Pizzicletta - Wine & Spirits Magazine

Restaurant Review

Pizzicletta

by Elaine Chukan Brown • February 9, 2017

In a quirky, cozy space squeezed into the point of an odd-angled intersection, Caleb Schiff has gained a cult following for his pizzas. He starts with a wild-yeast dough that ferments for three days before he rolls it out, then tops it with house-made mozzarella or burrata and a select array of local and Italian ingredients. Cooked at 900˚F in a wood-fired oven he had custom built in Italy, the Neapolitan-style pies come out thin and perfectly charred. Schiff’s recipe originates with a bike trek he took up the length of Italy several years ago, gathering recipes and inspiration along the way. He also fell hard for the country’s wine, a passion on display in his all-Italian wine list, which showcases bottles from vintners he’s befriended, like Paolo Bea in Umbria and Mario Zanusso of iClivi in Friuli, as well as a pizza-ready Moretto Lambrusco. Locals have benefited from Schiff’s commitment to Italian wines, too, as it’s increased the availability of harder-to-find wines like Gravner Breg and older vintages of Sacrisassi Rosso.

203 W. Phoenix, Flagstaff, Arizona

Pizza

928-774-3242

pizzicletta.com

Elaine Chukan Brown

Based in Sonoma, Elaine Chukan Brown serves as the American specialist for JancisRobinson.com. Their work also appears in World of Fine Wine, the fourth edition of the Oxford Companion to Wine and on their own site, WakawakaWineReviews.com. Prior to writing about wine, Chukan Brown was a philosophy professor specializing in ethics and social politics.

This story appears in the print issue of February 2017.
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TAGS Arizona Flagstaff Pizza Restaurant

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