Pizzeria Luca & Wine Bar

Pizzeria Luca & Wine Bar Restaurant Review:

At once retro and urbane, with its narrow layout, exposed brick walls and checkerboard floors, this Northeast Heights pizzeria has savvy to spare. While, given the name, an extensive selection of wines by the glass is no surprise, the wide range of craft beers --- including local drafts --- proves a nice touch, as do Italian sodas and by-the-book espresso. As for the pies, in a town where the sloppy, floppy disks churned out by homogeneous chains still reign, these stand out, with sturdy yet airy, crunchy-chewy crusts and quality toppings like imported prosciutto and anchovies, rapini and arugula, and crimini as well as white mushrooms. (Gluten-free and whole-wheat alternatives suit the modern diet.) Classic desserts like cannoli and tiramisu are fine, but we’d rather save that extra room for more interesting starters like spiedini (skewers) and clams sautéed in white wine and olive oil with tomatoes. The kitchen turns out a handful of pastas, too --- but beware the doggie plate: those meatballs are for patient patio-parked pups.