Heavens knows, there are enough places already to get pizza in this town, even if a few of the better ones, such as Anthony’s Coal Fired at Town Square, and the Westside’s Ciao Ciao, made premature exits.

The former was hampered by a bad location, which is currently being ignored at I Heart Burgers. The latter closed because the owner had a thriving business at The Forum Shoppes, and didn’t need the headache of running an a la carte restaurant. (Or so he said.)

Ciao Ciao had a good chef, though, veteran local Italian chef Enzo De Iuliis. Now, De Iuliis is manning the stoves at our newest pizzeria, Dom De Marco’s of Brooklyn, New York, preparing recipes given to him.

Let me clarify that. The actual Brooklyn pizzeria is called Di Fara’s. It’s been written up in every major New York publication, and in many that specialize in pizza around the country.

Di Fara’s owner, Domenico De Marco, was asked to open a restaurant here by local businessman Albert Scalleat, after he tasted the pizza at the Brooklyn location. He refused, at first, but after a visit courtesy of Scalleat, he reconsidered. The result is drawing big Summerlin crowds after only a few short weeks.

I’ve eaten here twice, and heartily approve. There are essentially two types of pizza here; Square Cut, and New York Style. Square Cut, that’s Deep Dish or Chicago style in the vernacular, claims Neapolitan origin.

A true Neapolitan would call this style of pizza foccaccia. (Real Neapolitan pizza, or VPN, vera pizza Napoletana, has a thin crust, and is either Margherita or Marinara. Forget pepperoni.) And the thin crust version here, their New York Style, isn’t all that thin.

But both are delicious, served a touch well done, thanks to a delicious blend of Romano and mozzarella cheeses, a tasty pizza sauce with just the right amount of sugar to balance the acid of the tomato, and crusts brushed with enough olive oil to make them golden and crunchy.

This is a large place, nothing like the modest Brooklyn pizzeria that made De Marco’s rep. There is a wood beamed ceiling, chandeliers by the open kitchen, and a huge bar area with wall mounted TV’s. (We are not all that modest around here.)

The menu is stocked with items like Mom’s meatballs and house made sausage, both just fine, thanks, lots of salads, and even a few pastas (I tried linguine with clams, and found it rich, with a creamy garlic sauce that clung nicely to the al dente noodles.)

Pizzas are huge. The saving grace is that they are available in either half or whole sizes, and the half size will easily serve three for lunch if a side salad is ordered. This makes Dom De Marco’s a reasonable deal if you’ve come with friends. Twelve dollars a person will cover a lunch.

There are a few other things on the menu not to miss. I’m rather fond of these eggplant pizzette, which turn out to be a pair of fried eggplant discs done eggplant Parmesan style. I also like their Caesar salad, but ask them to either go easy on the dressing, or serve it on the side.

And do save room for dessert. De Iuliis makes a toothsome filling for his cannoli using whipped ricotta cheese (almost no one makes shells themselves), and his oddball tiramisu, a multi-layered affair served in a glass, makes even better use of mascarpone.

So it turns out we don’t have too many pizzerias around here after all, even if I am still a fan of neighboring Due Forni, where the pizzas are a touch thinner, and have the lingering taste of wood. Two’s company.

Dom De Marco’s. 9785 W. Charleston Blvd. 570-7000.

 

Related Posts

• Liquid Therapy at Wolfgang Puck’s Pizzeria and Cucina’s Bar
• Puck Pizzeria & Cucina by Max Jacobson
• Pizzeria Ortica Costa Mesa, Ca
• Pasta Making Moves: The Pasta Shop Las Vegas
• Sunday Brunch at Valentino, The Venetian, Las Vegas