Stanziato’s

Although I am a happy guy, my world view is pretty pessimistic. As I see them, culture, politics, society, and the environment at large are getting worse, some things at precipitous speed. And while that is true about much of what we have the opportunity to eat (Dollar Meal, anyone?), the world of food offers a lot of conspicuous exceptions. Ice cream, potato chips, and the repertoire of cheeses all are much better than they used to be. And pizza — soulless national chains notwithstanding — has enjoyed a veritable renaissance.

Case in point: Stanziato’s of Danbury, Connecticut. A fairly ordinary looking storefront on a drab commercial stretch of road, here is a place where the original owner, Matt Stanczak, set up a Neapolitan style wood-fired oven that makes individual pizzas with real character. Matt sold the business after 5 years of success, and it looks like the new owners are maintaining the high culinary standards he established.

You can take a seat and relax in the dining room, but if you are a pizzaphile, it is hard to resist standing at the counter to watch the cooks assemble a pie and slide it into the oven. The temperature is hot enough that to watch it cook is like time-lapse cinema. Before your eyes, in less than two minutes, the collar puffs up and the cheese melts. Just before it is ready to be pulled from the oven, the chef lifts it towards the top of the dome, where the temperature is even hotter, insuring that the toppings are cooked to match the golden-brown crust. Magnifico!

For locavores, Stanziato’s is especially noteworthy, especially in the summer, when vegetables all come from local organic farms.