al forno was one of the first restaurants outside of the chez panisse orbit that really captured my imagination. buster holmes in new orleans was a favorite but it was pretty much a soul food place & not really inventive, just damned good. like mama lo's in gainesville & mother's there in new orleans too.
i never ate at al forno. i bought the cookbook for the restaurant when it came out(1991)& i was still at the outrigger. i couldn't do most of the recipes because of p'cola's lack of produce(you couldn't even get leaf lettuce back then)& ingredients. like truffled eggs, the IDEA of a grilled pizza stuck w/me. johanne killeen & george germon's idea of grilling pizza dough over a hardwood grill was mind-blowing to me. i cannot tell you why i never tried it until now. i will say it worked perfectly & was a perfect memorial day dinner. the pizzas were topped w/grilled onions & portobello mushrooms w/fontina cheese & garlicy red sauce w/fresh mozzarella & basil.
for a real treat, the cats decided to spend the morning in bed w/ann. she had a good weekend.
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