Two words: Lardo pizza. Or pig-fat pizza.
Fresh slices of house-cured lardo on top of a wood-fired pizza. Toss on a few tomatoes and you’ll never look at another piece of mushroom and pepperoni quite the same way again. And it’s just one of the devilish pizzas at Dino Bugica’s pizzeria, Diavola.
Diavola Pizzeria and Salumeria a bit of destiny for the former Santi chef who’s made his name as a top salumist in the North Bay. Bugica has a passion for pig — house-curing everything from prosciutto and salumi to his own sausage and lardo right on the property. If you stroll through the back gardens, you might even trip over a pig skull or two, an homage to his porcine pals.
With Santi’s reputation for higher-end Italian secured, Bugica decided to branch out into a simpler “cucina povera” (the simplest of kitchen foods) next door — pizza, antipasti, sandwiches and an entire case of his fresh salumi’s for take-out. It’s just the sort of quick-bite spot that the northernmost end of the Alexander Valley/Dry Creek region was in desperate need of.
Located just steps from the former Santi (now Catelli’s) Diavola’s (which means devilish in Italian) menu includes a selection of
antipasti (a seafood plate with squid, shrimp, mussels and clams; house made burrata; local tomatoes with gorgonzola and a vegetable plate) along with nine wood-fired pizzas that range from a simple zucchini flower and buffalo mozzarella ‘Margherita’ to a Ligurian clam and herb pizza or caper, anchovy and hot pepper pizza. The aptly-named Diavola pizza is topped with N’duja (a spicy Calabrian salami), arugula an Stracchino cheese.
For lunch, there are also salads and pannini, along with a full wine list featuring local and Italian wines.
Prepare for a bit of sticker shock. Prices for pizzas range from $$12.50 to a hefty $17 for the clam pizza — and we’re not talking 16-inchers here. Antipasti, like the house-cured prosciutto and seafood are priced between $12.75 and $14.75. It’s steep for an average pizzeria, but not out of line for the kind of quality and expertise that Bugica should be bringing to the table. I’ve long been a fan of his salumi, and frankly, for lardo pizza, BiteClub would be willing to pay, well, at least $14.
Diavola Pizzeria and Salumeria, 21021 Geyserville Ave., Geyserville, 707.814.0111. Open for lunch and dinner, 11:30am to 9pm Wednesday through Monday. Closed Tuesday.
We went with friends on Saturday, our third time, their first.The restaurant was busy, nice to see in this economic downturn, they told us about 20 min. wait, it was only about 10 minute. First course, they had a salad and we chose the Oxtail and Marrow appetizer, delicious!! We also ordered two pizzas, one was the Sonja and the marscapone cheese was delightful. Our pizza had sausage and a little kick which we all enjoyed. The service was very good, our server had to try and open an old bottle of wine my DH brought, he was up to the challenge and was finally successful, and anyone who has tried to open an older bottle will appreciate his task. We would recommend this place to anyone who likes a small town atmosphere and good food.
Posted By: sideshow (12/08/2008 6:39:01 AM)
Comment: Love it! I have been there 4 times now and have made my way through a lot of the menu. Everything is phenomenally fresh and the flavors are perfectly balanced. The panini on the lunch menu are fantastic, creative, bursting with flavor, and big enough to take a little home with you. Pizzas are as close to authentic Italian pizza as I have had in the US. Wood oven, thin crust, simple construction, and the pizza Sonja is just like my favorite pizza, the pizza margherita con prosciutto from Pizzeria Sibella in Milano. (although note that this is authentic Italian pizza, not American pizza – if you want it loaded up with cheese and meat maybe you should go to pizza hut)
Posted By: Food Fan (03/08/2008 4:40:41 PM)
Comment: Ate at Diavola the other night. Had high hopes, but was more than a bit disappointed. Pizzas are expensive for what you get. Good quality and OK taste, but very little meat on them. Not even one bite per slice. A friend also went and tried to get additional meat even for additional price, but no go. They refused to change or modify anything. I guess if you think you know more than your customer about what they want, then don’t listen to their needs and wants. Wine list is limited and wait staff is unfamiliar with wine in general and these wines, in particular, which is sad. Yes, the bar is gone. Ambiance is lacking. Maybe time will help, but unless someone just had to eat there, I doubt that I would hurry back. Rosso and others do it better and are better values.
Posted By: Steve (11/07/2008 5:00:05 PM)
Comment: “…fresh salumi’s…” ?? (1) Apostrophe’s do not make plural’s. (2) “Salumi” is already the plural of salume.
Posted By: George (11/07/2008 2:52:19 PM)
Comment: it’s “Diavola”, not “Diavola’s”.
Posted By: Ludafisk (10/07/2008 6:49:39 AM)
Comment: Thank you Wojamo. Enough Mushroom Man already, put it to bed. Has anyone eaten at Diavola yet? Is the long bar still in place?
