Cane Rosso ~ DFW chain: Fort Worth, Texas

As of 11/29/24 there are 9 locations in the DFW area.

Latest visit: Jan 2018 (Fort Worth - Magnolia)

First visit: Jul 2016 (Fort Worth - Magnolia)

Since we've last been it appears Cane Rosso has taken the additional step to be certified. We made a bit of fun about Campania when they did that (and subsequently lost it - and now are closed). Anyway, it's one way to draw patrons to your business, so whatever works...

As our waiter stated right off, this is "knife and fork pizza". I may have mentioned this before, but while still in my 20s in the late 80s through the mid 90s, the RJG was an avid European backpacker, taking a full month off nearly every year to explore the continent, both west and east. Those were heady days, as the Fall of the Wall spurred on a most exciting environment everywhere. When it came to lunch or dinner, one of the more satisfying meals, on a backpackers budget mind you, was that of the Italian pizza. They were uniformly excellent, and cheap (usually in the vicinity of $5 back then). They were knife and fork pizzas, and whether you were in Norway or the Ukraine, rich or poor, the pizza was superb, and filling. Cane Rosso is that pizza. But taken to the next level with artisan ingredients, and of course the specially made coal oven that they fire up to 900 degrees (getting up to cremation temperatures are we? Not saying they put dead bodies in there or anything...). We split a Zoli, which contains hot soppressata, basil, and "local sausage". The latter sounds funny to me. Locally made sausage or locally sourced sausage makes sense, but local sausage? It's a Union made up of sausages! Anyway, the soppressata is in effect their version of pepperoni, except it's way better. Much spicier and flavorful and absolutely fantastic on pizza. The "local" sausage is crumbled, and not as distinguished as I'd hoped, but it was still very good. The basil is fresh, like you'd get at a Thai restaurant. Most of their pizzas feature homemade mozzarella, and hand crushed San Marzano tomatoes imported from Italy. Sauce, cheese, and crust are the key ingredients to any great pizza, and it's here that Cane Rosso really shines. They have a great formula, can't miss really, and is very satisfying. We did ask afterwards if they can make the pizza a tad crispier. The answer was no, because it would burn.

I think this last point is important. Occasionally you'll see this as a complaint (not crisp). Mrs. RJG is one of them. She's not a big fan of this style of pizza to be honest. It's not for everyone. But according to the "rules of getting certified", that's how it's made.

The pizza is 14 inches so perfect to split... as long as you also split a salad too! A small salad is gigantic, about the same size as a "small" at Grimaldi's. At $6 to $7, it is an absolute bargain. A large salad, BTW, feeds 5 to 6. We had The Larry, which was superb. I tend to bristle when I see the phrase "field greens", or what I frequently refer to as "backyard salad". However, these field greens were fresh and delicious. The balsamic vinaigrette is a very high grade, as is the shaved parmesan. The tiny rolled Italian meats only add to the greatness. All in all just fantastic, and I'd love to explore the menu further. They need to come to NE Tarrant! And not Southlake either (there's plenty there already)... Cane Rosso also features Italian appetizers, pastas, sandwiches, and desserts. But pizza is why you come here.

In following modern protocol, Cane Rosso is heavily committed to craft beer. Yaay! They have many local taps, as well as a full selection of cans/bottles. I tried on tap one beer from Panther Island and Martin House, both Fort Worth breweries, and both were beers that you cannot find in bottles or cans. And of course, they have a full wine list as well. The Mrs. had the same IPA I did from Martin House (it's a different hop from their canned version).

Cane Rosso is perfectly located on Magnolia, and fits the neighborhood to a T. It's on the eastern end of the strip of restaurants lining the Fairmount neighborhood's most famous road. It appears to be a new structure, and has that post modern industrial 1950's meets the 2010's look. Very spacious, welcoming, and open. They also have patio seating, but you have to be a masochist to do that this time of year. Oh, and they have a special space for a large group, which is good for noise control. Parking is in the back on the east side of the restaurant. Or if that's full, there is free garage parking about 5 minutes away by foot (one block over to the west, and then go north).

Cane Rosso is growing fast with 5 locations in DFW, 2 in Houston, and one in Austin. It's easy to see why, especially in today's food culture. They're here to stay. This is not trendy food, but as noted earlier, the kind of staple of the diet that has been in Europe for decades.

