Bettering Bywater
LORENZO'S PIZZERIA builds on its tried and true Italian offerings.
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Pete Eschete presents one of the pies that makes LORENZO'S customers
happy.
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WHAT: Lorenzo's Pizzeria
CUISINE: Italian
WHEN: Lunch Friday, Saturday and Sunday; dinner daily
WHERE: 900 France St., 947-0000
CARDS: Major
In the past, Lorenzo's Pizzeria stood on its own merit as an oasis of sorts in
Bywater, which, along with the Faubourg Marigny, isn't exactly known for its
wealth of quality restaurants. Oh sure, there's Feelings Cafe, Bywater BBQ,
Elizabeth's, the Harbor and Jack Dempsey's. But after that, the pickings get
slim. And as far as pizza delivery goes, if you want a slice, it's the French
Quarter (if joints will go that far down) or the chains, more or less.
So there sat Lorenzo's, tucked almost anonymously down in the Ninth
Ward across from Jimmy's Grocery at the corner of France and Dauphine streets.
The pizza and the sandwiches were crucial to neighbors with a yen for basic
Italian fare but who couldn't make the trek to such pizza hot spots as Magazine
Street in Uptown.
Frankly, owner Mike Murray, who also owns Bywater BBQ, had it quite
good.
But then, a few months ago, Murray happened upon Dean Flick, a
veteran of such fine-dining establishments as Maximo's, Arnaud's, The Bistro at
Maison de Ville, and the G&E Courtyard Grill. Flick was burned out from
taking the bus from his Bywater residence every day up into the Quarter, and
signed up with Murray in Lorenzo's kitchen. Or, as Flick puts it, "He just sort
of hired me as the pizza cook, and I sort of took over."
The result has been the addition of appetizers, switching from
Po-Boy to Italian bread on the sandwich loaves, and a slightly more
sophisticated approach to the menu without an increased impact on the
pocketbook. "I've got some experience, and I've borrowed from everywhere I've
worked," says Flick. "People asked me where I went to cooking school, and say,
`Well, now.'" Flick's motto: "Keep it simple, keep it fresh. I don't have a lot
to work with, and that's the way it is with Italian cooking."
Take the sauce, for instance. Because of expenses and the fickle
quality of tomatoes (depending on the season), Lorenzo's uses canned sauce.
It's not fresh, but it's good: the high-quality sauce is by Stanislaus in
California. Flick then cracks it open and loads it up with garlic onions and
spices -- rosemary, oregano, basil and crushed red pepper.
The strength here is clearly in the pizzas. Five of the seven
specialty pizzas are veggie-only, while two of the specials on the board the
night our group visited -- the pesto and the Mexican -- were meatless. Flick
and Murray also decided to take the health kick a step further by offering
wheat crust. "It's just an experiment," says Flick, adding that the crust is
higher in protein and lower in carbohydrates. "We bought some wheat flour to
make some bread, and we thought, `What the hell, it helps with the Sugar
Busters crowd.'"
The pizzas enjoy the benefit of being baked in a deck oven with a
stone surface, which allows for a nice, even heat that translates into a
crispier, tastier crust. Lorenzo's also makes a point of doing much of its
business with locals: A.J.'s for produce, Claire's for canned goods and cheese,
Gendusa's for bread.
Lorenzo's pizzas are typically priced: specialty pizzas aren't
cheap -- the 10-inch goes for $9.25, the 14-inch for $13.95 -- but you could do
worse. "My prices are as low as I can get them," Flick says. "The pizza's more
expensive than, say, Domino's or Papa Johns, but I think my pizza is twice as
good. I've got a couple bachelors around here who would starve to death. We got
loyal customers."
That's why I corralled a couple friends to head down to Lorenzo's
recently for a weeknight visit. One of my guests had owned a French bistro in
North Carolina's "triangle" of Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill, and both were ready
to try something outside the confines of Uptown. The batch of specials up on
the board -- written in grease pen behind the bar -- first caught our eye:
Mexican, barbecue or pesto pizza as well as a butternut squash manicotti.
We opted for one of the appetizers -- the stuffed mushrooms, with
Italian sausage and mozzarella cheese in the marinara sauce -- and then sampled
a couple of the pizzas and a calzone. I went for the Ninth Ward -- with garlic
sauce, mozzarella and Romano cheese, artichoke hearts and mushrooms. One friend
ordered the pesto pizza -- one of the specials, with Roma tomatoes and
mozzarella cheese -- and added red onions and mushrooms to the mix, while the
other ordered the Mediterranean pizza (with mozzarella and feta cheese, Roma
tomatoes, black olives, and roasted garlic) as a calzone, but declined the
feta.
The results were delicious and quite filling. The former French
bistro restaurateur was surprised at how well the flavors combined for such a
fresh taste, aided with a dash of olive oil in the pesto sauce.
We kicked ourselves for not sampling the manicotti and not having
room for the tiramisu, but promises came from all around to make a return trip.
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