Pizzeria Fondi

Where: 4621 Point Fosdick Dr., Gig Harbor, 253.851.6666

Hours: 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday-Thursday, 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Friday-Saturday

Cuisine: Authentic 12-inch Neapolitan pizza, plus Mediterranean starters, salads and a tiramisu and sorbetti.

Scene: Lofty, lively space filled with families and shoppers with fast, friendly service — almost autonomous.

Drinkies: Italian wines reaching $49.95 for a Produttori Barbaresco “Torre,” a couple of micros including their own, espresso and fancy sodas

ANNOUNCER: Last month the boys swirled in three “best pizza in bhlablahblahblah” discussions. One was during Thanksgiving of all days. One was a declarative statement: If you didn’t agree that this was the best pizza ever made, you’re an idiot. And one was almost a fistfight over thin-crust-versus-thick-crust, a finger-pointing back-and-forth lively conversation. The declaration of pizza supremacy came from this paper’s co-publisher Pappi Swarner, and as it turned out, he wasn’t the idiot. The boys enjoyed his recommendation of Pizzeria Fondi in Gig Harbor.



JAKE: Pappi was right with this one. Fondi makes a really, really good slice.



JASON: Not surprising. The brainchild of Seattle based Restaurants Unlimited Inc., which gave birth to Stanley and Seaforts, as well as Palomino and Palisade. Pappi pumps Palisade in the Emerald City Magnolia neighborhood like he owns it.



JAKE: Fondi follows Palisade’s lead in regards to size. The upscale Gig Harbor pizzeria could be converted into a tired parking garage for the fancy Uptown shopping complex off Point Fosdick Drive.



JASON: It takes a towering ladder to nab the balloons off the ceiling. I think it’s too cavernous. Occasionally, the 100-seat, family-friendly joint nails an 11 on the loud meter.



JAKE: True, but the brick oven and warm earth tones bring warmth to the space. Speaking of warmth, how about the service? Fast, professional and warm.



JASON: Agreed. I’d nix the ordering system, though. The line backs out the front door. All orders are placed at the front desk before grabbing a number and picking a seat.



JAKE: Last Friday night I walked straight to the counter.



JAKE: Listen, 14 varieties of pizza, six salads, five appetizers — it’s not a quick choice. Having someone breath down my back with people freezing out the door is too much pressure. It happened on two visits.



JASON: The Tuscan white bean spread arrived tricked out with many dipping options, dressed with a murderous amount of garlic, sliced tomatoes and a scant representation of fresh mozzarella. Lovely.



JAKE: I enjoyed the Fondi Caprese — brilliant red tomatoes and thick slices of fresh mozzarella electrified by fresh basil, sparked with a pungent red wine vinaigrette. Freshness, seasonality, two or three or four good flavors, all working in concert.



JASON: I applaud Fondi’s pizza process. Sure, this Gig Harbor pizzeria doesn’t feel as if we’re sitting between Rome and Naples where it takes its name. And the guy working the ovens isn’t a rude man-child in a starched shirt who looks down my wife’s shirt at every chance, but the pizza takes me back to Italy. The Naples-style pies take full benefit from the blasting heat of those brick-dome ovens and touched with olive oil; the basil saved to the side so as not to die in the fire. It’s rare to find a pie where the cheese really does stretch, flow and cling like mozzarella is supposed to, but Fondi’s does: The cheese is molded from cheese curds by hand every morning. They also have a house-made Quattro Gatti Mozzarella Fresca.



JAKE: The Il Greco was an unashamed orgy of salami, pepperconcini, feta, olives and roasted peppers, accented with a four-cheese blend.



JASON: The Roma tomatoes on the margherita pizza were blood-red and juicy, the basil still bruised from the knife and smelling of life and licorice. The Gustoso pie held woody artichoke hearts, carmalized onions and pancetta, their weight cut by a verde sauce.



JAKE: A pie worth arguing over.



JASON: And absolutely worth the drive.

MENU

Tuscan white bean spread >> $$6.95

Fondi Caprese >> $7.50/$12.25

Matgherita pizza >> $9.95

El Greco pizza >> $11.50