As an aside, when Mr. Music and I first heard the name, and they initially went by Il Cane Rosso, we immediately thought of Italian prog. Bands with names like Premiata Forneria Marconi, Il Balletto di Bronzo, and Raccomandata Ricevuto Ritorno (and hundreds of others). If you have absolutely no idea what I'm talking about, then you have hours of fun awaiting you on YouTube.

---original Mr. Music review

I have always been a big pizza fan (who isn’t?), but it seems like pizza just keeps getting better and better! My most recent love is the pizzeria that claims certification from VPN (Verace Pizza Napoletana) an association which can legally (in Italy) give designation to pizzerias that meet the requirements in respect of the traditional art of making Neapolitan pizza. I guess it’s kind of like German beer makers following the German Beer Purity Law. Only certain ingredients may be used following a specific process. For instance, the dough must consist only of sea salt, water, yeast and imported 00 flour. No, I haven’t gotten hung up in all the details of that - I've just found that the 2 places that I’ve gone to that have this certification also make awesome pizza. And I am hung up on that!

In a recent trip (about 3 weeks back), I trekked from Denton to Deep Ellum to try Il Cane Rosso. It is a haul, but when I first heard about the place and after doing some research, I knew I was going to love it! Mrs. Music and my eldest daughter went to Six Flags, so I packed Baby Music up and hit the road. I decided to call ahead in case it was busy. I knew Baby Music would not sit still for too long so I thought I’d just take it to go. They told me that it only takes about 90 seconds to cook their pizza in the 1100 degree wood fire oven! I couldn’t make up my mind, so I decided on 2 with the thought of leftovers for Mrs. Music and Music Junior. The Regina Margherita, a beautifully simple pizza made with Italian tomatoes, buffalo mozzarella and basil. And the Gus with Italian tomatoes, mozzarella, basil, Jimmy’s homemade sausage (see last post) and mushrooms. When I got there, it was packed! It is a cool layout with a bar in the center - complete with several taps containing great local craft beer choices (Peticolas, Franconia, Rahr, and others) - and a dining area on a side or 2 and a good sized outside area on the other. As I waited, I noticed one of the taps had Blood and Honey, a new brew from Granbury’s Revolver, one of the newest breweries in town. I asked the bartender if I could just have a taste while I was waiting. He was very friendly and upbeat, and poured me about 8 oz. and smiled saying “here’s your taste!”. As I enjoyed the beer, I made friends with a couple of patrons also waiting for pizza to go. When the pizza came, I opened the boxes to take a peek: They looked amazing and the aroma was almost too much to take! I strapped Baby Music into her seat and was about to drive off - but shoot by the time I would get home, my pizza will be cold! I pulled over and had a slice of the Gus right there! OMG, everything hit at once. The spicy sausage was intense and the tomato sauce was so simple and elegant. I tasted the basil, mushrooms and cheese and ohhh Lord, this might be the greatest crust I’ve ever had! It was perfectly chewy and light and flavorful. A slight hint of sea salt was present – I think I just found my favorite pizza of all time! I decided I better try the Margherita too. It was just as I expected - perfect, mellow deliciousness! I ended up eating half of each pizza before I got home. I saved the rest and heated up the next morning on my pizza stone. I followed the directions on the take out box! Heat at 450 for 5 minutes on a pizza stone. It came out perfectly. Mrs. Music and Music Junior was as mesmerized by the pizza as I was. It wasn’t a week later that we were in the vicinity of Deep Ellum with my cousin from New york. We trekked there on a Saturday afternoon and got the same exact pizzas to go! We sat in the parking lot and scarfed them down right there. We all loved them as much as we did the first time, and my cousin, being from NY was amazed! Next time I want to try some of the other pizzas. One of the pizzas high on my list is called the Motorino. It is topped with Burrata (mozzarella and cream - means buttered in Italian), Jimmy’s sausage, Calabrian chilies (red chilies kin to the pepperoncini) , friarielli (a green that cooks up like spinach aka rabe), and basil! I also hope to dine in and enjoy some nice beer while there.

- Mr. Music

1/30/13 (new entry); 7/3/16 (RJG); 1/15/18