*Sponsored Post With several years under his belt, and experience in almost every aspect of the pizza market; chef and owner Mark Bergami began designing Bergami’s with a goal to serve artistically crafted pizzas, salads, and coffee drinks. Closest Metro is Rhode Island Avenue.
We were invited down to check out the new restaurant. Using only fresh natural ingredients, the restaurant concept is interactive and allows customers to create their own flavor combinations or choose from predesigned options. Pizzas are personal-sized (15-by-7 inch) and baked to a crisp golden brown in about 2 and a half minutes. This is similar to the pizzas offered by &Pizza.
Beer and wine, in addition to soda, tea, and coffee, are also available.
Chef Mark was in house when we visited and made my lunch personally. It was fun to watch him make it right in front of you. Even though I picked from the "Chef Suggestions", he allowed me to add on or remove any items as I wanted. But I chose to just keep things as they were.
I started with the House Salad. Mesclun greens were topped with tomatoes, dried cranberries, orange slices, goat cheese, croutons, and drizzled with the house vinaigrette. The salad was large and would be great as a lunch meal in itself. I really enjoyed the cranberries and orange slices with the goat cheese. I would order this salad again, and perhaps add some chicken on top for added protein.
I also tried the Ianello pizza on a cauliflower crust. Chef Mark explained that he tried several versions of the cauliflower to get his crust just right. He starts by grating down the vegetable then adding a bit of Parmesan cheese, herbs, and egg for binding. The white pie is topped with mozzarella, shrimp, white onion, red peppers, and light spinach. The cauliflower flavor was strong, and the crust was crumbly and hard to pick up a slice with my hands, so I just used a fork to eat it. It is a different alternative for those that do not want carbs or gluten.
Being the traditionalist, Keith ordered the Goomah on regular crust. A white pizza was topped with whole milk mozzarella, goat cheese, salami, red peppers, spinach, garlic, chicken, oil pecorino, and fresh mozzarella. After coming out of the oven, he topped it with crush red pepper and Parmesan cheese. The regular crust had lots of flavor and had a great balance of crispiness and chewiness. Chef Mark commented he was proud of his regular crust, as others he's tried tend to be too thin or flavorless. Though this white pie was delicious, we were both curious what the tomato sauce versions tasted like.
All in all, Bergami's has roots in Connecticut-style pizzas and brings a relaxed approach to the Rhode Island Row neighborhood by allowing customization. There are a handful of tables for dining inside, but the personal sized boxes make for easy carry out as well. Bergami’s is open seven days a week for dine-in, carry out and delivery to the surrounding area. Breakfast pizzas with eggs and your choice of cheese and/or meat are also available starting at 6am.
Total Rating: 3.9
Food: 4, Price: 4, Service: 4, Ambience: 3, Accessibility: 5
What I ate:
House Salad
mesclun greens, tomatoes, dried cranberries, orange slices,
goat cheese, croutons, house vinaigrette
Ianello on Cauliflower Crust
white pie with mozzarella, shrimp, white onion, red peppers, light spinach
Plus Keith ate:mesclun greens, tomatoes, dried cranberries, orange slices,
goat cheese, croutons, house vinaigrette
Ianello on Cauliflower Crust
white pie with mozzarella, shrimp, white onion, red peppers, light spinach
Goomah on Regular Crust
white pizza with whole milk mozzarella, goat cheese, salami, red peppers,
spinach, garlic, chicken, oil pecorino, fresh mozzarella
