Six-time World Pizza Champion / Restaurateur / Food Network Judge Bruno DiFabio recently opened Amore Cucina & Bar, an Italian restaurant in the Springdale neighborhood of Stamford, CT. We stopped by for a media dinner to sample Amore’s offerings.
Executive Chef Jared Falco and Owner Bruno DiFabio
Amore Cucina & Bar features two styles of pizza – round and square. The round pies, which Bruno called the “Neo-Neapolitan Round,” are charred by the 900 degree Cirigliano wood burning oven, which gives it its great flavor, and a sixty second cook time leaves the integrity, chewy texture and essence of the ingredients intact. The Pizza Romana, a square pie that uses the “Poolish” dough method of a 72 hour fermentation process and is cooked in a gas-fired brick floor oven.
Tidbits:
- Bruno DiFabio uses a yeast that was foraged by hand from the Dolomite Mountains.
- “Like a banana,” DiFabio explains, “the pizza crust is at its best when you see those little black speckles all over it.”
The yeast – the magic behind the pies
The dough
We tried 4 variations of the round pizza:
- New Haven White – Little Neck Clams, Amore bacon, house mozzarella and smoked lemon juice
- The Holy Cheesus – house-made mozzarella, Parmigiano Reggiano, Pecorino Romano, Fontina and burrata
- For The Queen – San Marzano tomatoes, mozzarella, Pecorino Romano, basil, and a sunny-side up egg
- Something Fishy – white anchovies, capers, garlic, Calabrian chilies and Pecorino Romano. I’m not a fan of anchovies, but this was excellent, and got me thinking – I’ve been missing out.
New Haven pizza
The Holy Cheesus
For The Queen
Something Fishy
We also had a chance to sample two square pies – not to be confused with a typical Sicilian pizza at your local pizzeria. The outside is perfectly crunchy, while the inside, airy. The Juliet is made with mozzarella, gorgonzola dolce, fig jam, and prosciutto. We’ve tried the sweet and savory Juliet pie before, at DiFabio’s restaurant ReNapoli in Old Greenwich, and it’s still one of our favorite pies in CT. The other pie we sampled was the Pitt Master made with pulled pork, red onion, mozzarella, BBQ sauce and agave nectar.
The Juliet
I was surprised to see Jared Falco, former Executive Chef at SoNo’s Washington Prime, cooking up tasty creations at Amore. He presented excellent dishes which will have us coming back for more.
The Whipped Sheep Milk topped with dried figs, honeycomb, and charred fig jam and served with ciabatta, and the Arugula and Beet Salad are great starters that are on the lighter side.
Ricotta
Arugula Beet Salad
We tried two types of meatballs – the classic meatball topped with house made sauce and ricotta and lasagna balls. The Lasagna Balls were excellent – the exterior was crunchy and the inside revealed perfectly cooked lasagna noodles.
Meatballs
Lasagna Balls
The Tuna Crudo (yellow fin tuna topped with Calabrian Chilies, toasted pumpkin seeds, red onion and parsley) was light and delicious.
Tuna Crudo
The Octopus Puttanesca is an excellent dish worth trying, served with tomatoes, Sicilian olives, garlic, sausage and capers. The octopus is tender and flavorful.
Octopus Puttanesca
The Shrimp and Polenta reminded me of Shrimp & Grits. Well, polenta is almost like grits since they’re both made out of stone ground cornmeal. The grilled head-on shrimp were perfectly seasoned and cooked, and tasted wonderful with the the polenta disks. I’ll be honest, not looking at the menu, I thought I was going to have some scallops with the shrimp.
Shrimp & Polenta
Save the best for last. Falco presented the best Chicken Scarp (Scarpariello) we’ve ever had. The chicken had perfectly crisp skin and juicy, tender, chicken with a touch of spiciness. If I wasn’t so full, I’d probably devour the whole plate myself.
Chicken Scarpariello
The bar at Amore
For dessert, we tried the Pizzele (butterscotch, whipped cream, and berry reduction) and Nutella pizza. Both were delicious, though I liked the pizzele more – not heavy, and just the right amount of sweetness.
Pizelle
Nutella pizza
Overall, I loved the food at Amore. My favorite dishes:
- New Haven White pizza
- Something Fishy pizza
- Shrimp & Polenta
- Chicken Scarp (Scarpariello)
Jay’s favorite dishes at Amore:
- New Haven White pizza
- Pitt Master pizza
- Lasagna Meatball
- Octopus Puttanesca
- Chicken Scarp (Scarpariello)
I’m looking forward to stopping by again to try their other pies and get more chicken scarp.
Amore Cucina & Bar
921 Hope Street
Stamford, CT 06907
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