Yes! And it's not Southern, It's Italian. Well, Southern Italian, if you want to be pedantic about it. I am so there ...
Boombozz Pizza & Taphouse to release the Montanara, Louisville’s first and only authentic Italian fried pizza
LOUISVILLE, Ky.—Boombozz Pizza & Taphouse, a six-unit gourmet pizza and craft brew concept with outlets here, in Indianapolis and in Scottsdale, Ariz., is introducing a Neapolitan-style fried pizza dubbed the Montanara. Not to be confused with deep-fried state fair fried creations, the authentic Italian pizza features a flash-fried crust that’s sauced, topped with fresh mozzarella a single topping and baked until crispy and golden.
A son of Italian immigrants, Palombino first encountered Montanara-style pizza during a 2007 visit to Naples, home to his ancestors. The crust’s light and airy texture first surprised the award-winning pizza maker and then hooked him.
“The flavor and texture profiles differences are striking because you’re thinking, ‘It’s fried, it should be heavy,’ but it’s not at all,” said Palombino. “What I watched them do was stretch ordinary pizza dough thinly and then fry it in peanut or palm oil very quickly, just until it puffed up. The flavor was surprisingly nutty. It was an experience to have it that first time.”
Inspired by that first taste, Palombino set out to perfect his own version in the kitchen of the BoomBozz restaurant in Crescent Hill.
“I wound up spending most of a day testing and tasting it,” Palombino said. “Then we spent almost a week letting customers try it and getting their feedback. It got the most excited response of anything I’ve ever tested that way.”
Interestingly, Montanara, when roughly translated, means “a mountain topped by marinara.” The BoomBozz version, just as Palombino discovered them in Italy, is flat, topped with San Marzano tomato sauce, fresh mozzarella, fresh basil and customers’ choice of a single topping. To add even one more topping, Palombino said, risks overwhelming the delicate crust.
Each Montanara is a single-serving 8-inch pizza and will be sold for $8.99. Locally, it will be added to the menu at all BoomBozz locations except for the J-Town pizzeria, which doesn’t have a fryer.
“We want to generate some buzz around the Montanara’s introduction, so we’re giving away 50 of them at each BoomBozz on October 22,” Palombino said. “There might be a little education curve when it comes to introducing fried pizza, so we want our customers to have no reservations about trying it. We know they’ll immediately see what all the excitement is about.”
About BoomBozz Pizza &Taphouse: Founded in 1998 in Louisville, Ky., by restaurant concept developer Tony Palombino, Tony Boombozz Pizza made headlines by garnering numerous awards and national recognition such as “Best Pizza,” and “Pizza of the Year,” at the prestigious International Pizza Expo, held annually in Las Vegas. In 2010, Palombino refined and renamed his concept BoomBozz Pizza & Taphouse to include a broader menu and an emphasis on craft beer. Sticking to the concept’s pizza heritage, his gourmet pies are still winning national recognition. In 2006, BoomBozz Pizza & Taphouse was named one of “The Nation’s 10 Best Pizzerias” by Southwest Airlines magazine, and, most recently, the BoomBozz Pizza Pollotate was recognized as one of “America’s Best Pizzas” by Food Network Magazine. To learn more about Boombozz Pizza &Taphouse, visit http://www.boombozz.com.
