5D5M #4, Our Regular Savior: Kentia Pizzeria

I feel somewhat bad about putting Kentia pizzeria into the Five Days, Five Meals schedule. Not because it isn’t a worthy meal-getting-place, but because we go there so often I don’t want to be shorting it by putting it in the midst of other eats. Maybe I’ll just need to do another Kentia post (my pics aren’t the finest). We first tried Kentia, which is in Umbertide, somewhat reluctantly, way back when pals Keith and Tasha were visiting and we all needed a quick bite. See, Kentia is (mainly) a takeout place, with just a few barstools. And when there are so many good sit-down pizza spots, why would we try a takeout place unless we were desperate for a snack on the run? That first trip was a revelation under a green awning (Kentia has a big green awning viewable for blocks). A different style of pizza (sometimes called "pizza al taglio"), Kentia brings out big square sheets of pizza, and then you point out how much you want, and then it’s sold by weight. The pizzas tend to be crisp, without a sloppy mess of toppings, but with quality, fresh ingredients. That would be enough to have us stopping in here and there, but what brings us back even more then “here and there,” is the combination of the pizza and the welcoming, friendly atmosphere and staff. It’s just a friendly place, with pictures of pizza and family on the wall:

Even the spices are smiling:

Especially when the pizza comes  out hot from the oven—so hot that it quickly steams up the glass-topped counter:

This trip, we both had “slices” (by this I mean: big squares of pizza) of mushroom with a white sauce. We took them to go (as we usually do—there’s something incredibly fun to me of taking them in the car) after telling the always-charming counterman (and owner from what I gather) we wanted them cut, which means he folds them up to make a pizza sandwich:

Genius. Another dandy aspect of Kentia? Two slices (about four inches by seven or thereabouts) and a Fanta orange soda for 4 euros. Unbelievable. I wish I could somehow convince him to open a Kentia in Seattle, cause there’s nothing like it--and I’m sure gonna miss it.

*See more Italian restaurants: Capponi, Nestor's,Nonna Gelsa, Le Capannine di Sommavilla, Calagrana, Trattoria Il Saraceno, L Enoteca Wine Club, Mastro Dante, Bar Fizz, Da Cesari, al Frantoio, La Balestra, Lo Strattoio, Mencuccio, La Fortezza

*See all Italian restaurants