That’s Italiano?

The Ninja slices into “out of the norm” pizza from newcomer A Tutti

Hello pizza fanatics and welcome to the September 2018 edition of the East Falls Pizza Review. This month, the Ninja tried pizza from A Tutti Ristorante Italiano, a shop that just recently opened its doors right up the street from East Falls in the Roxborough/Manayunk section. Located at 5154 Ridge Ave, A Tutti is a BYOB that offers, breakfast, lunch, dinner and most importantly, PIZZA!

The Ordering Experience (3.75 out of 5)

Much like the previously reviewed Larry’s Steaks – Home of the “Belly Filler,” A Tutti doesn’t actually offer delivery itself, but you can order food for delivery via a service, which they’ve taken the liberty of listing out on their website.

Your options for ordering are:

  1. Order over the phone and eat in at the restaurant/pick up.
  2. Order via an app:

The Ninja opted for GrubHub and placed his order via the app at 6PM. The app quoted a delivery time of 30-40 minutes. To his surprise, the pizza arrived piping hot at 6:26, a full 4 minutes early.

The Pizza Experience

Presentation (2 out of 5)

Well there you have it folks. The most plain box the Ninja has ever reviewed. It’s big, it’s white, and it’s a box.

Similar to the previously reviewed In Riva, this box has no branding whatsoever. Lets take a look at the pizza inside:

Unlike the bare, austere appearance of the box, the cheese pizza contained with in is quite the opposite. First of all, a plain cheese pizza was ordered and what do we have here? Basil!

Secondly, this pizza has quite an interesting shape and appearance to it, from the uniformity (or lack thereof) of sauce and cheese, to the size of the exterior crust on the outer edge of the pizza.

The crust has some nice char underneath. Is this a brick oven pizza? Not quite. After speaking with Paul Marrone, owner of A Tutti, he explained that “We use ‘Bakers Pride 2’ thick stone-bottom ovens at 650 – 700 degrees. It’s the DOUGH that makes the pizza! Come and try!”

This combination of dough plus special stone-bottom oven produces an effect that is very similar in appearance, construction and taste to a brick oven pizza.

Cheese (4 out of 5)

This is a really tasty cheese, the Ninja just wishes there was MORE of it. Some of the slices had great coverage, the others, not so much. With that being said, the cheese had a great flavor with out being overly heavy or greasy.

Sauce (4.75 out of 5)

Yum! The sauce is the standout of the pizza along with the cheese. Vibrant coloring, slightly chunky, and paired along with the basil, this sauce felt and tasted extremely bright and fresh. It was really a delight to eat.

Crust (3.5 out of 5)

The crust, unfortunately, is where things start to get a little weird on this pie. The base layer of the crust (that the sauce and cheese sit on top of) was extremely thin, yet the outer perimeter of the pizza crust is thick and doughy. Taste wise the crust had a very warm/bready/sourdough-esque taste to it, yet in comparison to the cheese & sauce, it felt a tad bland.

Other times, there were strong notes from the bits of char underneath. This flavor profile isn’t for everyone, but if you like a traditionally charred brick oven pizza crust, this would be right up your alley.

Conclusion (3.7 out of 5)

The pizza from A Tutti is a little out of the norm, straddling the line between a standard neighborhood pizza shop pie and a pricier brick-oven artisanal offering, at a more affordable price and larger size. For those looking to try something a little different, A Tutti is A Sure Bet (see what I did there?).

A Tutti, Ristorante Italiano
Historically accurate and authentic Italian favorites in Wissahickon. House-made pasta, pizza dough, and mozzerella. BYOB. 
5154 Ridge Avenue (Wissahickon)
267-335-5478
Facebook
Open Sun – Weds 11am – 19pm; Thurs – Sat 11am – 12am

And now your September Pizza Moment of Zen

 

About Pizza Ninja 22 Articles
Born in Chicago, arguably the capitol of world class pizza options, the Pizza Ninja consumes pizza an average of 3 to 4 nights a week. From local options to frozen pizza, no crust is left behind. He has been eating pizza for 34 years and currently resides in East Falls along with his wife, daughter and two dogs. On occasion, he will graciously share a slice of his pizza with them. Follow the Ninja on Instagram.

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