Pizza

We’ve all had cold pizza for breakfast, or if you haven’t – I’m looking at you, Deborah Leipziger
– some misplaced social delicacy has gotten in the way. I get it: the congealed cheese, the soggy
crust, the sad mushrooms and olive looking back at you as though you bear all blame for their
predicament. And the hardened grease, usually tinted pink from the tomato sauced or pepperoni
drippings! I actually love it all. Of course, I never order a pizza just to have it cold in the
morning – I’m not a barbarian! – but if I have the choice to leave a slice overnight for breakfast,
I won’t hesitate.

But what about fresh-baked pizza for breakfast? Most pizza places in the United States don’t
open until lunch, or if they do open for breakfast they make purely breakfast pizzas, with
scrambled eggs and home fries on top. I would try it, on a dare, but then I will try anything.
Riccio Cucina break these norms. (This link takes you to their Instagram site; their web page is
still under construction, as they are too busy baking.) Deb and I came across this glorious hole-
in-the-wall wandering around Vila Nova Conçeicao. Rua Baltazar de Veiga, parallel to the main
drag Afonso Braz, has become a gourmet ghetto. We toured the local bakeries as we wandered
the neighborhood and bookmarked Riccio Cucina for a later visit. It took until our last day to
actually get there; now we look forward to going back next time we’re in Sao Paulo.
Their small display case has room for three pizzas, plus some other savory treats. The morning
we visited they had mushroom, roasted pepper, and the pizza of the day, which is always more
like a pie, with crust both top and bottom. They cut their rectangular pizzas into twelve slices,
each big enough for a light meal. They also had a leek and artichoke quiche that they kindly cut a
slice of for us; they usually only sell half and whole quiches. It being breakfast, we also had
coffee. They made an exquisite Brazilian cappuccino, thick with melted chocolate that blended
smoothly into the espresso and steamed milk.

When I taste a pizza I always rate it on a triple scale: the crust, the sauce, and the topping. Riccio
got top marks on the first two and the only demerit they received on the topping was that I
wanted more. More mushrooms, more cheese, more peppers. We sat outside in the dappled
sunshine savoring their creations and admiring the flowering trees above us. We enjoyed it all so
much that after we went in and bought various other goodies for the trip home. The people at
Riccio Cucina love what they do, a love we could taste in every bite.