Its a tough mill town with its very own Wooster Street Pizza (see #13 issue of ScowlZine), a take-out joint called the Pizza Police, seven and one-half Yellow Page listings and ads and now Manchester further advances its name on its pizza scene with DaVinci's Masterpizza.
OK. Another pie joint. The name, however, makes a grand claim: master pizza. Oh?
This we would like to find. Well, upon investigation, that name might be over reaching by half, or by 2/3s.
But when I heard DaVinci's offers the slender crusts of New York, pudgy Sicilian crust and standard Traditional in both wheat and white options, I think this: well, maybe serious players.
I better roll down a couple units if only as a quality control gesture at no charge to Scowl readers. Its not for me, after all, but for you that I chew so hard.
Eyeballing the menu and environment, several things are apparent:
1. This place is not an expensive designer-pizza store. A 12 incher with three items goes for $11.70. Their simply sausage medium carries Italian sausage, oregano, tomato, and Romano cheese (is that really one item?) for $10.95.
2. Take-out is the business here. There is but one table with six chairs in the place. Racks of fatty potato chips and a cooler with sodas occupy the premises. Parking is on the street.
3. This place has always been a to-go pizza place under various names and owners and
4. The oven must be the same one that was here all along.
Nonetheless, the pizza-maker took our order and was unfailingly polite and accommodating. We ordered two smalls (10") and occupied the one table. "Hang on, it'll be about 20 minutes," and we watched the take out trade roll in off Spruce Street, and some folks were actually quite weird for a town so far from the lower West Side.
Remember, Manchester is not New Haven--or Hartford, Worcester, or Providence. Those cities aren't worried about any mill town with common pizza found everywhere.
But there is something endearing about a gritty town that sells so much pizza everyday, even if Manchester is not the garden spot of American cuisine. Something that one must applaud: yes! go boys! sell that pie!
So our order arrives and sure enough, these pies are surely the results of a standard conveyor oven, and the crust is not crunchy or memorable in any way.
And so, no, I would not insist you try this place BUT I will say one thing: the ingredients were stone fresh. Fresh peppers. Fresh (somewhat cooked out) mushrooms, and good if not terribly tangy sausage. Great fresh tomatoes. This is better than most take-out pizza fare, with emphasis on freshness and hustle. We must applaud this.
The menu offers specialty pizzas - nine of em. Gourmet pizzas - seven of em, including a Margarita you know, the tomato, mozzarella, basil and Romano round pie, the one that others spell Margherita after the old dead Italian queen the original was named after. Maybe you get a tequila shot here too? (but I condescend, please pardon my arrogant uppity bullshit).
Then too, they offer five Whole Wheat Pizzas (large only) including the DaVinci Extravaganza for $15.95: turkey breast or chicken, onions, peppers, broccoli, roasted peppers, spinach, mushrooms and tomatoes. Which is very fine--plus given the freshness going for them here, a unit that cant hurt a party of four.
In all one finds a willingness here to succeed in a tough pie town. A town with many pizza options, with many strapped cars with pie delivery lights, a town where many a fine person earned their first dollars delivering mediocre pie to non-discriminating pie lovers.
Dinners are available too: surely salad and homemade garlic rolls, spaghetti and ziti. But I digress, as this is a pizza column.
There are few great pies east of the Connecticut River, for some reason. Is this great pie? No. Its not great. But is it something pretending to be that which it is not? No: Guy DaVinci and his partner Mike Jaime are clearly delivering as advertised.
This is an unpretentious, priced-right pie. Its not a Big Night on the Town pie, not even a Night on the Town pie, but it is fresh, it is not expensive, and if you order right, its damn fine.
Score one for regular folks.
DaVinci's (no eyeball or flavor rating)
www.davincismasterpizza.com
DaVinci's Masterpizza,owned and operated by former chef and
G.M. of Olee's Masterpizza of South Windsor, (this copy is on
the menu, so I report this, in case it matters, for some reason);
183 Spruce Street, Manchester.
Reservations are out of the question. This is take out. $7.00
minimum free delivery, Tel: 860 649-2161, FAX: 860 649-1172.
end