Wearing a shirt that punned “All we knead is love,” Dominick Mirabile flung a disc of dough back and forth between open hands, “opening it up” to 11 inches, the size of a standard personal pizza at Red Tomado.
He buried the basil under the cheese, so it wouldn’t burn in the oven.
Aliyya Swaby Photo
Pizza is a family affair for Mirabile, whose father owned a pizzeria in the Bronx when he was growing up. A week after the opening of Red Tomado at 72 Church St, he hopes the shop — a “Chipotle of pizzerias” — will appeal to his customers’ desire for self-expression and individuality.
Mirabile takes pride in the classic nature of his dishes, which feature ingredients (flour, prosciutto, Sicilian sea salt, e.g.) imported straight from Italy. But he knows there has to be a twist to succeed in pizza-saturated New Haven.
Red Tomado is all about options, taking “the customer is always right” to another level. “Be Yourself In 4 Easy Steps,” reads a sign behind the counter, above a list of choices of two types of dough, seven types of sauces, nine types of cheese (including one made from water buffalo milk) and dozens of toppings.
Gluten allergy? Gluten-free dough. On the Atkins diet? A “pizza bowl” offers pizza sans carbs — a meat or veggie base, topped with sauce, cheese and other toppings. The store also offers 21 “pre-designed creations,” including a “signature” vodka pizza.
Mirabile’s vision at Red Tomado is of pizza-making as a snappy, interactive process, involving customer input on fresh designs through social media. The store’s website presents a new “Pizza of the Moment” daily; people who mention the day’s choice at the counter get a 50 percent discount.
A couple who came in one day this week and made their own personal pizzas returned Tuesday to try the buffalo chicken Pizza of the Moment, which they had seen on Instagram, Mirabile said. They got their meal half-price.
Mirabile got his “passion” for pizza from summers spent working in his father’s store. “No summer camp,” he said, with a laugh. Many of the recipes have been passed down in his family, including the “method of making dough” for the pizzas.
Red Tomado’s wood-fired oven was also imported from Italy. It cooks pizzas at 1,000 degrees Fahrenheit, and pops them out piping hot after about 90 seconds, Mirabile said. By the time the customer pays, gets a drink, samples some gelato, the pizza is ready to be eaten.
He built a standard margherita pizza — mozzarella, cherry tomatoes, fresh basil — and slid it into the oven’s mouth, onto a rotating plate. (See him do it in the video at the top of the story.) Exactly nine rotations and about 123 seconds later, it came out, crust browned and tomato halves cooked. Near-instant gratification.
The recent explosion of Chipotle-like restaurants in New Haven is interesting. Tikkaway, Pitaziki, and now Red Tomado. Tomado might have the most challenging location of all, as that side of Church St. is frequented by quite a few panhandlers. I'm sure New Haven would like to see another business thrive there -- I know Buffalo Wild Wings does pretty brisk business.
I wish them luck and look forward to trying their pizza. Their website has very little information about pricing, etc., which would be helpful. Also, they should probably have some kind of a menu.
Good luck!