Sometimes a business name endures long after its origin is forgotten or no longer relevant. Southwest and Delta airlines, for example, have routes that bely their original regional branding. In food service, restaurants may stick with the name of an absent founder or a city of origin even if new personnel are in charge or branches in other cities have proliferated. Forno 301 is a local pizzeria and Italian restaurant that has retained its name from its opening nearly a decade ago, even though it was based on the restaurant's original address at 301 West Roosevelt Street.
Forno 301 pizza
The first home of Forno 301 at Third Avenue and Roosevelt was a building that has long since been demolished to make way for an apartment building. The current Phoenix location, which coexists with another in Scottsdale, is the ground floor of the Muse apartments. Retaining the original name makes sense not only in terms of maintaining brand identity, but also because "Forno 301" sounds a whole lot snappier than "Forno 1616," which would describe the address of Muse on Central Avenue, diagonally across from the McDowell/Central light rail station.
eggplant parmigiana
A stylish sign proclaims the Forno 301 name along the Central Avenue sidewalk, and a patio wraps around the corner, addressing both Central and McDowell. Red bike racks in the shape of Arizona provide ample opportunity to lock up nearby. The dining room is sparse with concrete floors and exposed ducts overhead, but some warmth is provided by stacks of wood for the pizza oven and an extensive selection of bottles of Italian wine suspended along the walls. Garage doors allow the indoor and outdoor seating to merge when the weather cooperates.
gnocchi with pesto
The menu remains focused on Neapolitan pizza and wood-fired Italian foods, augmented with a selection of pasta entrees, salads, and desserts. There is an open kitchen with a beehive-shaped pizza oven, one of many found around downtown Phoenix, which has become a somewhat unexpected hotbed of Neapolitan-style pies in recent years. At Forno 301, fourteen signature pizzas, nine of them with tomato sauce and five without, are offered with combinations of traditional Italian toppings, including cured meats, vegetables, herbs, and cheeses.
cavatelli with Bolognese sauce
The namesake Forno 301 pizza is the restaurant's workhorse. It's a satisfying mix of onions, mozzarella, sausage, and mushrooms over fresh tomato sauce. The Heirloom is a white pie with sliced tomato and arugula applied almost like a salad after its brief time in the oven. The Quattro Stagioni is a hearty pie topped with salty black olives, prosciutto, artichokes, and mushrooms. Meaty options include the Testosterone with prosciutto and two eggs on top, as well as the Sporcacciona with four different types of salumi: ham, bacon, salami, and sausage.
wood-fired cauliflower
As is customary with the Neapolitan style, the pies have a soupy center, a bit of char around the edge, and a chewy crust in between. To enjoy the same ingredients in a different configuration, Forno 301 offers two calzones. Like the pies, they can feed one hungry person but are best shared by two. The pizza dough also forms the basis of three varieties of panini with fillings of prosciutto, turkey, and sausage with equally generous portions. Each sandwich is cut into four quarters, and two of those will satisfy most appetites, especially when matched with a starter.
heirloom pizza
Among the appetizers are two varieties of bruschetta, one with creamy burrata, grape tomatoes, and basil, and another with prosciutto, gorgonzola, and figs. An antipasto plate features cured meats, cheese, and vegetables. Eggplant parmigiana, meatballs with spicy marinara, and roasted cauliflower with both bechamel and Bolognese sauces are all starters that repeat the kitchen's theme of wood-fired food. Standout salads include Ciopatta with fennel, endive, tomatoes, and hearts of palm over greens and Rucola with arugula leaves, pears, and almonds.
panino con tacchino
Pastas supplement the pizzas on the menu with four regular offerings, all crafted with noodles made on the premises, and a special or two each day. Offered all the time are cavatelli with a hearty meat sauce, ravioli with a simple preparation of butter and sage, fettuccine tossed in a creamy carbonara, and gnocchi dressed with pesto. Recent pasta specials listed on a chalkboard near the entrance have included fettuccine with a meat ragu, farfalle with roasted vegetables and sausage, ravioli stuffed with filet mignon, and penne with an amatriciana sauce.
bruschetta burrata cheese
Although the appetizers and entrees depend on the heat of the wood-fired oven, the dessert menu relies more on cold, creamy items. It's a tight collection of well-executed and satisfying Italian restaurant classics such as tiramisu, panna cotta, and creme brulee. The bar, which occupies a prominent place between the dining room and the patio, pours a strong selection of wines, almost all of them entirely Italian in their provenance. Italian beer, both Moretti and Peroni, is served in bottles, and three tap handles offer some draft choices of craft brews.
crème brulee
A succinct selection of cocktails also maintains an alignment with the restaurant's Italian identity. Most are light and effervescent with combinations of spirits like vodka or aperol with prosecco and fruit flavors. Forno 301's continued use of its original name, despite an address change along the way, mirrors its adherence to the traditions of Neapolitan pizza and Italian cuisine. In a section of Phoenix that is seeing rapid construction of new apartment buildings and increased density, the restaurant has become an enduring part of the neighborhood it now calls home.
1616 N Central Ave., #104, Phoenix, AZ 85004
http://www.forno301.com
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