Coal-fired in Conway

Russo’s Italian kitchen turns up the heat on pies, pastas and flatbreads

photo

Arshia Khan

The Mulberry Pizza at Russo's Coal-Fired Italian Kitchen.

The first foray into the Natural State is certainly well placed. Just west of Interstate 40 at the U.S. 65 exit (the third if you’re coming from Little Rock), it has the advantage of quick access without having to trudge all the way into town. That is, if there aren’t a billion cars coming from the other direction, as can be the case [citation needed]. Patience is advised for turning in.

One would do well to stay patient hunting for a parking spot, too. The lot isn’t small, but the crowds swarming in just a week after the place opened its doors for the first time made it wise to take whatever was available — and even that meant a trip all the way around the building.

The good news is that the establishment seems built beyond its parking capacity. That is to say there was no wait for a table despite the crowd.

The dining room is more or less divided in half by the central namesake coal-fired oven, with dozens of tables and booths to either side and a large patio to boot. If the weather holds, expect that to become quite popular, especially since the interior of the restaurant seemed to be abnormally loud. That may have been a product of the hard tile floors and varied surfaces on wall and ceiling — or maybe just all the people. I think I mentioned it was crowded.

As to that central oven, I have to confess a certain ignorance. Brick ovens or wood-fired ovens I’ve seen, particularly in pizza circles, but the touting of coal-fired was new to me. Nevertheless, it seems to be applied to everything, from pizzas to sandwiches to the spinach and artichoke dip. All are billed as products of this oven, which I picture as powered by a man (maybe Russo?) hiding in the back in coveralls with a shovel and maybe a miner’s helmet.

Regardless of the oven, the Italian part of the name was certainly no puzzler. The menu of Russo’s, presented in booklet form, is tabbed into sections of exactly what one would expect: pizza and pasta. Of course, other sections detail starters like appetizers and salad or sandwiches and calzones and all the seafood gets lumped into a section of its own, but the bread and butter of the place are the two Ps.

On the pizza front, the offerings come in “Napoletana” thin-crust style or the thicker hand-tossed coal-fired (how else?) New York-style pies. Each has its selection of house arrangement, from the all meat to the sausage and peppers to the pesto chicken, with the New York pies having an additional build-your-own option. That includes the chance to build on a gluten-free crust, for those into that sort of thing.

For pasta, the arrangements include some 15 dishes like traditional spaghetti or lasagna, among others, along with another 11 dishes listed as house specialties. These include some of the more intricate chicken dishes (marsala and picatta, for example) and the veal. A handful of seafood dishes add shrimp, clam and even lobster to the mix (in ravioli form).

All told, it’s a pretty wide variety that does take some looking over so as not to miss anything. Thankfully, it’s not the kind of place where you feel rushed to make a decision.

THE DISH: OUR REVIEW
Mulberry pizza (medium, $15.95)
Though an initial browsing of the online menu had me leaning toward the pesto chicken pizza, a shot of this all-meat creation on Facebook won me over (it was also recommended by the server). I wasn’t disappointed. Barely brushed with sauce, this pie, thin in the middle with a poofy hand-tossed crust at the margins, lets the toppings do some lifting, and it all starts with a standout mozzarella that really comes through. Of the Italian sausage, Canadian bacon, pepperoni and beef, the sausage gave the strongest impression, an herby mix that was delicious to pick off on its own. But the combination on the whole wasn’t too shabby, either, and not as greasy as similarly topped pies. (sw)

Meatballs Pomodoro ($4.95)
Sometimes I’ll question a menu’s claim of a homemade appetizer, but in this instance I think it’s easily believed. The crumbly creations were slightly smaller than a clenched fist, but so tender as to break at the slightest touch. Inside, there seemed a touch too much oregano (or maybe basil, or perhaps both together), but all in all it went down well served in a bowl of the house’s own sweet marinara. With two per serving, it’s an easy starter to split — unless you’re trying to share with a larger party. (sw)

Greek salad (small, $4.95)
This salad met all the requirements of a Greek salad — kalamata olives, feta cheese, tomato, cucumber — and then went a step further with chunky bell pepper strips, purple cabbage and a house Chianti dressing. All of the elements worked pretty well together, especially the house dressing. It had a nice balsamic vinegar taste with a hint of Chianti bite. Overall, a nice, fresh-tasting salad. (mt)

INFO TO GO:
Location: 2490 Sanders Road, Conway
Phone: (501) 205-8369
Web: www.nypizzeria.com
Hours: 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Monday-Thursday, 11 a.m.-11 p.m. Friday-Saturday, 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Sunday
Prices: $4.95-$18.95
Alcohol: Beer and wine
In a nutshell: The new Russo’s Coal-Fired Italian Kitchen in Conway has all the staples of a modern Italian kitchen — pastas, calzones, pizzas and flatbreads. Catering to specialty diets, the menu has gluten-free and vegetarian options. It’s all served in a dining room whose centerpiece is the large coal-fired oven in the name. Though Russo’s has been open less than a month, the place already seems pretty popular in Conway with a full parking lot on a recent lunch visit.

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