Eleventh Stop: Buona Vita Pizzeria
Date: March 24th, 2012
Location: 441 6th
Avenue Dayton, KY 41074
Ranking: 12
Perhaps when Rivers Cuomo, of the band Weezer, lamented that
he wanted to “get back to the good life,” a tasty Italian experience is what he
yearned for, along with all that shakin’ booty and makin’ sweet love mentioned
in the song The Good Life. After all, what’s NOT to love about enjoying a
relaxing Saturday afternoon with friends over a delicious pizza or two? It is the good life, or “buona vita” in
Italian, that the Frommeyer brothers and their extended community of family and
guests seek, and they seem to be doing a great job fulfilling that mission here
in Dayton, Kentucky.
With its location just down the street from a dear friend’s
house, this restaurant has always been on a mental to-do list for Robyn. It seemed as if everyone BUT her had gotten a
chance to enjoy the food at Buona Vita at least once before, Courtney
included. Residing in an old bank
building in Dayton, KY, the restaurant offers a full menu of classic Italian
cuisine amidst a quaint, unique atmosphere.
It is a fantastic place to take a date or to catch up with an old
friend. We were seated in the spacious
booth called “The Vault,” which used to be the actual vault from the bank that
was formerly housed in the building. The
gorgeous door to the vault hangs open, giving other diners a peek into the cozy
and secluded little spot. It is our
understanding that many people make reservations specifically for the vault,
but as luck would have it, none had been made during our spontaneous
visit. So in we went!
Our view from the vault. |
There were two special guests on this
visit-Matt and Bridget. It’s nice to
vary the routine from time to time, and we also relished the possibility of
trying more pizza than we would if it had been just the two of us. This also made the vault seating a little
more sensical – it would be a pretty large dining spot for just two
people. Four diners v. two does provide
some slight complications, such as ordering food that everyone agrees upon, and
splitting the leftovers and the bill fairly.
However, it was worth it to let Matt and Bridget gain the experience
that is Top This while spending some quality time with one another. We are sure that they agree :)
Matt and Bridget, basking in the honor of special guest-dom |
Our waiter was patient with us as we negotiated our
selections. We ended up going with two
selections. The Calabrese is described
simply as extra hot pepperoni pizza and the other is a variation of the Pewee’s
Pizza Bianco. Believe it or not, we are
having trouble remembering its exact name and cannot find it anywhere
online. We know that it builds upon the
Bianco, which is a white pizza featuring oil, Italian spices, cheese, and
spinach. This particular pie adds
prosciutto and (we think) black olives to the mix. It was possibly called the Giuseppe, or the
Bianco Giuseppe, but we are not 100%.
Generally on our outings, one of us tries to write down the pizza name,
featured ingredients, and some quick, immediate notes. With our special guests there, we seemed to
forgo this busy work for good conversation; well, if we are honest, for
immature jokes and end-of-week venting.
As we waited for our pizza delivery, Courtney and Matt split
an appetizer of mozzarella filled breadsticks, “Little Joey’s Cheese Filled”,
which they really enjoyed. These were an
indulgent treat. We know that fried
bread and cheese is not good for you, but we don’t care because we like
it. It wasn’t long after they finished
these up that our cute tattooed waiter carried over two
piping-hot-out-of-the-stone-oven pizzas.
Bread. Cheese. Yummmm. |
We first present you with a warning: The Calabrese is not for the faint of
heart. We just could not handle the
overpowering heat from the spicy pepperoni, as much as we tried. Robyn tried peeling the pepperoni and cheese
off the top in a last ditch effort to not waste any of the crust, but it just
wasn’t possible. The oil from the
pepperoni soaks through to every last bit, making every bite of the pizza
incredibly spicy. Courtney ate a bite,
took a drink, ate a bite, took a drink (repeat). It didn’t help. Matt and Bridget are built from a stronger
heat threshold, and enjoyed that pie a lot more than either of us did. This was good, because we would have felt bad
about wasting so much pizza. The thing
is, if it wasn’t so damn hot, we think it would have been really awesome. They were not loosely using the term “spicy”
on their menu. If you’re a fan of really
spicy food and can handle it, you will probably LOVE this pizza! All of the great pizza elements are there,
but if you can’t get your taste buds past the heat, that’s all you’ll be able
to focus on.
Hot hot heat. |
The other pizza, the “Giuseppe”, we’ll say, was much more
enjoyable to both of us. The lightly
charred, crisp-bottom crust was nearly cracker thin and maintained a light
crunch under the fresh, tasty toppings.
The prosciutto was salty, as it should be, but not overwhelming (like
the Fratelli’s sausage). The cheese was
buttery and well spiced with Italian herbs, and the spinach was daintily placed
on top, cut into teensy tiny thin strips.
While Robyn typically prefers a doughier, thicker crust, she still
enjoyed this pizza. Courtney prefers
thin crust pizza, and this was thin on a new level. It’s so thin that it seems it would be easy
to burn to a crisp. Rather, Buona Vita
has perfected their cooking methods through an opulent heritage of food and
technique.
The pizza with the name we can't remember. |
The pizza at Buona Vita is made with the “labor of love”;
the way all great pizzerias craft their wares.
They describe their rich family history, daily food preparations, and
ingredients in a brief narrative on the menu.
In short, the recipes, which originate from family in Italy, have been
handed down from multiple generations and made with great care in the
restaurant named after the Bonavita family.
A stone oven, reaching 600 degrees, cooks the made-to-order pizzas and
calzones to traditional perfection for the hungry crowds that gather in this
welcoming atmosphere. Though we didn’t
have any of their homemade cookies or desserts, we have heard great things
about them from friends and web reviews.
Next time, we’ll take advantage of these traditional Italian sweets
after taking pleasure in more of this crispy, flavorful thin crust pizza. But, you can bet your spicy-hot bottom dollar
that it won’t be the Calabrese.
I have been here at this marvelous pizzeria and it is everything you say! Wonderful food and fun with good company ! The Calabrese pizza I believe does mention the devil's breath, beware ! I enjoy your blog girls, keep it up ! Another pizza person !!!!
ReplyDeleteExcellent, thanks for reading! You are right about the devil's breath, whoooo! We were glad we sampled two kinds that day, for sure.
ReplyDelete