Don't expect pepperoni at Vero Amore. Yes, it's a pizza place, but not that kind of pizza place. Think Wolfgang Puck rather than Shakey's.
The new eatery, with its brick, wood-burning oven, turns out Neapolitan-style pies. That means flour and plum tomatoes imported from Italy, homemade mozzarella and wood oven-fired crusts. Toppings include fresh basil and prosciutto, or smoked salmon partnered with mascarpone cheese and arugula.
But pepperoni? Not unless you're 5.
"People request it," says Josh Mussman, 22, who owns Vero Amore with brother Aric, 25. "We mainly have it for little kids."
Anyway, you'd much rather eat the kicky, Creole-spiced andouille sausage topping the Mussmans' creative concoction called Pizza Anima ($9.95) than greasy ol' pepperoni. The sausage's smokiness pairs well with the lightly smoked fresh mozzarella and the salty hint of Parmesan for a truly standout blend of flavors.
The Mussman brothers — native Tucsonans who've worked in the restaurant biz — opened the 40-seat eatery in late March. Their longtime best buddy, Marco Murray, is the head chef.
You know how they say necessity is the mother of invention? Well, it's apparently the mother of restaurants, too. Aric and Josh, who live near Vero Amore (it means "true love" in Italian), thought for years that the 'hood could use a pizza place. Then Josh visited an uncle in Seattle and came back talking about an amazing pizzeria where people regularly waited hours — in the rain — for a slice. It was certified with the Naples, Italy-based Verace Pizza Napoletana Association, an international group that promotes the tradition of Neapolitan pizza and trains pizza makers.
That got the ball of fresh mozzarella rolling.
Aric traveled all the way to Marina del Rey, Calif., to train with the association's president, who has a restaurant there. He learned how to make pizza — from the crust to the labor-intensive, creamy, fresh mozzarella, which is made daily at Vero Amore.
"You taste it, and it's just so good," Aric says. "It's definitely worth it."
He's right. Fresh mozzarella has a lovely texture and melts so smoothly. It's very mild, so it complements toppings rather than overpowers them. The cheese slices are judiciously placed on the pies, so you can see the puréed San Marzano tomatoes in between.
The Quattro Stagioni ($9.95) is a good way to sample several pizzas at once. It combines four of the combos from Vero Amore's menu all atop a distinctive crust that's thin but not snaps-like-a-cracker thin. This crust has some chew and crunch at the edges. The marinara portion of the pie — with tomato, oregano and garlic — was a little bare-bones for us. And who can go without that mozzarella? Problem solved with the Margherita, which adds mozzarella and Parmesan.
The Passione offers a variety of tastes and textures, with diced tomatoes, smoked salmon, creamy, rich mascarpone cheese and the peppery bite of fresh arugula. The Capricciosa, though, is definitely for salty-food lovers, since it combines kalamata olives and prosciutto with artichokes, mushrooms and mozzarella.
A pizza, accompanied by one of Vero's full-sized salads, easily makes a meal for two. The dressings are homemade — and they taste it. The basil-olive oil tossed over the Prosciutto Caprese ($8.50) tasted simple and purely of olive oil and basil. It was just a shame that the lovely salad — a bed of mixed greens with paper-thin prosciutto and rectangles of mozzarella — came with anemic, tasteless tomatoes. Some fat Romas would have improved things immeasurably.
Vero Amore offers two pastas: a marinara-topped linguine ($9.95) and Ravioli Aumentare ($9.95), which looks like art on a plate. Jackson Pollock-style red splotches were dabbled on the pasta pillows stuffed with sweet crabmeat, while stripes decorated the ricotta-herb ravioli. The distinctive, nutty taste of garlic roasted in a wood-fired oven lent an earthy dimension to the sweet marinara sauce that was cut with a cream sauce for added richness.
Aric says that in a few months, after the oven's broken in, they plan to fly in a delegation from the Verace Pizza Napoletana Association and become officially certified. But our stomachs already will certify that Vero Amore serves up good pizza pies.
Quick Bite
Vero Amore
3305 N. Swan Road (at East Camp Lowell Bashas' shopping center), 325-4122
Hours: 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Mondays- Thursdays; 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Fridays; 5-10 p.m. Saturdays; 5-9 p.m. Sundays
Vegetarian choices: Plenty
Family call: Hello — kids and pizza?
Wine list: Good selection and not just from Italy.
Reservations: Not accepted
Dress: Tucson casual
$-$$
