Courtesy of Gelatiamo

When we bought Pagliacci over 10 years ago, our first order of business was to learn the business. Our second order of business was to fill the dessert void in our menu. Dorene had searched for years to find the perfect dessert to complement our pizzas. We both had a checklist and the ideal dessert had to hit all points. Gelatiamo’s artisanal gelato and sorbet fit the bill as we went through that list.

People visiting Italy rave about gelato even more than the coffee, pasta and pizza. It was a natural fit.

Gelatiamo’s passion for gelato matched our passion for pizza. Not only do you taste it in the gelato, you feel it when founder Maria Coassin talks about her product. The very name Gelatiamo best expresses her passion – “I love gelato!”

Gelatiamo takes the time to develop a unique recipe for each of their gelatos and sorbets so that the end product is perfectly balanced, smooth and incredibly rich in flavor. While Maria specializes in traditional Italian flavors like pistachio, rice and cappuccino, her business partner Skyler Locatelli brings in a new flair, which has resulted in creations like Whopper Gelato (reappearing on our seasonal menu Thursday, September 9th).

To celebrate this 10-year partnership, take advantage of our current Frequent Pie-er offer and try a new flavor. Buon appetito!

We’ve been a fan of Peppadew Piquante Peppers for years and often talked about topping our pies with them.  When we combined them with Salumi’s rosmarino salami on our Salame Picante, we knew we had something pretty special.  The sweet heat of the pepper paired perfectly with the rosemary-seasoned salami.

So what’s the World Cup got to do with Peppadews?  Since World Cup is hosted in South Africa, it felt natural to offer up the sweet yet spicy South African pepper as a free topping.  That’s right, these culinary treasures are proud to be South African and rooting for a victory from their team!  We’d like to see a strong showing from them too.  And while our loyalty is to USA, we’re also rooting for Italy… and Mexico… and Spain… and Brazil…

Fortunately, the World Cup games are not interfering with our nighttime business.  With so many soccer fans within the Pagliacci ranks, we would face major challenges filling our shifts due to World Cup conflicts.

The story of Peppadew International is interesting.  Just as we aim to support our local community whenever possible, Peppadew International works in South African communities that are disadvantaged.  They’ve created more than 4,800 agricultural jobs in their country and work with farmers to develop their land.

To learn more about them, visit peppadew.com.

Is it possible for a prosciutto made in Iowa to be better than prosciutto from its native Italy?  Chefs at restaurants across the country from Chez Panisse in Berkeley to Mario Batali’s Otto in New York can attest that La Quercia prosciutto from Iowa is indeed as good if not better than its cousins in Parma, Italy.  And you now can try this prosciutto at Pagliacci.

We have wanted to serve an Italian prosciutto, but hadn’t found the right product for our needs.  We also wanted to be mindful of buying a local, or at least domestic, prosciutto.  La Quercia (say kwair-cha; it means “oak” in Italian and the oak is also Iowa’s state tree) prosciutto, with its nutty creamy taste and silky texture, fits the bill.  The La Quercia prosciuttificio is based in Norwalk, Iowa, where the pigs apparently outnumber the people.  Owners Herb and Kathy Eckhouse lived for several years in Parma, where Herb had been based as an executive with an American seed company.  It was in Parma where the couple developed an appreciation for the prosciutto craft and they wanted know if it was possible to make a high-quality prosciutto in the United States, Iowa in particular.

Herb studied prosciutto making for four years and made some test batches in his garage to see if it was even possible, given that the pig breeds and curing environment were so different from that in Parma, to produce this kind of ham.  They determined it was possible and set about building a state-of-the-art facility.  The Eckhouses are conscious about minimizing their use of non-recyclable or non-biodegradable materials.  They also use pigs that are raised and butchered at farms from within a 200-mile radius of La Quercia.  The pigs are either 100 percent Berkshire or a Berkshire cross and are transformed into prosciutto and other products:  guanciale, speck, lardo, coppa, pancetta.

Pagliacci is proud to be able to bring this prosciutto to our customers.  You can taste it on any of our pizzas that include prosciutto.

For more information about La Quercia, visit www.laquercia.us.

Artisan breads are enjoyed by so many here in the Northwest, just like pizza!  Our wish is for our breadsticks to be just as popular as our pizza, which is why we’ve entrusted local artisan bread makers at Macrina Bakery to craft our breadsticks.  After many tastings and tweaks to the recipe, we finally found a flavor that would altogether complement our pizzas, pastas and salads.

Our new breadstick is very similar to Macrina’s popular Olivetta dough and is crafted with modest ingredients of flour, filtered water, salt, olive oil, parmesan cheese and yeast.  We top the breadsticks ourselves with mozzarella, fontina and parmesan cheeses seasoned with salt and pepper.

Of course the most enjoyable part of artisan-crafted bread is the freshness ― our breadsticks are formed by hand each morning then delivered and baked the same day.  Haven’t tried them yet?  Take advantage of our Frequent Pie-er special this month to get a free pair of breadsticks with a purchase of $10 or more!