Monday, March 16, 2009
Lil' Cucci's still has it
Larry Bly
Larry Bly runs an ad agency and does freelance writing in the Roanoke area.
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It's been years since I visited Lil' Cucci's Pizzeria out in Daleville, mostly because of the longish drive from Roanoke and the traffic of Daleville itself. But after all of this time, it was well worth the effort to rediscover the authentic tastes of Cucci's Italy.
Since my last visit years ago, they've nearly doubled the size (yes, it has been a while), adding a big dining room in what was once adjoining office space. But most everything else is the same: nice unhurried service, fresh crispy salads and maybe the best pizza this side of the James River.
It was the pizza that brought me back once again. Could it possibly be as delicious as last remembered? I took along a few other people just to help me decide. Neither had been there before, and I wanted their first impressions. The three of us agreed that it just might be the best pizza in these parts.
Through the years, I've had many people ask me about that very subject, or the "best barbecue" and "best home-cooking." All of it is subjective, naturally, but hey, sometimes you just have to say "this is it and I'm declaring so." Of course that doesn't MAKE it so, but ...
We settled on a medium, six-piece pizza with mushrooms, Italian sausage, pepperoni and onions. At $12, it's a deal. A BIG deal. Three of us couldn't finish it. There was plenty to spare.
There are two things that I find really appealing about a Cucci's pizza: The sauce is always perfect -- not too sweet and not too tomato-pasty. The dough is just right, very crispy around the edges. Distribution of the toppings goes right out to the edges. The flavors pop: mushrooms dark and tasty, pepperoni adding just a little oil to the mix (not too much to be sloppy or greasy), the Italian sausage a sweet delight, and tons of gooey cheese, even if you didn't order "extra." I can't imagine where extra cheese would fit on this pizza.
Everyone ate more than they intended and agreed that it all comes together in a truly memorable pie. My single critical remark about anything Cucci's would be the baco-bits that come automatically with the small house salad. I'm not fond of the stuff and would have opted to not have it, but it just arrives that way. OK, I ate it and got over it. Guys like me always have something to crab about, so don't let that bother you.
Our wait-person's attention to our table was perfect. At one point when my water had run dry, she casually showed up with a fresh glass without my asking. She offered to plate our first pieces of pizza, which we appreciated. The bill and to-go box arrived right on time.
While not as crowded as in the past -- there were people in the side dining room, so it was hard to tell -- it's still very popular with the locals. Most of them were visiting each others' tables and trading family information or talking a little business.
If you haven't tried the dinner of baked spaghetti, lasagna or manicotti, you should. Dinner entrees are limited in scope and price, starting at $7.75 and topping out at barely 10 bucks for a chicken parmigiana.
What Cucci's calls turnovers, many of us recognize as calzones: cheese, pepperoni, ham, meatball with a "mini" that starts at $5.25. Sandwiches are numerous and ample: hoagies, meatball, sausage, cheese steak, mushroom steak, pepper steak, tuna fish, ham and cheese, eggplant, chicken and others. This place is easy on the pocketbook and delivers a food value that family's can appreciate.
There is chianti, lambrusco, chardonnay, and white zin, plus a handful of imported and domestic beers, some on draft.
REMEMBERING AN OLD FAVORITE:
I was looking for a recipe the other evening and came across a few menus from my distant past, including one for the original Villa Sorrento Restaurant in Roanoke's West End neighborhood. The menu is pristine, save for a big blob of pizza grease on the back. Perfect.
Gone are the days of Joe's hand-tossed pizzas, Rosa's home-made thick tomato sauce, and those yummy rolls served red-hot from the pizza oven with every meal. The rolls were made from the save pizza dough, but forming that dough into bread changes its whole personality. We ate them up, slathered in lots of butter.
Gone too are prices like these for the dinner menu: Italian sandwiches (sausage and meatball) for $3.95; or pizza pies starting at $6.50. The most expensive pie on the menu, a large with everything, would have set you back $10.45. Dinner entrees like chicken parmigiana sold for $5.95, veal and peppers, $8.95, and veal scaloppini for the same price. The most expensive entree aside from pizzas was the chicken cacciatore at a whopping $9.95!
Sadly, as often as I visited old original Villa, I hardly ever had anything other than pizza, my Villa food of choice. So I can't vouch for the sandwiches and dinners and I regret that. But no matter what you got, it was the fun of going there and sitting in the darkness among those hanging faux grapes (OK, I'm being nice there) with great friends and great laughter surrounding you. When they moved it in the '90s, they took the same recipes, the same menu, the same sauces, even Rosa herself for time. But some things do not travel well. It was a great where it was; an exceptional neighborhood place to meet and eat.
LIL' CUCCI's PIZZERIA
1396 Roanoke Road
Daleville, Va. 24083
(540) 966-5923
