So, STG sells itself off to a 'ZA joint from NYC, dumps the entire staff, Don Antonio by Starita turnkeys it around in no time, reveals that the STG/Bocado owners is now also in cahoots with the Don and it's open for business with none of the old staff. Baffling and insulting at the same time? Who knows, but who am I judge their family business practices... I'm here for one thing and one thing only, the fucking 'ZA. Because, frankly, I really don't want to sleep with the fishes... I prefer to eat them, sashimi style, just like how Don Gato likes it on a high red roof. Meow, meow, meow.
Let's take a first look at the Don. Will it be the same as STG or will it be something better or worse just with a name change... So, at the last minute I snuck in around 10pm to do some light recon.
Fritattine and Arancini. Fritattine is a fried bucatini cake with ham and smoked buffala mozza. Arancini is a fried risotto ball with ham. Both looked decent enough.
Innards. They both tasted and kinda looked the same on the inside except for the different carbs... Which I mentioned to the server, whom replied that the noodle ball has Béchamel sauce in it. What? It's Fronch now? There is no way there was B-sauce in it. But she kept on insisting... Just bring me some friggin red sauce instead. All of the sudden she didn't speak a lick of Engrish and now, I'm stuck with a fake Béchamel ball in my mouth.
Margherita. Looked pretty promising... Well, so did Obamacare, not. First thing's first, there was no pooling of liquid in the center, a plus. The cheese melted like it should with a quality mozza. The sauce was vibrant and held together decently. The basil missed the cross hair, shooting a little high and to the left. The pizzaiolo is obviously not the muscle of this family. Only gripe is that the basil needs to be placed on top after it comes out of the oven. But overall, it was acceptable.
Mast'nicola, pecorino romano, basil, lardo. Don't strain yourself with the volume of toppings on there. It was 99.2% dough, .5% basil, .2% lardo and .1% pecorino romano. It was basically a goddamn $9 piece of dry naan bread that would make Rachael Rey cry because there was not a drop of EVOO on it. As with the Margherita, the basil goes on the pie AFTER it comes out of the oven. There must be an ADHD problem up in this piece.
Lift the skirt and all I saw was this giant gash... The holiest of holy this is not. Dude, no one wants to see a hatchet wound that wide and jagged. Reminds me of that dentata flick, Teeth. This creasture didn't give me a blood flow, nor did it excited me enough to produce any baby gravy from my loins... Which this dried out specimen sorely needed. Do not American Pie this bitch, there are much more deserving pie in this town for that precious baby gravy.
STG was pretty decent, it wasn't a destination spot for me but it was pretty decent overall... Don Antonio by Starita (I like saying the entire name, it's fun!) is on the right track but it needs more work, experience and tweaking to be consistent and consistently good. They got the tools and ingredients, just need the talent behind it to produce and execute... Because I really want to try the pizze fritte and paninis. The gluten free pizza, not so much. Get to work people, don't embarrass your NYC and Napoli roots.
Give me an offer I can't refuse next time.. or a couple of orange slices so I can retire peacefully.
102 West Paces Ferry Road NW
(404) 844-2879
donantoniopizza.com
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