The first stop on my Lady Who Lunches Tour was Il Cane Rosso in Deep Ellum. Yes, I know, most ladies who lunch wouldn't be caught dead in Deep Ellum, but, as I'm sure you've realized loyal followers, I'm not most ladies.
It was an absolutely beautiful day so we insisted on sitting outside on the patio. It's a nice, large patio with lots of seating. You really don't hear the freeway above. And in case you forgot you are in Deep Ellum, there's barbed wire surrounding one portion of the fence. You know, in case someone wants to steal pizza or something. The patio is also a nice place for lunch because you can watch some shirtless guys (or sports bra clad women, if that's your preference) in some bootcamp running past you, doing laps on Commerce (?!). I know I should probably feel guilty about scarfing pizza instead of exercising during lunch, but I really don't. I'm a lady who lunches, afterall. There's plenty of time for exercising later.
We started with the Mista salad. It was a simple salad with lettuce, grape tomatoes, and parmigiano with a basic, balsamic vinaigrette. It's served family style, with one order being just enough for about 3 people. It was a nice start to our meal.
It was a Friday and I actually abstain during Lenten Fridays (see, Mom, I'm a "good" Catholic girl), so no meat for me. Pizza is always a great choice during Lenten Fridays since you can always find something to eat. We ordered the Vegetale pizza. The crust was absolutely perfect. Il Cano Rosso prides itself on its Neopolitan style pizza made in an authentic oven, imported straight from Italy. The crust is thin, crisp and flavorful, but not so much that it overwhelms the toppings. The Vegetale was served with olives, artichokes, mushrooms, and "seasonal vegetables", which I think in our case was a bit of spinach. The toppings were very fresh and were well balanced with the amount of cheese that was on the pizza.
But. . . .there was something missing -- sauce. Il Cano Rossa says their sauce is made from hand crushed San Marzano tomatoes. That's all well and good but I didn't really get any of that. I found the sauce thin and lacking in flavor. A little thicker sauce and a bit of garlic would have gone a long way. But we did finish the whole pie (which has 8 slices, fyi), so I guess it was pretty good.
So my first take on Il Cane Rosso? I liked it, especially the crust, but didn't love it. I'm going to have to go back and try a few more of their pies (with meat!) to see if my sauce-deficient Vegetale was an anomaly or simply the way they do things. Plus the patio was a nice place to hang with the nice weather here and they do have a nice craft beer selection to get your drink on.
Cheers!
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