Martha’s Pick:

Dolomiti Pizzeria & Enoteca
1105 N 13th St – Millwork Commons
Fare: Italian
Cost: $123 for two drinks, one appetizer, one salad, two pizzas and one dessert
Reservations: Highly recommended

Greetings, Eaters and Readers!

It’s been a while since either of us has had to put some thought behind our next blog choice. So when March rolled around and Jaclyn informed me it was my turn to choose, I didn’t have a particular spot top of mind.

Hopping into the ever-inspiring Omaha Food Lovers group on Facebook, I scrolled until I saw a name I didn’t recognize: Dolomiti Pizzeria and Enoteca.

Making the jump from Facebook to Dolomiti’s website, the most delicious words I could hope to see greeted me from their website’s splash page: wood-fired and sourdough. I texted Jaclyn to make sure she hadn’t visited Dolomiti and she let me know that while she hadn’t yet eaten there, it was high on her list because of a friend’s raving review. 

Jaclyn’s friend Nena — bringing her own Italian heritage — has been shouting Dolomiti’s praises since they opened. Nena says, “The pizza crust is like what you’d find in northern Italy. It’s thin, light and crunchy. Tim (co-owner Tim Maides) worked on perfecting the dough long before Dolomiti opened. Their oven came from Italy!”

Nena’s endorsement solidified my choice. This past weekend, Jaclyn and I journeyed to Dolomiti, located in the trendy Millwork Commons area in downtown Omaha.

Both of us had briefly wondered if a reservation would be needed as our visit would be during the dinner hour of a mild-weathered Saturday — with concerts and basketball games going on in town.

When we walked inside, we found a busy interior and a friendly hostess who told us, in so many gentle words, that yes, we should have made a reservation. However, she kindly pointed us toward their cocktail tables and told us we could wait for a spot to open up at the bar. Lucky for us, about 10 minutes later, two chairs became available and we swooped right in.

Margarita ($12)

While we were waiting at our cocktail table, a waitress took our drink order. Jaclyn ordered a margarita and I said, “Make it two!” As I mentioned, we didn’t have to wait long for our seats, so the margaritas arrived once we bellied up to the bar.

First sip in, I said, “Whew! That’s a real margarita alright.” Nary a mixer in sight for this craft cocktail — just pure, well-balanced ingredients that let the tequila shine. It was strong, yet surprisingly smooth. But we agreed these margs went down easy – crisp and refreshing with every sip.

Meatballs ($11) – Beef, pork, tomato sauce, grana padano cheese, housemade foccacia

We debated between a few different apps — the meatballs, seasonal burrata, the parmesan and herb frites — ultimately choosing the meatballs. I’m sure we’d have been happy with the others, but if the meatballs and foccacia were any indication of how delicious the rest of our meal would be … we chose right.

The meatballs themselves were pretty good – but I think Jaclyn and I found ourselves loving the foccacia and tomato sauce the most. We’ve never been to Italy, but we felt certain the sauce was the real deal. And the housemade foccacia was buttery, garlicky and had a nice, light-but-chewy texture.

Caesar Salad ($13) – Romaine hearts, crumbled croutons, aged parmesan, housemade caesar dressing

I also added a Caesar salad for my pre-meal enjoyment because it sounded refreshing. Presented in a unique wedge-meets-Romaine hearts kind of presentation, the salad was the right portion and the right, light blend of ingredients. Cutting into the pile of fresh Romaine, dressing, cheese and crouton crumbles — I’m glad I had the salad to balance the heft of the meatballs.

Rustica ($20) – Spicy Italian sausage, charred broccolini, garlic confit, smoked Calabrian honey, whole milk mozzarella, parmesan cheese

Looking over the menu prior to our visit, it stood out to me that Dolomiti would be more of an ‘adult’ pizza place. There is no Meat Lovers or Hawaiian or Supreme/Garbage (all the toppings) kind of offering on Dolomiti’s creative, authentic menu. You have eight creations to choose from, one of which appears to be a rotating weekly feature.

