https://www.ragazzi.ky/
Business trip, yes, to the Cayman Islands, yes, and just shut up before you even start with me. It's possible to be lonely, homesick, and even sad in paradise. Oh no, I'm not any of those (I do miss the fam a lot) I'm just saying that it's possible, so let's have a little respect, decorum even, as you enjoy this most recent pizza post.
It's dinner time on my first day here and I'm dying for some new pie, I'd even eat a bad pie at this point, but let's hope for the best shall we?
A short 30 minute walk from my hotel in the sweltering heat/humidity of the Caribbean and I've arrived at Ragazzi Ristorante and Pizzeria. I've done my research prior and frankly my expectations are quite low based on the presence of a rolling pin in a few of the photos on-line. But it's fairly close to my hotel and has mostly great reviews, and as I've said, I'd be happy even if it sucks.
Let's start with a Negroni
It's surprisingly exactly to my liking. I little light on the vermouth and Campari, so not too sweet or bitter. I know that the Italian Stallion will say that there is only 1 proper portioning to make a Negroni, but eh, he's not the boss of me (not yet... :-O )
So yeah, we'll call this the first course and I'm quite happy.
Andiamo
Amuse Bouche
Bruschetta. Meh, was OK, no further comments available, a non-factor, neither good or bad, just very pedestrian and un-inspired, but not uncommon. Let's continue on please
Caesar Salad
The best I've ever had?
YES, shockingly yes, a strong yes.
Why do you ask? I'll start by saying that I didn't care for the egg, other than that it ate like every single piece of lettuce had the perfect amount of dressing applied directly and pecifically to it, each and every leaf. And not overly dressed mind you, just perfectly dressed, every leaf, every bite. There was no hunting for more or trying to distribute the too much.
Was this some fluke, some casual stroke of luck? Has to be right? The stars aligning into one beautiful bowl and then they streaking out beyond the horizon to hide once again? Right, this place can't be this good overall.....keep going, or rather, let's go, together.
Wood fired oven
Legit
The pizza forming techniques also look legit
Hand shaping, nice, stretching, also nice
Hanging the pie off the edge (??? what ???) I mean, yeah, good for the stretch.
And then who is peeking in?.....
Don't reach for the pin!! Please!
NOOOOOOOOO!!!!!
Man - o - Man, why you do this? You are killing any light airyness that you've created with the rise of the dough, which is made here every day. It's a travesty, a shame, and a sham. I feel as though we've crashed and burned right at the finish line, tripped and fell as we are reaching out for the tape, reached the dock only to sink before we can tie off. Bad.
And then WHAT?!?!?!?
Wowzer, that's a looking a like a good apizza
(sounds Italian if you say it like that, New York Italian at least :-))
Somehow the crust has remained light and fluffy, contrary to my previous suppositions.
A perfect balance of toppings to crust.
There was also a nice tang to the sauce and the cheese was nice and melty, a proper balance, but I feel like I said that already, but at this point I'm so shocked that it bears repeating.
Fluff
And crisp
I was sure that the rolling pin would make the crust, at least the stuff at the edge, hard as a rock. But no, not at all the case. Astonishing.
All of my misconception have been shattered, I am a man lost. How can this happen in such a place that smacks of less than average slop for the tourists that flock to this island.
People caring, with passion, about the food that they offer, and using techniques that I thought I knew the effect of?
What has happened to me, have I slipped off the edge of reality, or is it simply that maybe I don't know what the fuck I'm talking about sometimes? Which, please hear this clearly, I enjoy. I take it as a recalibration of "what I know" which can and should change with the times. Have an opinion, that's OK, but re-visit those, check where you're at, validate what you think you know. Restaurants (and people) can and do change, and so do opinions. Mine certainly has, at least on the topic of rolling pins for pizza. Oh no, I will not do it myself, but it will no longer be an automatic diss should I be aware.
Tiramisu Ice Cream
Made with house made Tiramisu. That part was good but the ice cream part has mucho mucho ice crystals within, which tells me that it's been in the freezer for a while (many days) or wasn't properly churned when it was made.
Either way, it was OK, but just. I wouldn't order it again, I'd just get the Tiramisu.
Shatter, or at least test, those misconceptions that you are holding on to, you might be pleasantly surprised, or at a minimum, confirm that what you know is what you know. Either way it's a win.
Go out and win one today.
DVA
