Cristino's Culinary Fire Burns Hot

CLEARWATER - Anyone who cranks out more than a hundred pizzas on a Friday night is doing their part to keep the community well-fed. Anyone who cooks them the way they do at Cristino's deserves a traditional Neapolitan toast.

This little gem of a restaurant on Fort Harrison Avenue (blink and you miss it) specializes in thin-crust pizzas cooked in a coal-fired oven. The technique is similar to our 600-degree convection grill at home: A blistering heat sears in flavor within minutes and lends a light char to the crust.

We have no intention of getting into a pepperoni fight with pizza purists, but we know Cristino's makes a product far superior to the gooey concoctions cranked out by the chains. The restaurant also takes pride in everything from its manicotti to mushroom salad, all served up in a charming space not much bigger than a walk-in closet.

Cristino's was opened earlier this year by three Italian-born, Brooklyn-raised brothers, and tongues quickly wagged in approval. Here was a tiny local restaurant with an appealing menu, fresh ingredients, friendly servers and a digestible bill in the end. On cool nights, diners can move outside and sit under umbrellas on the brick patio.

On two visits, we enjoyed the grass-roots flavor of the food and atmosphere, and were pleased with the size of servings - two entrees large enough to provide full dinners the following night.

Pizzas pop from the hot oven as 12-inch personals or more filling 16-inchers. The kitchen cooks up just four - Margherita, Marinara, Bianca and Quattro Formaggi - but diners can tailor them to taste with a dozen extra toppings. The coal-burning blast furnace finishes off a pizza in five minutes.

We opened one visit with the simple but rich and flavorful Bianca, the ricotta and mozzarella topped with aromatic basil leaves. Garlic Shrimp sauteed in white wine make a delicious first-bite appetizer, and the Calamari Fritti has far more flavor than the generic offerings of so many other restaurants.

Our only disappointing appetizer was the Caprese, made from cardboard-style mozzarella and tasteless supermarket tomatoes. Better options are the mixed-variety Mesclun lettuce and grilled mushrooms; assorted grilled veggies in olive oil; or the house-specialty Panzerotti, a dough-pocket stuffed with cheese and red sauce.

Cristino's serves a very good Pollo Contadina, a savory dish that combines garlic-sauteed vegetables with chunks of chicken and sausage. We also must praise the delicious Fusilli Bolognese, the pasta picking up the subtle flavors of the homemade tomato-meat sauce (for good measure, we ordered an extra helping).

Another favorite is the Risotto Primavera, the Gorgonzola and steamed vegetables perfectly married into the rich and creamy rice. One of the restaurant's most popular items is the Salmone agli Agrumi, the baked fish served on a bed of baby spinach and enhanced by an orange sauce.

No dinner here should finish without gelato for dessert, whether a velvety hazelnut tiramisu or the flavorful coconut. For a restaurant boasting authentic Italian roots, Cristino's comes up short on a wine list that includes only a generic Cabernet, Merlot and Pinot Grigio.

DINING REVIEW

Cristino's Coal Oven Pizza

BOTTOM LINE: Handcrafted pizzas, pastas and paninis

WHERE: 1101 S. Fort Harrison Ave., Clearwater

HOURS: 10:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 10:30 a.m. to 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday, noon to 9 p.m. Sunday

CREDIT CARDS: All major

RESERVATIONS: Yes

CHILDREN'S MENU: Can accommodate

ALCOHOL: Wine and beer

WHEELCHAIR ACCESS: Yes, but limited

PRICE: Entrees range from $6.75 to $15.50

CALL: (727) 443-4900