Pizzio's: Battelico de los Titanicos

SORRY re: the title; I don’t why I’m suddenly channeling that quasi-Spanish, faux-Battlestar Gallactica dialect. The title, by the way, loosely translated, means: Pizzio’s: Battle of the Titans, which is what happened Friday night between myself and owner/chef Roger Gafner, in our ongoing mano y mano struggle-of-epic-proportions battle royale de chess.

First, though, about the food. As you FRTBs (Frequent Readers of this Blog) know, Pizzio’s in northwest Santa Rosa is my FAVORITE restaurant. I love so many things about this place, beginning with the dim, muted décor reminiscent of my favorite food and wine movie, Big Night, to the cool people who work and hang out there, to Roger’s frequent forays into the dining room to, especially, the food, which is Upstate New York America-Italian cuisine. While my favorite dish is the spaghettini aglio e olio, a supremely understated pasta with olive oil and garlic yet set off with just the right amount of kick from pepperocini, Friday night I had the pasta puttanesca: linguine with olive oil, garlic, anchovies, tomatoes, fresh basil, black olives, capers, and a kick of hot peppers. It was s-u-p-e-r-b.

Everything I love about Pizzio's can be summed up in this pic:

O.K., onto the REALLY important stuff: chess. First, a little background. One Friday night last year while hanging around with Roger and the staff after closing time, somehow the topic of chess game up. When Roger found out that I played, he quickly challenged me to a duel, which I readily accepted. The results? Well, let's just say that my mama and dadda didn't raise no fool, if you know what I mean. Long story short: I remained undefeated in 2007 against one Chef Roger when it came to chess.

This past Friday, once again, the "Open" sign was turned off, doors locked, glasses filled, and the chessboard appeared. Game One: I BLITZED him, a total rout; me up 1-0. Game Two: Roger checkmates me in three moves. THREE MOVES. WTF? We're now 1-1. Game Three: Roger gets an early advantage, I fight back…and then I lose. O.K., so now I’m down 2 games to 1. Fourth and final game. We go on… and on… and let’s just say that in the end, the Good Guys prevailed. So we ended the night at 2-2… and with the anticipation high for our next meeting, to settle things once and for all (or, well, you know, at least bragging rights for a couple-three weeks).

Anyway, sneak away to Pizzio's. You'll love the feel of the place when you walk in and you'll love the food and wine. Look for Roger in the dining room doing what he does best (after cooking). And look for me at the bar...

Pizzio’s Cucina Italiana
2482 West 3rd Street, Santa Rosa 95401
In the Big Oak center, corner of Fulton and West 3rd
707-546-2593