DE Pizza Review: Dalmata Italiano

Rating:

Final Composite Score: 6.5 out of 8 slices ("rounded" down to 6 slices in the picture)

[Her: 6.5 out of 8 slices]

[Him: 6 out of 8 slices]

[Goodfriend Her: 6.5 out of 8 slices]

Goodfriend Him: 6.5 out of 8 slices]

Read the full "dialogue review" below this scrumptious picture of very good pizza.

Photo by author. Two of the three pizzas eaten by your correspondents and their friends at Dalmata Italiano: Spicy Boy on top and Carbonara on bottom.

Him:

Tonight’s review subject is Dalmata Italiano in Rehoboth Beach. We brought our best Delmarva friends—GoodFriendHim and GoodFriendHer [pseudonyms, of course]—for an evening of serious pizza research disguised as an ordinary social dinner. It wasn’t their first pizza of the weekend, but maybe, just maybe, it was their best. We’ll find out.

Her:

That’s a bold statement. We’ll see if it holds up.

Him:

Before we get to the pizza, a quick note about the place itself. I thought the service was really good. Our waiter was polite, attentive, and quick. A very nice young man, and the food came out quickly.

But I should also add that this is the first time as an adult I’ve eaten pizza in a totally empty restaurant. Sunday night, and no one was home, or maybe everyone was home. That might explain the service, but it might’ve been among the most personal pizza services we’ve ever had.

GoodFriendHim:

Yeah, totally empty. Kind of eerie, but also great—like our own private pizzeria.

Her:

Or like everyone else knew something we didn’t!

Him:

(Laughs.) That’s possible. But the service? Everyone agrees—excellent?

All:

Absolutely [and other generally positive grunts, snorts, and other noises].

GoodFriendHim:

All right, I’ll start and I want to start with the crust. We ordered three pizzas—the Good Old Cheese, the Spicy Boy, and the Carbonara. The crust on all three was consistently good. Thin, crunchy, with just a little burn on the edge, which I like. That char gives it flavor.

The Cheese Pizza, though, had a little too much sauce, and the cheese they used tasted sharp—maybe not enough salt.

Her:

That’s for the cheese pizza?

GoodFriendHim:

Yep. We also had the Spicy Boy and the Carbonara. The Carbonara had little dollops of whipped ricotta on top—really creamy and filling. Same crunchy crust, which was great. But again, maybe too much sauce.

Him:

You’re a tough grader. Or maybe you just needed another New Fashioned cocktail to get the generosity to kick in.

GoodFriendHim:

(Laughs.) Could be. The other thing is that the pizza was good, but not cheap.

Him:

Those fourteen-inch pies were more expensive than some full-size pizzas elsewhere.

Her:

Yeah, I think the cheese was about twenty dollars, and the others were twenty-eight. Definitely on the pricey side.

GoodFriendHer:

Right, about twenty for the cheese, twenty-eight for the others. But to their credit, there’s a big selection of interesting gourmet pizzas on the menu—lots of variety.

Now, about that Spicy Boy. I love spice, but this was too much. Whatever they used for the heat just overwhelmed everything else. I couldn’t even finish the slice, and yes, I left the crust. I know you noticed.

Her:

I did. You left a lot of crust.

GoodFriendHer:

I’m not a crust person! But I will say, all the crusts here were thin and crispy, and that’s probably my favorite kind. The cheese didn’t wow me—it was fine—but the Carbonara pizza had a ton of flavor, even if it was salty. I like salty, but if you don’t, it might be too much. Still, it felt like a whole meal.

Him:

Yeah, the Carbonara was definitely the most interesting of the three. So many flavors and textures going on. The Cheese Pizza, on the other hand, was just okay. It needed salt, which usually means the cheese or sauce wasn’t quite right.

Her:

I dissent. I loved the Cheese Pizza. That was my favorite. I liked the cheese, I liked the sauce, and I loved the crust—crispy and chewy. Second place goes to the Spicy Boy, mostly for those thick-cut pepperoni slices, which I’m going to steal off the leftovers later. I didn’t love the Carbonara—it just didn’t have enough flavor. And honestly, the Spicy Boy wasn’t all that spicy, so I don’t know why it’s called that. But I’d give the Cheese and Spicy Boy a higher score than the Carbonara.

