Road construction be damned! Shorewood’s Pizzeria di Lusso (4511 N. Oakland Ave.) has an opening date – it’s Tuesday, Nov. 3. The new restaurant from the owners of Bay View’s Sorella is plowing through the street-closure madness to serve two styles of pizza.
Owners/native Jerseyans Kyle Toner and Paul Damora (of Bay View Italian joint Sorella) are making pie specialties they grew up eating – Trenton-style and Grandma-style ’za.
The pizzas at Pizzeria di Lusso (di Lusso is Italian for “deluxe” or “luxury”) have some key differences. The round, thin-crust Trenton-style pie’s main distinction is how it’s constructed. The red sauce doesn’t go directly on top of the dough, but instead, blotted over the cheese, meat and other toppings. Also called Trenton tomato pie, it’s baked in a deck oven – where the pie is placed directly on the surface of the oven (the deck). The heat mainly comes from the underneath the deck, though it might have heat also coming from the top of the oven.
Celebrate this year’s winners of the Betty Awards!
By contrast, Grandma-style is baked in a pan, but it’s not thick crust. The dough is pressed thin into the pan and gets very crispy as it bakes. The style is attributed to Italian-American grandmas.
The menu also includes various antipasti, salads and house-made desserts. On the imbibing side, there’s a full bar offering beer, wine and cocktails.
Hours: Tues-Thurs 4-9 p.m.; Fri-Sat 4-10 p.m.
