DeFazio's Pizza

We've seen the light at the end of the Italian food tunnel and it's called DeFazio's Pizza. J and I have never really been satisfied in our choices of pizza and pasta in the 518, even turning to a certain restaurant chain (NOT of the unlimited breadsticks kind) just to satisfy a quick hankering for carbs, cheese, and sauce. Lucky for me, I started a new job that introduced me to DeFazio's. I've long heard about this gem of place but never made the effort to go in person until I had a bite of the wood-fired stromboli and pizza from the Empire State Plaza Farmer's Market. The magic was in the crust, even from a mini portable oven. One crackly bite later, I knew J and I had to hit up the small Troy storefront. 

Upon sitting down at a cozy corner, a loyal customer couldn't help but brag about the hand-grated jars of parmesan, scratch-made pasta, and even hand-ground meats for the meatballs. I had tried the meatballs in the stromboli and had no doubt that the food was made with care and passion. I had a massive pasta craving and ordered the linguini with red clam sauce. This bowl of wonderfulness was more than satisfying. Fresh pasta made all the difference. The texture of the linguini was perfectly al dente. The clams were thankfully not overcooked and brought the dish a delightful briny seafood flavor while the light, bright tomato sauce just brought everything together. It was hard to share even one bite. I'm still drooling over the dish, particularly the pasta. Lucky for me I can find fresh DeFazio's pasta to take home from the farmer's market. I made the best chicken alfredo thanks to some fresh fettuccine and usually this Asian can't cook Italian well.

As intriguing as the General Tso's pizza was (Mozzarella Cheese, Italian Herb Chicken, Fresh Broccoli, Topped with General Tso Sauce and Spices), J went with a Brown's beer crust pizza topped with prosciutto. Good pizza needs a good foundation and DeFazio's delivered. The magic really was in the dough. The crust was delightfully crisp and charred from the wood-fired oven yet still chewy, tender and very flavorful.The ratio of sauce to cheese was just right and how could you go wrong with crispy prosciutto. It was a good balance of toppings to crust and just plain tasty overall. Now we know why DeFazio's Pizza was AOA's Tournament of Pizza champion. Can't believe it took us this long to stop by!