Him:

Okay, so you’re leading with the Cheese Pizza. Interesting. For me, the crust was the standout of the whole night. Whatever oven they’re using—it might be wood-fired—it gives great flavor. Salty, crunchy, not brittle. Really thin, but still strong.

Her:

I think this crust might actually be better than Touch of Italy’s. [Gasps, groans, and various other sounds of shock and surprise from the others.] Oh, it definitely is.

Him:

Wow! Hot take. We love Touch of Italy.

GoodFriendHim:

No, she’s right. That crust was excellent—crisp and chewy at the same time.

GoodFriendHer:

Even I liked the crust, and I usually leave it behind.

Good FriendHim:

The cheese, though—it wasn’t your typical mozzarella. It had a sharper bite.

Her:

That’s why I liked it. It felt like really generous cheese coverage, not those delicate little circles of fresh mozzarella that disappear in two bites. But it didn’t have that “pull” you get from real mozzarella, those long strings of cheese when you lift a slice out of the pie.

Him:

That’s what I love.

GoodFriendHim:

I think it was a blend. Probably mozzarella and something stronger, maybe fontina.

Her:

Bingo. The menu says fontina and mozzarella on the Cheese, and the Spicy Boy adds provolone. That explains the extra bite. More cheese is always the right answer.

Him:

I’ll say the sauce was flavorful, but not very distinctive. No bold tomato flavor, no real spice, just . . . sauce. But the pizzas were beautifully constructed. Nothing slid off. The cheese stayed put. You didn’t have toppings flying over your head. You didn’t have to break out a fork and knife to scoop cheese and sauce into your mouth. Structurally, these pizzas were sound.

GoodFriendHim:

Yeah, totally agree. Even the thin ones didn’t fall apart. And the Carbonara, especially—it looked light, but was really filling.

Him:

Exactly. The ricotta on top added fat, and the sauce was rich and creamy. My memory of the last time we ate at Dalmata several years ago is that I was still a little hungry when we left. Not tonight. The four of us couldn’t even finish three pizzas.

GoodFriendHer:

That’s saying something. We can eat. The Carbonara really filled me up.

Her:

I still can’t believe how thin it was for how heavy it felt. It’s like they figured out how to make a crust carry more weight.

Him:

(Laughs.) Pizza engineering! But we do have to talk about price again. Twenty-plus dollars for a fourteen-inch pizza is steep. I get that you’re paying for designer pizza, but it’s definitely not a “Tuesday night after work” pizza place.

GoodFriendHim:

More of a “bring friends and split everything including the bill” kind of place.

GoodFriendHer:

Exactly. A special-occasion pizza.

Him:

Okay, time to disclose our scores. One overall number for the restaurant—no separate grades for each pie. Remember, we are grading on a scale from one slice to eight slices.

Her:

Fine. I’m going with six-and-a-half. Great crust, good cheese, but the Carbonara dragged the average down.

GoodFriendHer:

Same for me. Six-and-a-half feels right. Loved the crust, liked the Carbonara, didn’t love the spice overload.

GoodFriendHim:

I’ll give it a six-and-a-half too. Really good pizza, but a few things off and a little pricey for what it was.

Him:

I’m going with a six. It was good, but not quite great. There were moments I loved and others that didn’t quite land. Speaking for the pizza purists, bring back the mozz.

GoodFriendHer:

I wouldn’t order the Cheese again, but I’d definitely go back for one of the specialty pizzas.

Him:

Yeah, the toppings make the difference here. It’s not a place for plain pies—you’ve got to go big.

Her:

And maybe buy more beer next time.

Him:

Universal advice. So, three scores of six-and-a-half slices, and one score of six slices—I am going to round that down and call it an even six out of eight slices.

GoodFriendHim:

Agreed.

GoodFriendHer:

Agreed.

Him:

All right, that’s our review of Dalmata Italiano. Great friends, great crust, great night—and pizzas that sparked a surprising amount of debate and fullness, but maybe not quite enough joy.

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