Don’t you wish you could eat all of the junk foods you love and know you’re getting something good for your health, too? I certainly do, but French fries and nachos are difficult to duplicate when you’re compromising the original recipe with healthy ingredients. Though some products claim to be healthy foods that taste good, that’s rarely true. I’m open-minded but, let’s face it: a tofu burger can’t replace a fully loaded, juicy cheeseburger with a big side of perfectly-crisp fries. Pizza, on the other-hand, is like junk food but still tastes sinfully delicious, even when it’s made with healthy ingredients.
A sampling includes: the gourmet veggie topped with mozzarella, sun-dried tomatoes, fresh spinach, zucchinis, mushrooms, olives, onions, artichoke hearts, and bell peppers; the Mauiwowie has mozzarella, ham, and pineapple; the white knight has garlic white sauce, white roast chicken, white mushrooms, and white onions. Prices range from a small pie at $8.95 to $64.95 for the combo XXX-large, a whopping 28-inch pizza pie with the works.
Dining there with Santa Maria Valley winemaker and close friend Lane Tanner, we were quite pleased by the good quality food, reasonable prices, and the service. Actually, we were served by the owner and chef at this Doughboy’s Pizzeria, Deborah Bellocchi. The personable and friendly restaurateur runs the little trattoria by herself at lunch Tuesday through Thursday. She does everything from preparing the orders of her housemade foods to serving them fresh and hot from the 500-degree oven. It feels like you’re a guest in her home, but you don’t feel obligated to stay and help wash dishes. Lane and I shared two orders, which Bellocchi accommodatingly split for us.
Lane agreed to share the Stromboli, which is like a calzone. Wikipedia differentiates them this way: “Traditionally the two are distinct dishes. A common misconception is that the ingredients are the primary difference. A calzone is served with the sauce on the side and the stromboli is baked with the sauce inside.” Bellocchi will make it with any of her housemade sauces and your choice of ingredients. Lane and I chose mozzarella, sun-dried tomatoes, chicken, and fresh spinach. It looked like a hot and savory turnover with its crisp outer crust that was tender inside and quite delicious with our favored selections, quite fresh. We took half of that home, too.
My first visit, months earlier, was with another friend, Teri Bayus. She told me about Doughboy’s and met me there for lunch. We both had the killer lunch special, only $6.50 each: one giant slice of a 28-inch pizza with a choice of three toppings, a side salad, and a soda. I loved that crusty pizza dripping with melted mozzarella. Bellocchi told me that the gluten-free pizza is growing in popularity, and many people seek her out because she is the local restaurant producing it fresh. Bellocchi carved one great niche for her eatery. Like the other doughs, she makes the gluten-free in-house. And it has to be treated separately from the wheat-based doughs so there’s no chance of cross-contamination, including baking it in a different oven. Online at doughboyspizzeria.net you’ll find a gluten-free menu, among the other specials and regular daily menu.
She and her husband, Toby Bellocchi, are avid bikers and each owns their own Harley-Davidson. They regularly ride to Cold Springs and through SLO County wine country, often going on fundraisers for local charities. She caters private parties for kids or adults and business meetings. Doughboy’s is open Tuesday through Sunday; lunch is served Tuesday through Saturday. Order a pizza delivered for dinner (no lunch deliveries) and it might be Bellocchi driving up in her bright blue tuk-tuk, a three-wheel Thai taxi she bought to serve as Doughboy’s delivery cart. She’s the only one brave enough to drive it around town.
You can reach New Times’ Cuisine columnist at [email protected].
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