 Marchese’s
Olive Pit
With a name like Marchese, if you’re
planning to make pizza in Milwaukee, you’d better get it right.
Forget the gloppy, oozy, heavy, cheesey
stuff we often find at pizza joints not locally owned, and come on
down to the Fifth Ward where something good happens when talent meets
passion.
Look out, Zaffiro’s, there’s
another thin kid in town.
Not since restaurant Castello on Via
Dante in Milan, where we feasted on porcini pizza with arugula, have I
tasted a seriously good thin crust pizza.
The owners/chefs Gina Marchese and her
sister-in-law Lisa Marchese collected family recipes to serve the
customers in this restaurant, formerly Lava Java. According to
mom Audrey, "They didn’t want to work for someone else, so they
opened their own place where they both cook and tend bar."
And they kept it simple. Pizza, salad,
dessert and a single appetizer, Fresh Bread with a choice of Pesto
Spread, Marinara Sauce, Roasted Red Pepper Spread, Olive Tapenade and
Roasted Garlic. The herb crusted "fresh" bread came to us
straight from the oven, and was an ideal base for the spreads.
The thin crust pizza can be ordered by
the slice weekdays 11 a.m.-2 p.m. We sampled the Veggie and the Casper
Classic. The toppings were precooked, then baked on a crispy crust, a
perfect base for the subtle flavors of the veggies. No flavor
dominated: not the sauce, the sausage on the Casper or the light layer
of melted cheese.
It tasted like Italy, Milan, la dolce
vita. -Carrie Taylor-Carlson
Marchese’s Olive Pit is at 1100 S.
1st St., Milwaukee (414) 384-9555.
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