For the Love of...: ...Famoso Neapolitan Pizzeria (Westhills, Calgary)

Overall - 9/10
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Food - 9/10
Service - 9/10
Ambiance - 9/10

I first heard about Famoso when I was living in Edmonton. At the time, thin crust Neapolitan pizza was a bit of a rarity. Nowadays I can count half a dozen thin crust pizza places that have popped up in Calgary.  At that time your pizza options were limited to thick doughy slices of pie at Pizza Hut or Boston Pizza. So when I tried the pizza at the original Famoso in Edmonton I was blown away. Not only was the crust thin and crisp but the toppings were fresh and perfectly proportioned to the amount of dough. Thankfully their franchise has really grown and they now have spots all across the country. The location we tried just opened in the Westhills shopping area and I'm happy to report their pizzas are just as good as I remember them from my experience in Edmonton.

We started off with a couple of salads to share between the four of us. The first was a pesto caprese salad made from cherry tomatoes, Fior-di-latte cheese (a really creamy mozzarella), crunchy pistachios, and mixed greens. The dressing was combination of a basil pesto and sweet balsamic glaze. The flavours were really intense and matched the generous portion size. Our second salad was called the Famoso salad. This had a base of romaine lettuce topped with roasted chicken, spicy salami, feta and a Dijon balsamic dressing. Also very delicious and enough for a meal on its own.

Our favourite pizza had to have been the Cavoletti which was actually created by a customer submission. If you look on the Famoso website there is a submission link to pitch your idea for the perfect pizza. This one had just the right balance between sweet, bitter, savoury and creamy. It included roasted brussel sprouts, proscuitto crisps, gorgonzola cheese, sweet dates and honey. 

Next up was the Catalan which definitely had a Spanish flare with the romesco sauce, pine nuts, roasted peppers and grated grana padano cheese. For the meat lovers the Sicilliana is the way to go with italian sausage, ham and proscuitto. Both pizzas were delicious and quite filling.

At the end of the night when the bill came we were happy with the value of the meal and found the service to fast and efficient. We are definitely planning on heading back very soon!