By Jim Duncan CVFDude@aol.com
Redefining
pizza
 Italian
cuisine existed before tomatoes,
corn and most beans were discovered
in Mexico, but it surely didn’t
resemble contemporary Italian
cooking. Likewise, Italian-American
cuisine thrived in Des Moines
for half a century before Noah
Lacona served the town’s first
pizza. Now our yellow pages list
104 pizza outlets. Some people
might think that’s more than enough,
but not Tony Lemmo or Todd Bordenaro.
Both successful restaurateurs
recently added to those pizza
listings, yet somehow brought
something new to the table.
Lemmo’s Frank’s Pizza in Dogtown
serves four kinds of pie — salad,
cannoli, wine and beer. That’s
it. Slices are available only
during lunch hours and there is
no home delivery, a rarity in
a college setting.
“Name one great pizza place
anywhere that delivers,” Lemmo
explained, in the Socratic manner.
His hand tossed, homemade pies
came with considerable adornment
for $9 or $16. All challenge diners
a bit. Two for instance, add an
unexpected acidity kick: Mona
Lisa, crisper than others because
of its olive oil, was covered
with tomatoes marinated in balsamic
vinegar, rosemary, fresh garlic,
crimini mushrooms, kalamata olives,
soft Ricotta and hard Romano;
DiMaggio mixed sausage and pepperoni
with pickled banana peppers, red
sauce, mushrooms and mozzarella.
House roasted chickens and pesto,
two Lemmo signatures, dominated
Frank’s Soprano.
Bordo’s Eatery and Sauce has
taken over the old Garcia’s venue
with a swagger. They preserved
the Mexican themed décor
and furniture, a testament to
the durability of the Sticks brand,
but something that only a self-confident
Italian place would dare. Bordo’s
has a pedigree that justifies
confidence. Partners include a
Bordenaro and a Renda. The first
name has been synonymous with
good pizza for 30 years. The second
invokes Jenny Renda (of Aunt Jenny’s),
the supreme nana of Italian culinary
history in Des Moines. I began
by trying everything that carried
the Renda name: carmatelli, Carmen
Renda’s baked cavatelli with sausage
or meat balls, red gravy and two
kinds of cheese: superb fried
meatballs; and a meatball sandwich
in a soft unbaked bun with rich
red sauce and pellets of ricotta.
Several weeks later, this sandwich
had been upgraded, with mozzarella
instead of ricotta, a toasted
bun and two side dishes of peppers.
It’s refreshing when dishes get
better with time.
Bordo’s pizza could redefine
what locals mean by “thin crust”
and that would be a very good
thing. These pies are sensationally
thin and crisp, more so than any
in town. Several were treated
with great respect — real buffalo
mozzarella (you can buy this at
Costco now), fresh oregano, basil,
goat cheese, etc. Salad choices
included two vinaigrette dressings
(ginger-wasabi and roast tomato)
that were way out of the ordinary.
Home made ravioli were revelations
in red sauce.
Bordo’s is much more than a
pizza joint; it’s also different
things at different times. On
the two occasions when I visited,
it was impersonating a smoky sports
bar, including lots of indoor
cigar smoke. On several other
occasions, second hand smoke was
barely noticeable even though
the bar is in the middle of the
place with no wall protecting
non-smokers. The menu included
a lot of sports bar fare — onion
rings, nachos, bread sticks, dips,
wings, fingers and quesadillas.
The best appetizer was calamari
sautéed in whiskey, with
fresh spinach and tomatoes, plus
portabellas and shrimp, which
could have been omitted. The squid
itself was marvelous, whole tender
babies and a few small rings,
but the heavy flavor of portabellas
detracted.
Desserts included cannoli, for
which the filling was freshly
made, and some less interesting
outsourced cheesecakes. There
was no espresso.
Bordo’s Eatery and Sauce
1250 8th St., West Des Moines,
221-2312
Sunday - Thursday 11 a.m. - 11
p.m., Fri. - Sat. 11 a.m. - 2
a.m.
Frank’s Pizza
2314 University Ave., 369-2430
Monday -Thursday 11 a.m. - 10
p.m. Friday and Saturday 11 a.m.
- 11 p.m.
Side dish
Something Good cooks their collard
greens with smoked turkey, a healthy
surrogate that fooled me into
identifying them as ham hocks…
Deep fryers have been banned in
California schools. CV
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