spooned some grated cheese
onto my dish and dipped the garlic knots and the pieces of pizza crust in the
cheese…just as I love it. I have done
this for years.
The Caesar Salad was very tasty…and the homemade dressing was
great…I especially liked what tasted like a lingering anchovy taste at the end
of each bite.
The Monte Etna Pizza was perfect…nice wood fired brick oven thin
crust…topped with a red sauce that had a really great hot taste at the end of
every bite. The meats were Salame
Calabrese and Coppa Capicolla. I also could not tell if it was the meat or
the spices in the sauce that produced the hot taste.
I really did love the evening snack here along with the
wonderful live music entertainment.
I must go back there again…not only did I like the food, I
want to find out what type of cheese was in the small bowl…and what is
contributing to the hot taste at the end of every bite of the Monte Etna
Pizza. Good excuse, Lynda.
Sapori D’Italia
11865 N. Saguaro Blvd.
Fountain Hills, AZ 85268
(480) 816-9535
Hours: Monday- Sunday
4:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.
History of the restaurant from their website:
Gasper and Maria Manno, opened
Saproi d’ Italia in the Winter of 2009.
With an extensive back ground in
restaurant management and culinary arts, Gasper and Maria have built Sapori d’
Italia into a highly-rated restaurant on both Yelp and Trip Advisor serving
authentic Italian dishes along with an extensive selection of wood-fired pizza.
In January of 2013 Sapori d’Italia
was featured on Restaurant Impossible and has since been named the highest
viewed program on the award winning series.
Born in Sicily, Maria and Gasper
moved to the US in their teens with their respective families. As with so many
Italian families, both built their lives in the New York City area.
Fate brought Maria and Gasper
together years later while attending college in New York City. They met one
another through the Italian Club on campus. Married 36 years they have two
adult sons; David who is currently the sous chef at Sapori and Jonathan the
next generation pizzaiolo.
Sapori d’ Italia truly is a family
restaurant. Relying on recipes that have been handed down from their Italian
ancestors; Maria and Gasper take pride in using the freshest ingredients to
create their signature Italian meals and traditional Sicilian delicacies.
Authenticity and quality are the
pillars of Sapori d’ Italia, from fresh house-made pasta and mozzarella to the
San Marzano tomatoes and Parmigiano Reggiano cheese imported from Italy, each
and every detail is overseen by the Mannos.
The moment you walk through the
front door you are warmly greeted by Maria as if you are a long awaited old
friend. While Maria manages the front of the house, she is also the pastry
artist behind the mouth-watering desert selections.
Gasper oversees the kitchen and is
the “pizzaiolo” behind the authentic wood-fired pizza. The pizzas are prepared
and baked in the heart of the restaurant in a custom built stone oven imported
from Italy. A favorite spot among regulars, the pizza oven is surrounded by a
pizza bar allowing restaurant guests a first-hand view into the art of making
pizza.
The Sapori d’ Italia team works
passionately each day to provide a unique and unforgettable experience for all
of their guests. They want each and every guest to feel as if they are dining
in their homes.
