The Italian Food issue is now on newsstands! As you can imagine, I ate more than my fair share of pizzas, pastas, and everything in between to compile my list of favorites. But no list can be comprehensive. Not with so rich a dining scene as ours. I was reminded of that this weekend when I visited a brewery and winery with its own unique brand of pies, too late to include it in print. So today, I pay homage to Quattro Goombas in its very own article.
The property that holds the fermenting operations (the winery opened in 2009, and the team of two couples added the brewery in 2015) is a plot of land in the vast Aldie countryside, one that, on a recent Sunday, was full of fun, from kids blowing bubbles outside to a first birthday party taking place inside the restaurant building. The brewery building welcomed a friendly pup who waited patiently in line for her owner’s suds to arrive.
I was there for pizza, but was pleased to discover that I could order a half-tray of the Sicilian-style pie, allowing me to try something else, too. They were sold out of Chicago Italian beef, so I ordered The Italian Stallion, a soft roll filled with hot Italian sausage, sweet roasted peppers, marinara, and Provolone, finished with a shower of freshly chopped parsley. I would return for that sandwich alone, a well-balanced bite made with local ingredients that retails for just $9.
And the pizza? It looks like a classic Sicilian, complete with sauce on top to prevent it from soaking the dough. But I found the crust to be excessively crisp throughout, missing the hint of chew that I crave. It reminded me a bit more of French-bread pizza than the best Sicilians I’ve tasted. But as a pizza in general, it is a success. Atop crunchy crust, browned and blistered cheese stretches with each bite. A simple tomato sauce blends with chopped pepperoni, if you, like me, believe that it’s not really a classic pizza without that American innovation.
I hope you’ll enjoy the current issue of Northern Virginia magazine as much as I relished working on it. And whether it’s served with a housemade wine slushy, or something a little more predictable, there’s always more pizza to explore.
22860 James Monroe Hwy., Aldie
Feature image by Alice Levitt
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