Neapolitan pizzas, the soft, pliable pies with puffy, leopard-spotted crusts, have long been a part of Adelaide’s dining scene. But the notoriously floppy slice hasn’t been the easiest or most transportable lunch option for those on the go – until now.
Pizza a portafoglio (which translates to “wallet pizza”) – folded in quarters for easy handling – is a popular pizza to down on-the-go in Naples. And it’s the star of the show at Francesca’s, a new pizza and sandwich shop by Aman Takhar, the founder of pizza-delivery service Hey Bianca (Takhar has since sold the business).
The classic woodfired Neapolitan and thick, crunchy Sicilian pizzas he’s known for are there too, alongside a selection of focaccias inspired by the ones that he and business partners Nilavan Baskaran and Rommi Driscoll would assemble for themselves for lunch at Hey Bianca. “They were so good – we used the Sicilian focaccia dough for bread,” Takhar says.
The focaccia at Francesca’s (which opened in Glenelg earlier this month) is made with 48-hour-proofed dough that’s baked in-house daily and filled with the likes of mortadella, pistachio cream, stracciatella and rocket, and smoked speck, gorgonzola and honey.
Takhar, Baskaran and Driscoll aren’t skimping on produce, which is sourced from local Italian smallgoods suppliers such as Bottega 1995, Vannella Cheese, Hahndorf Gourmet, Nino’s Meat & Smallgoods, and Tony & Mark’s.
As for the pizza a portafoglio – which is smaller (and cheaper) than a traditional pizza, and served in a paper wrapper so you can keep moving – it comes in two options: a margherita, or the Goomah, with asiago cheese, salami and hot honey.
Francesca’s
728 Anzac Highway, Glenelg
No phone
francescas.com.au
@francescas.com.au
Hours:
Mon to Thu 11am–9pm
Fri 11am–9.30pm