Posted By: garliccrouton (09/07/2008 6:15:43 PM)
Comment: mushroom man just gave me a headache – I’m with Wojamo!!!
Posted By: CraigClement (09/07/2008 12:43:37 PM)
Comment: I can’t wait to try this place. Santi is by far one of the best restaurants I have ever eaten at. Amazing food. I am sure that Diavola is going to be equally awesome in its own way.
Posted By: Peter (09/07/2008 12:34:10 PM)
Comment: Salami is a type of salumi.
Posted By: big d (09/07/2008 12:04:28 PM)
Comment: call me stupid but what’s the difference between salami and salumi?
Posted By: DMac (09/07/2008 12:02:22 PM)
Comment: Mushroom Man – there are collections agencies. Have you tried to collect your debt professionally? I agree, keep this blog food related not business, there’s enough of that in the rest of the paper.
Posted By: kainoa (08/07/2008 5:25:48 PM)
Comment: it’s both unprofessional, AND inappropriate to solicit payment of debts on a local food blog. i’m with wojamo. comments that aren’t actually comments don’t belong here. heather! exercise your ability to edit!
Posted By: mushroom man (08/07/2008 3:54:32 PM)
Comment: tried quietly to get paid several times with no success so why not here. Rochelle if he owed you, what? have him arrested for writing a bad check? not for me.p.s. not good shrooms but great ones G. why is this one lower than the first? key cars? not my way is it yours?they are better than good… comm one. i buypermits, license, and pay taxes. all legit. has anyone smelled me? come on comm one thats first grader talk, to you kill m.m. calm down, less coffee. paul. you dont need to spell to gather a great product and why didnt you correct the chanterells why you were spelling for us ? pete. yes i work hard. sometimes 16 hrs a day. thanks for the support. randy l. thanks to you also.
Posted By: Cheryl (08/07/2008 11:30:03 AM)
Comment: Just called Diavola’s, and to clarify, they are open daily for lunch and dinner, closed Tuesdays, except for today, grand opening day, Tuesday, July 8 — they’re open for dinner only, no lunch. Being a huge fan of Santi, we can’t wait to try Diavola’s.
Posted By: Wojamo (08/07/2008 11:11:12 AM)
Comment: Can we all take a vote here and suggest to Heather that comments should be limited to ones having to do with the dining experience and food at local restaurants? This “Mushroom Man” stuff is getting a bit ridiculous and making it less appealing to read this blog. All in favor?
Posted By: Randy Lewis (08/07/2008 8:49:24 AM)
Comment: If Randy Lewis, chef of the year, was also deadbeat of the year and owed you $800 you’d want your money too. And I for one appreciate Mushroom Man letting me know what it’s like to do business with Randy.
Posted By: Frida (07/07/2008 6:48:48 PM)
Comment: what is up with all of these posts? I am confused…
Posted By: Frida (07/07/2008 6:48:23 PM)
Comment: what is up with all of these posts? I am confused…
Posted By: pete (07/07/2008 12:39:00 PM)
Comment: Props to mushroom man. He is working guy like the rest of us. He got stiffed on over $800. Really, what would you do after continually reading how great Randy is? I can’t afford to walk away from money like that. Maybe all of you can.
Posted By: Paul (07/07/2008 10:05:09 AM)
Comment: How can you call yourself a Mushroom Man when you can’t even spell porcini? BTW, Diavola looks excellent and we can expect great things with the team from Santi running the show.
Posted By: Kill mushroom man (07/07/2008 7:49:51 AM)
Comment: I hope all mushrooms dry and die so you dont ever get paid. Loser
Posted By: Communist One (07/07/2008 7:48:05 AM)
Comment: Mushroom Man shut Up! Stop tripping out and pick something you grow instead of steal from us taxpayers land! TGake a shower too! Has anyone smelled him?
Posted By: g (05/07/2008 1:08:16 PM)
Comment: that has to be the lowest blog I’ve ever seen from the mushroom guy… how sick… talk about a sucker puncher.. i beat he keys cars too…. if someone doesn’t pay you don’t do business with them, your choice! don’t take cheap shots! good mushrooms or not your ethics stink!
Posted By: Rochelle (05/07/2008 10:36:59 AM)
Comment: how tacky mushroom man, to use a public blog to charge a customer and acknowledge another’s credit history. You better have some pretty good mushrooms! Cause if you don’t I definitly would not want to do any business with you.
Posted By: mushroom man (05/07/2008 9:15:39 AM)
Comment: congrats to santi and the new places. i hope that my mushrooms had something to do with your success. like to try some of my chantrelles or porcinni on the pizza.thanks for always paying promptly. p.s. if you happen to know Randy Lewis, chef of the year, can you let him know my address so he pay also.
Posted By: crablover (04/07/2008 10:48:24 PM)
Comment: i’m confused. you say it’s opening on the 8th. also that it’s closed on tuesdays.