"V" is for Veloce Pizzeria

We had been wanting to do a solid pizza and wine evening for the past few letters or so. Call it fate, but a new pizza joint had just opened to high acclaim, with the name Veloce Pizzeria. Veloce Pizzeria was just about as perfect as a pizza evening one, or 14 people, could hope for. What a turnout. What was originally 9 people slowly crept to 11, then 14, and then who knows, I think we lost count. I'm pretty sure we caught the unassuming waiter off guard because of his slightly off-putting attitude at first. But that iciness was quickly subdued (no doubt because of our charm and good looks) and he was a dreamboat for the rest of the night. You know who else was a boat of dreams? The host/manager. Our party wasn't small, or on time, or for the number of reservations we had originally made, or quiet, or...you get the point.. but he was wonderful and accommodating and made us feel like we were guests of the house. (All Devin had to do was sell his soul and offer a few favors in the back of the kitchen. That's it.)

The food, oh the food. It was all dynamite. We started with these insane fried porchetta meatballs...mmmmm meatballlssss... the only thing i could use to describe them was that they tasted so, well, porky. That melt in your mouth porky sweet and savory tenderness all wrapped up in a thin little blanket of fried crust. Umm, hello? Delicious!

The pizza, oh the pizza. It was sicilian-esque, square style and the waiters placed them on double towers in almost a royal manner. We tried a variety: porchetta sausage, prosciutto di parma on fontina, mushroom complete with hen of the woods and oyster mushrooms, margherita and garlic & clam.
Each was piping hot, containing perfect layers of all the essentials: crisp outer layer of dough hiding a chewy, more soft interior. The outer crust was flecked with baked in cheese and had a bit of charred taste, nodding to the slice's fiery start. It was just the right amount of dough to support the sauce, cheese and toppings. None of the layers overpowered the other, they all seemed to meld together into that perfect bite. The quality of the ingredients was top notch. Not too much of a surprise, especially when you consider you've got Miss Pork USA Sara Jenkins as one of the partners. The house wine is also a good thing to note - we thought they were a great deal, with the Rose being the favorite.

It was a night of old friends - shout out to the SF crew: Craig Mangan, Tod Puckett, Paul Charney, Devin Sharkey - coming together, eating, laughing and drinking. Imagine the classic television show, Cheers. It was like that, except with better clothes, better food, better atmosphere and way hotter women. Take that Shelley Long!

Veloce Pizzeria gets an official "Approved by Zupper Club" stamp (a few of us have already been back). And the conveniently located Tile Bar (not it's official real name, we're not sure there is one) was a great dive-y spot for pre and post cocktails. Thanks to the SF crew for making it one of the most memorable nights, we miss you and "we're always glad you came...to eat pizza."

disclaimer: the lovely shot of the pizza slice was not from our photo-challenged group. it's from a nice guy on flickr.

"T" is for Taco Tuesday at Tenny's

T is for:
a pretty girl named Tenny
who made good looking Tacos
on a Tuesday in May
and even chips & guac... mmm... Tasty
where beers were drunk and all were gay

T is for:
a Tenacious cook and hostess
and Three other solid foodies
big Thanks for her rooftop party
but points off for making me write this,
and for it being so Tardy.