GPS Spring 22 – Sarasota, FL Pizza – Bite Size Reviews

This is the first of a few “catch up” posts on pizzas that we’ve eaten during my writing hiatus. More will follow.

We’re just finishing our 3rd winter in Sarasota. My GPS (the Great Pizza Search) has continued around our southern home. And although I’d not been posting, I dictate notes while eating for future reference.

We don’t go out to buy pizza too often – IT’S GETTING TOO EXPENSIVE for simply flour, water, sauce, and cheese! For a normal pie, the price can approach $30! We can get WAY BETTER in Napoli, and a far better experience, for 5 Euros (and will NEXT WEEK!).

BTW – those prices seem to be the going rate in the Rochester area also. We recently visited Texas with similar prices too. And franky, I enjoy making and eating my own, but it’s nice to try others sometime, just infrequently.

Below are what we’ve tasted in the Sarasota area from Fall 2020 to Spring 2022 in order of what we like:

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Il Petraro is the pizza that we’ve liked the best.  Unfortunately, the owner tragically was killed by a DUI driver.  The owner and his wife, who were from Bari, Puglia, worked their food truck with magical results.

PIZZA Link	Style	LOCATION	DATE	RATING	GO BACK?	Dough	Sauce	Cheese	Presentation	Other
Il Petraro	Neapolitan	Food Truck Sarasota, FL	3/12/21	Great	Yes	True Neopolitan, thin, slight char, leopard spotted	Very Tomatoie!	Maybe a little too much	Excellent

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Pizza & Brew – Downtown Sarasota is my current favorite pizza in Sarasota (as of April 13, 2022).  We stumbled upon this place (not a joint, but a sports bar) while visiting the Sarasota Farmer’s Market one Saturday. I like downtowns in general, and Sarasota’s is fabulous; a nice cross between big and small with many restaurants and walking traffic all day and evening. It’s a vibrant place. 

Additionally, Pizza and Brew is a local chain. We’ll definitely go back to Pizza and Brew. Downtown and likely try others as well.

PIZZA Link	Style	LOCATION	DATE	RATING	GO BACK?	Dough	Sauce	Cheese	Presentation	Other
Pizza & Brew – Downtown	NY Style	Sarasota, FL	10/30/21	Good	Yes	Crust crispy, not hard very chewy  very thin	Well seasoned, Great amount		Great box	Best pizza bad so far in Sarasota (of those that are still open)

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We found LI Bros (Long Island Brothers) in North Port, FL by mistake.  I went on a long ride on a very windy day to see a post office in El Jobean, FL.  El Jobean’s PO (actually Post Office, Bar and Restaurant) is unique and so is the story of EL Jobean.

LI Bros is a great find

PIZZA Link	Style	LOCATION	DATE	RATING	GO BACK?	Dough	Sauce	Cheese	Presentation	Other
LI Bros	NY Style	North Port, FL	12/30/21	Good	Yes	Thin, a little hard, likely due to reheat, but good	Good quantity, tangy, tasty	Good quantity and taste	HUGE slice	Great spices MASSIVE SLICE

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Angelos in Venice, FL is our GO TO for just about everything.  I frequently stop during my bike rides for a treat of breakfast cappuccino and cornetto, we have had lunch and dinner there several times each winter, and we buy our Italian produce and staples for my baking there.

Over the 3 years we’ve lived here, we’ve become friendly with the owner and most of the staff are from Sicily or Napoli. This often leads to animated discussions about Serie A futbal (Forza Napoli!)!

PIZZA Link	Style	LOCATION	DATE	RATING	GO BACK?	Dough	Sauce	Cheese	Presentation	Other
Angelos	No discernable style	Venice, FL	Many	Good	Yes	Thick-ish	Tomatoey buy variable		Plain box	Rustica pizza is fabulous, others have been only good

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Pizzeria Della Nonna is one of the closest shops to our house.  I liked it, but not enough to make us want to go back.  There’s a few others we want to try.

PIZZA Link	Style	LOCATION	DATE	RATING	GO BACK?	Dough	Sauce	Cheese	Presentation	Other
Pizzeria Della Nonna	No discernable style	Palmer Ranch, Sarasota, FL	2/1/21	Good	Maybe	Good, puff and crunch	Very good tomato taste	Sparse	Generic box	Nothing really special other than it’s close

Local Pizza is very close to our house, but close doesn’t necessarily mean great.  The pizza was only OK, we wouldn’t go back due it’s high cost in relation to what we received.

PIZZA Link	Style	LOCATION	DATE	RATING	GO BACK?	Dough	Sauce	Cheese	Presentation	Other
Local Pizza	Neapolitan	Osprey, FL	2/3/22	Meh	No	Decent	Decent	Decent	Generic box	Very Expensive for just a “decent” 10″ – 12″ pie!  That’s why I wouldn’t go back

The final group of Sarasota pizzas are all from the area around Siesta Key and neighboring Gulf Gate.  Even though Siesta Key is one of the most beautiful beaches in the world, their pizza is not. I’d stay away from these!

PIZZA Link	Style	LOCATION	DATE	RATING	GO BACK?	Dough	Sauce	Cheese	Presentation	Other
Il Panificio	Thin, no discernable style	Siesta Key, Sarasota, FL	3/31/21	Meh	No	Greasy made it very soft	Decent	Grease made the cheese fat hard to discern
Rico’s – Gulf Gate	Thick, no discernable style	Gulf Gate, Sarasota, FL	4/1/22	Meh	No	Crust OK not very airy a little bit of crunch at the corner corner	Sauce is pretty good but way way too much garlic and salt which eventually kills a pizza	Cheese is interesting kind of a clump near the center	Generic box	Holy shit, too much garlic, blobs of the JARRED GARLIC< NOT EVEN REAL GARLIC!!!
Sal’s	Neapolitan	Gulf Gate, Sarasota, FL	1/3/22	Meh	No	Thin, hard	No taste	Splotches of cheese	Generic box	No taste, hard crust, sprinkled spices (garlic salad, oregano) on pizza after came out of oven, SALTY

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