STORY: A Visit To A Hidden Gem In Redding
A Hello Foodies Story
By Tonya H.
I was asked if I would like to go to a new restaurant and do a tasting… umm hello?!
So I took my bestie and some kids and off we went to try the NEW Tomasinos over in Redding, CT.
I was told they do pizza and so much more, they didn’t have to try to sell me, once they said “pizza” I was already mapping out the fastest way there in my head.
We arrived to a very small shopping center and noticed right away Tomasinos is next door to a liquor store. Considering they offer BYOB, it seemed they were being business friendly to their neighbors
We call that #localhelpinglocal in our book!
The place is small and they are still building out some of the furnishings, it’s the kind of place you can sit at tables or take a stool at the wooden counter facing the parking lot.
We took a table and lovely Gina who is the daughter of the owner/Chef came out to help us choose our menu.
She immediately explained that everything and she means EVERYTHING is freshly made to order, so it would take a little longer than we might be use to. So please have patience and she would bring us out their STINGER PIE with in-house marinated Serrano Peppers first.
I know people talk about the famous Colony Pizza’s Stinger Pie, but I’ve never had it. So this was a whole new foodie tasting for me. While I’m not a huge fan of spicy food, if you serve it with an icy can of Coke, I’ll try anything!
We ended up ordering the Stinger Pie, the Drunken Meatball Pizza, 2 orders of cheese raviolis(kids) Drunken Garlic Knots and their Fried Mozzarella.. they literally had my heart at the word FRIED, with house salads and a big ole bowl of their Puttanesca Spaghetti… we ordered and we sat back and waited.
Turns out we didn’t have to wait long until the Hot Oil pie came out, it was thin crust and you couldn’t miss the green long thin peppers on each slice. I took a slice and popped that pepper off cause I’m not that brave and took my first bite of a hot oil pie!
Since I’m not a food writer or even a good writer, all I can say is, that’s a damn good slice of spicy pizza! The crust is thin but it’s got a good crunch to it, the hot oil lives up to its name.. hot! It didn’t bring tears to my eyes but it did bring a fiery coating to my tongue and mixed with the cheese and thin crust, it was awesome.
I broke the cardinal rule of food tasting though, I went back for a second slice knowing more food was coming out. It was THAT good... seriously get it!
Next out came the Puttanesca Spaghetti and since that’s more of my friend’s area of expertise, I let her nibble on that. I was still trying to recover and let my tongue rest from the fire.
Turns out this is where my friend really shines.. she asked all the right questions and dug deep to find out, all about the man behind Tomasinos and his history with food. I was still trying to figure out a way to quench the fire on my tongue.
SO WHO IS BEHIND TOMASINOS?
Tommy Costanzo is the man behind the menu at Tomasinos. You might even have eaten his food before, he was the Chef at a restaurant called The Corner Pub in Ridgefield years ago and has family ties to The Early Bird Cafe in the same town. The love of food runs deep in his family and it shines through his food!
I’m not gonna give you 20 more paragraphs of what I thought, even though I could! I will say this… everything from the bread on the table to the cheese raviolis are MADE FRESH in the restaurant with ingredients that are delivered daily.
I can honestly say, I’m in love with this little hidden gem and think daily of that Hot Oil Pie and can’t wait to go back.
HERE ARE MY "MUST-HAVE AGAINS":
Hot Oil Pie, next time I will ask for no Serrano Peppers. It will be a little less spicy that way.
The Drunken Garlic Knots... they come tossed in their own house made vodka sauce and melted mozzarella
cheese. The vodka sauce is so incredible you will want to order a container and take some home.. trust me it’s so damn good!
Fried Mozzarella… the mozzarella is made fresh in the restaurant and comes out in a brick shape coated in homemade marinara sauce. It’s crazy how different things taste when they are made fresh right then and there!
My friend went back a few days later and took her husband who is a chef too. They ate more pastas and he loved them. What’s not to love, they are also made in-house fresh!
Sensing a theme here, made to order with freshly made ingredients = delicious food!
Go and see them, support a locally owned family restaurant. That’s what makes small towns like Redding so special!
If you see a girl sitting in the corner by herself eating a Stinger Pie and looking like she found her soulmate... say Hi, that’s me!
Tonya Hinojosa
~wanna be foodie!
PS...This was the face Ana made the moment she ate
the homemade cheese ravioli!
For more information on Tomasinos,
visit their FB page.
Tomasinos Pizza & Pasta
2 Long Ridge Road
Redding, CT
203-664-4077