Napoletana Pizza and More at Settebello’s Weekend Brunch

After a proper Bloody Mary – or Bacon Old Fashioned, in my case –  we skipped traditional breakfast fare for the Uova in Purgatorio which features an egg baked over spicy tomato sauce with red onion and Spanish chorizo. It is served with a side of fresh green salad and plenty of grilled ciabatta – the better to sop up every bit of saucy deliciousness. Our second round of cocktails included their Bottomless Mimosa (with Prosecco because it’s Italian!) and a Ginger Bellini featuring house ginger syrup, white peach puree and Prosecco garnished with Luxardo cherries – the only kind of cherries that should grace a cocktail, thank you very much.

Preferring savory breakfasts over sweet, I surprised myself  by declaring the Wood-Oven Baked Buttermilk Pancakes – dusted with powdered sugar with fresh fruit and a mixed berry coulis alongside, it was the standout dish of our midday repast. There are fluffy pancakes, and then there are these hot cakes – light, puffy rounds with crisped edges  and a subtle flavor of cornmeal – they reminded me of a cross between a Johnny Cake and Dutch pancake. My husband is the pancake maker in our family and he would LOVE these, I think they’ll be bringing many guests back again and again!

 A selection of Settebello’s Napoletana (aka Neapolitan) pizzas will please anyone, big or little, who considers pizza a food group in itself. And I am one of those people. We tried the Salmon Focaccia – it really is a pizza –  – topped with smoked salmon, arugula, diced tomatoes, avocado and egg. The crust is classic Neapolitan: a bubbly, crispy, blackened outer crust with a thin, wet center. The wood-fired pizza was loaded with salmon and avocado with an egg in the middle and peppery arugula balancing the richness of the other ingredients. We also tried the Filthy V – less bountiful toppings and no tomato sauce make this a more traditional Neapolitan pizza and, with bubbly crust, soft cooked egg, sausage, roasted fennel, red onions, mascarpone, mozzarella and basil, it quickly disappeared.

 About Settebello Pizzeria:

Settebello is owned by former USC quarterback Brad Otton and partners Michael Brooks, Tim Otton and executive chef Carmine D’Amato. Settebello who made it their mission to bring authentic pizza from Napoli, Italy, the birthplace of pizza, to its customers. There are eight locations: Newport Coast, Marina del Rey, Pasadena, Oxnard, Las Vegas, Henderson, NV, Salt Lake City, and Farmington, UT.

Pizza Napoletana is made with a soft dough and takes about one minute to cook in a wood-burning oven. Because of this, Pizza Napoletana has several distinctive characteristics. Pizza in Napoli is soft and foldable and can be considered “wet” by American standards, for this reason the people in Napoli generally eat their pizza with a knife and a fork. Blackened char spots on the pizza crust is a tell-tale sign of Pizza Napoletana that has been cooked in a blistering hot, wood burning oven. Each pizza is an individual work of art.

Settebello is proud to source the finest Italian products to make the most authentic pizza Napoletana possible. When importing is not a possibility we search for the highest quality American products to complete our pizzas. Below is just a sampling of where some of our products come from.

Flour – Napoli, Italy
Prosciutto Cotto – Parma, Italy
Tomato – San Marzano (Napoli), Italy
Prosciutto Crudo – Parma, Italy
Parmesan Cheese – Modena, Italy
Pancetta – Salumi, Seattle, WA
Salame – Fra’ Mani Berkeley, CA
Finnochiona – Salumi, Seattle, WA

Settebello’s features craft cocktails including their own barrel aged spirits, an excellent wine list, and a respectable selection of craft beers on tap.

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Cheers from Settebello’s patio – even more lovely at night when the trees are outlined in twinkly lights. PC: Patty Mitchell