To me, the best thin crust pizza around is at Naples’ Rosedale Brick Oven Pizzeria. Just as any true pizza made in Naples, Italy, when I ordered a sausage and spinach pizza, the ball of dough was ably tossed to become a flat disc, topped with the freshest of ingredients, wood-fired-brick-oven baked and hot on my plate a few minutes later. “
Owners Joe Arato and Joe Gonnelly brought their love of pizza, pasta and other Italian specialties to Naples. They opened in April and have been busy since. There’s a baker’s dozen of great pizza combos, and you can mix and match. It’s an attractive restaurant, great for bringing friends or family for lunch or dinner. A choice of varied pastas come with sauces like amatriciana, alla vodka and roasted red pepper.
Have a Super Tuscan, Chianti or Sangiovese wine, and save room for creamy New York style cheese cake.
1427 Pine Ridge Road, Naples, 325-9653, rosedalepizza.com
Falafel Grill Opens Second Restaurant Across from NCH Downtown
Falafel Grill opened its second location across from NCH Downtown, in the original Sweet Mama’s location, next to Grouper and Chips. First named Porto Mediterranean Grill, owner Feibi Gouda changed it to Falafel grill, because of better name recognition. By any name, Falafel Grill’s cuisine is distinctively delicious; this new spot additionally offers a wider range of choices.
The vegetarian Egyptian-style falafel are crisply fried and tender with chick peas and fava beans. Baba ganoush would make a Syrian proud, and the lamb, beef, or fish clay pot tagines come straight from Marrakesh. Savor the Greek gyro’s sliced lamb with onion, tomato and tzatziki sauce, the Kofta kebab’s grilled spiced ground beef and Italian linguini with white wine and clam sauce. Start with the appetizer sampler plate, then try kebabs, grilled Mediterranean shrimp, and perhaps a gyro or shawerma wrap.
Dinner delights include mousaka, chicken piccata, and Greek fried shrimp with saltsadomata sauce. Enjoy beer and wine from France, Italy ,Greece, Spain and Turkey.
For dessert, enjoy basbosa, baklava or katifi, and you’ll have had a wonderful tour of many traditional Mediterranean dishes.
336 Tamiami Trail north, Naples, 213-0882