Cugino Forno, Winston-Salem, North Carolina

Ah, here’s another guest post from our newest Senior Correspondent, Chris Heim! This one is from Winston-Salem, home of Wake Forest University, the excellent Real Q, and a great regional breakfast delicacy at Breakfastime Anytime. Actually two regional delicacies. There also, we now learn, is a top pizza place. Here’s his report —

Maryann and I recently made another trip to Winston-Salem to visit our daughter, Alison, at college. On a weekend full of family fun and good meals, we found ourselves a bit unsure what we wanted to do for lunch on Sunday before hitting the road for the trip home. Alison suggested we revisit Cugino Forno, a pizzeria we had enjoyed on Family Weekend back in September at the recommendation of her roommate. We all liked our first visit, so off we went.

We found street parking a couple of blocks away and ambled over to the steps that descend to an outdoor concrete patio that abuts Cugino, its neighboring brewery, Incendiary, and a large patio area with picnic tables to complement what already appears to be ample indoor seating inside the restaurant.

That’s a Sunday morning photo of the setting in what used to be a power plant for RJ Reynolds tobacco. To give a better sense, here’s a Facebook photo of the place.

Upon entering, we were greeted at the counter

and began negotiating our order for the day amongst ourselves. We quickly decided to try something different this time: an Americano (featuring pepperoni, San Marzano tomato, buffalo mozzarella, basil and garlic).

Having received our order number, our next decision was on where to set up camp. Though on our previous visit we were able to sit on the outdoor patio and enjoy beers from Incendiary along with our pizza, we decided to remain inside this time because the weather was not as friendly. So we walked to the other side of the restaurant where we had plenty of choices as to where to sit.

A short time later, our pizza arrived at our table. We were not disappointed. The thin pepperoni slices contained the perfect amount of spice and were not overly oily. The cheese and sauce were delicious and ample, in perfect balance, and not overwhelming. The charred basil added a nice touch. The soft but crispy crust was airy around the perimeter and thin underneath, but it supported the toppings without becoming saturated.

As a known toppings guy, I was intrigued to see their pizza toppings bar. So before I dug in, I checked out the possibilities.

Though everything they had there was tempting (especially the spicy oil!) I opted for crushed red pepper, grated parmesan, and oregano. After adding these items to my slices, I decided that this needed to be a fork-and-knife eating experience. I think this was the right move.

We were so pleased with this second experience that we ordered an additional pizza, a margarita D.O.P, to go.

We left half with Alison to take to her dorm room, and Maryann and I put the other half in a cooler so that we could enjoy it when we got home from our trip. They also have a “Grab n’ go” pizza freezer as a different kind of takeout option. [ed. I don’t think I’ve ever ordered a pizza to go after finishing one. Respect.]

With reasonable prices and six locations (five in North Carolina and one not far from us in Frederick, Maryland), I have a strong inkling that we will be back at Cugino Forno before too long. I highly recommend reading the story of the three Turkish cousins (Cugino Forno translates to “cousin oven”) who launched this operation after years of researching Neapolitan-style pizza, including months spent in Naples. And it culminates with their opening of their very first location in Greensboro, NC. How much more authentic can you get than eating a pizza with 80% of its ingredients sourced from Italy in a 900° oven imported from Naples and containing stone from Mount Vesuvius? I suppose for the mere cost of flights to Italy, rental cars, and a hotel it could be done. But for my money, this delightful pizzeria based in North Carolina will do just fine!

Nice! The pizzas look delicious. You expect to find lots of pizza places near a university, but you can end up kissing a lot of frogs before you find a prince. Thanks to Chris, you can skip the amphibian osculation. And isn’t that a great space! Industrial is one thing, but this … ! I look forward to more reports from Chris about places to eat in Winston-Salem. And don’t forget to grab a pizza or two at Cugino Forno.

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