The one that stood out the most for me was the Rustica — a spicy Italian sausage pizza with charred broccolini, garlic confit, smoked Calabrian honey, whole milk mozzarella and grana padano cheese. When our bartender-slash-server mentioned that the Rustica was their most popular during her greeting, I knew I didn’t have to spend any more time debating.

Now — I’ll be the first to admit that my usual pizza preferences are all the things I just said Dolomiti doesn’t offer: the meats and the boring, typical toppings. But something about their menu and how much they seem to care about making patrons a unique, yet authentic and delicious Northern Italian-inspired pizza quieted any childish hesitations I may usually have.

The Rustica was as delicious as I hoped: still warm from the oven, it was a dance of crispy and chewy from bite to bite, and fresh — not too crowded — ingredients that tasted great together. I know it will be tough to decide whether I’ll stick with the delicious Rustica or keep exploring the rest of the menu on future visits.

Margherita ($16) – Fresh basil, crushed tomatoes, whole milk mozzarella, grana padano cheese

Jaclyn has always loved Margherita pizza. But it wasn’t until she was listening to “Summer S’mores with Conan and the Chill Chums,” — a segment on the “Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend” podcast — that she started ordering Margherita pizza more often.

On this segment, they were discussing favorite pizza toppings and Conan mentioned his arch nemesis, Jordan Schlansky:

“He’s a famous irritant in my life, but on some things he’s correct. And one thing he said to me, of the 10,000 things he has said to me, there was one thing that stuck to me as true, which is that the true test of a pizza is that it should be a Margherita. Very simple, no toppings, because that’s how you can determine if it’s a really good pizza.”

That made perfect sense to Jaclyn. So whenever she’s trying pizza somewhere new, she gets the Margherita. If she enjoys it, then she knows it’s worth coming back to try other flavors.

Jaclyn is happy to report that Dolomiti passed this “test” with flying colors. The sourdough crust had the perfect balance of chew and crisp, its slight tang complementing the sweetness of the tomatoes, the creaminess of the cheese, and the fragrant bite of fresh basil.

Pistachio Crème Brûlée ($10)

Initially we had our minds set on walking next door to Coneflower for dessert. But we’d be remiss if we didn’t ask for a dessert menu at Dolomiti. And what a tragedy that would’ve been if we hadn’t!

Our options were affogato, pistachio crème brûlée, citrus and cream, and tiramisu. Our server highly recommended the crème brûlée, saying she has to fight the urge to get it every time she works. Sold!

We ordered one to split, but our server accidentally put in an order for two (kindly only charging us for one) — but we weren’t too upset about this mishap, especially after our first bites. With a tap of the spoon, we broke through the warm, caramelized sugar topping and dug into the cold, pistachio-flavored custard.

Our reactions were simultaneous: pausing to savor the first taste and commenting how impeccable the flavors and textures were. Even though it was pistachio flavored, the custard was sweet — and the nuttiness came from the sprinkled pistachios on top. We can see why it would be hard to resist this decadent dessert each shift.

Final Bites

Heading into our Dolomiti adventure, Jaclyn and I both knew that a “Two Forks Up” rating was theirs to lose. Meaning — if it lived up to the hype, it would be quick and obvious that this place deserved a positive review.

Not only did we go into it with an enthusiastic endorsement from someone who knows good Italian food, but Nena’s input was backed by a number of glowing reviews from numerous Omaha media outlets. 

The pleasant surprise for both of us was that not only did it earn an easy two forks up — it earns our rare Certified Good Bite, too. We can’t think of anything on which Dolomiti misfired.

Upon your arrival, there’s plenty of parking; the interior is modern and spacious, while also warm and inviting; everything the staff does and the menu offers is curated with the goal of delivering a stellar meal and experience.

Whether you take your chances at the cocktail tables like we did — or plan ahead and make a reservation, we promise it will all be worth it when your server walks your pizza straight from the wood-fire oven to your table and you take your first bite. 

Cheers!
The Good Bite Gals

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