Yes, pizza is Italian in origin, but Americans have definitely bastardized the pies into creative—and tasty—offshoots of the original. We have NY style, we have Chicago deep dish, we have stuffed crust, California pizza, and even, thanks to Beau Jo’s (and maybe a few others), Colorado style. On top of that, we’ve added buffalo chicken, chicken alfredo, BLT, Philly cheesesteak, and taco pizzas, plus many other crazy combinations, depending on the offerings of a particular menu.
Some of these pizzas are a far cry from the original Neapolitan pizza Margherita (tomato, fresh mozzarella and basil). But these “gourmet” or “specialty” pizzas are frequently found on the menu next to more traditional pizzas, and often with paninis (panino, in Italy), grinders, antipasti, and pasta dishes, all Italian.
The question, then, is this: if a self-named pizza place also serves other Italian fare, is it an Italian restaurant? The answer is most definitely yes. Now, maybe the pizza place is known for its pizza, but if it has other Italian food offerings—even if less popular than the pizza—then it’s more or less an Italian restaurant. However, if the establishment only serves pizza, or if it specializes in non-traditional pizza, then it will be deemed a non-Italian restaurant for the purposes of the Fort Collins Italian Restaurants Examiner page.
(If the restaurant is a chain pizza place, such as Dominos or Pizza Hut, which both serve what they call “pasta,” it will not be considered an Italian restaurant. These chains fall into the “corporate restaurant” category, which removes from them much authenticity or classicality.)
It boils down to a simple statement: Some pizza places are, indeed, Italian restaurants, and some aren’t. Some will be reviewed on this page and some won’t, depending on the above criteria.
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