Let's be clear, the area that this new joint is opening into has been screaming for a good spot to eat. The old Como Park Grill on Pascal and Midway Pkwy in St. Paul just didn't cut it, and neighbors have been un-silent about their hope that someone would bring a quality neighborhood hang to the spot. Well, that's kinda what Matty O'Reilly does, and his Delicata Pizza & Gelato has all the right feels. When it opens to the public officially on Wednesday, they'll finally see.
With the neighborhood and the building in mind, O'Reilly and his Culinary Director JD Fratzke have been working on the menu for a while. They've brought in Noah Barton, with whom they worked at Chino Latino in the way back, to be Chef and GM of the spot. It's a casual neighborhood pizza and gelato shop, with a double deck oven and Prosecco on tap. Your basic Monday night dream.
It's counter service, so belly up to the bar and peruse the overhead beverage menu. There are plenty of goodies, Sweetland cider on tap, a nice round up of Italian wines (some on tap!), craft beer on tap as well as in cans. Yes, you can have a whole carafe of Italian rosé or prosecco (for under $30) and no one will judge you. Grab your number and beverage and head to a table.
The booths are the same from the former grill, but they've been given a little love. Same with those copper lamps and the Tiffany-style stained glass pendant lamps. O'Reilly and partners simply added a fresh coat of paint and tied all the colors together, refinishing the floors to brighten them up and painting the ceiling to allow the lighting to pop. There are two rooms with a good amount of booth seating, even one for larger parties in the back.
And then there's the sweet patio on the side of the building. Multi-leveled with nice shade trees, they only had to landscape it a bit, add some lanterns and lighting, and are putting in a fire pit on the north point. They're leaving the graffiti mural for now, a hodge-podge of work that is familiar to the neighborhood, but might let it evolve as they go.
While this is a pizzeria, it's definitely more than flat pie. The starters include a nice selection of small plates with only one dish over $9. Those grilled artichokes in romesco sauce have a twin at sibling resto Bar Brigade, and you know how I feel about those: more please! There's also cubes of fontina in kicky giardiniera, roasted grapes in an arugula mix, plus a few more salads and plates.
But we came for the pizza right? The crust developed by Barton and Fratzke is more Roman cracker crust in nature, but softer and more pliant. It won't shatter, but you're not going to get that wet Neapolitan slide into the middle like some others. The forest mushroom pie comes with a nice amount of 'shrooms, fontina, and arugula while the marinated tomato with olives and fresh mozzarella is a welcome kick to the old Margherita. I'm coming back for the pie with romesco sauce, asiago and ricotta, with pork sausage and fennel. Mine.
Check them out come Wednesday, July 26 when they start serving dinner. Doors open at 4 p.m.!
