Il Cane Rosso
2612 Commerce St.
Dallas, TX
http://www.ilcanerosso.com
Photo credits to Shane Stephens
All eyes have been on Jay Jerrier ever since his mobile pizza oven started making regular appearances at Times Ten Cellars or Chocolate Angel Too, resulting in a fanatic following for artisan neapolitan pizza in Dallas. Jay hosted a friends and family dinner this past saturday night to prepare for the Deep Ellum space’s opening (TODAY!), where we were invited to taste an assortment of dishes from the menu.
All tables were given salad, desserts, and their choice of pizzas. To start, our salads were the mista (field greens, grape tomatoes, sea salt, parmigiano, and balsamic vinegar) and the caesar (romaine lettuce, parmigiano, crostini, Caesar dressing, and white anchovies).
Our larger group of eight were told to select three pizzas. The margherita (san marzano, basil, mozzarella) was a must-order as I have friends who were trying Il Cane Rosso Pizza for the first time. There was also no resisting my favorite pizza, the Paulie Gee (san marzanos, basil, mozarella, caramelized onions, soppresata picante, chiles). For the third, we picked Che Cazzo – where you leave your toppings in the hands of the pizzaiolo. This topping selection was renamed from Super Mario, but be warned; it still packs some solid heat. According to Jay, the Che Cazzos vary depending on whomever makes it, but on that night, they generally included Jimmy’s sausage, hot soppressata, mushrooms, Calabrian chiles, sambal, and whatever else the pizzaiolo desires.
For dessert, we were treated to Jay’s take on a s’more, which uses his dough to encase a gooey, thick mass of chocolate chips and marshmallows. Was saturday night really just a practice run? Because Jay, his staff, and his kick-ass oven seemed well-capable and ready for the massive crowds that will inevitably converge on the space.