Whiz Biz: Pizza E Vino

Whiz Biz: Pizza E Vino

Address: 31441 Santa Margarita Parkway, Rancho Santa Margarita

Phone: 949-713-1500

Website: www.pizzaevino.net

What’s Nearby: Carmelitas, Cinderella Cakes, Starbucks

What Makes It So Awesome: Pizza E Vino brings a piece of Naples, Italy, to Southern California, offering authentic Neapolitan pizza handcrafted with fresh ingredients and cooked in a wood oven imported from Italy.

What’s the Scoop: Although pizza has become a staple in America, the original pie debuted in Naples. For Southern California residents, finding an authentic Neapolitan pizza can be rare, but when Pizza E Vino opened in 2008, Rancho Santa Margarita gained a true gem. The secret is in the dough, which is prepared daily using Southern Italian flour. The toppings include handmade Fior de Latte mozzarella cheese and a red sauce created with tomatoes straight from San Marzano, Italy. The pizza is then hand-stretched and baked in a wood-fired oven at 850 degrees.

“Our pizza is not your typical pizza covered in cheese,” said head chef Greg Pugliese, who has been with the restaurant since January and studied in a culinary program in Italy years ago.

What’s Unique: Just steps away from Rancho Santa Margarita Lake in the Mercado Del Lago shopping center, Pizza E Vino is small but quaint, and it’s not unusual to find the place packed on a Friday night. Extra seating is provided on the patio under umbrellas, where guests can enjoy a nice breeze and water view. Inside, guests will feel transported back to Naples with Italian music wafting softly through the speakers and beautiful grape paintings on the walls. As they eat, they can enjoy watching the chefs pull pizzas out of the large brick oven behind the counter and smelling the dough rise.

“One of my favorite aspects of working in the restaurant is having an open kitchen. I love seeing the reactions on people’s faces as they enjoy our food,” said Pugliese.

Pizza E Vino’s menu is simple, with starters, salads, pasta of the day, desserts, drinks and, of course, pizza. Starters include tasty bites like wood-fired garlic bread and fire-roasted tomato basil soup. The berry salad -- mixed greens, gorgonzola dolce, candied walnuts, grilled chicken breast, seasonal berries and a berry walnut dressing -- is a guest favorite. Desserts include traditional tiramisu and seasonal selections, including concoctions made with fresh berries. But it is the pizza that really gets people talking, and coming back.

Each Neapolitan pie is 12 inches in diameter and comes unsliced. According to Pugliese, the Margherita is the most popular. Other selections include pepperoni with chili flakes, parma ham with house-roasted mushroom, and the 24-month prosciutto di parma.

Evoo, or pizzas with no tomato sauce, are popular as well, and include such flavors as the chicken breast with pesto, Humboldt fog goat cheese and house-dried tomato.

The wine list includes a wide selection of reds and whites from California and Italy. A few Italian beers are included on the drink menu, too.