Enzo’s makes pizza magic with simple ingredients

From the menu description, it actually sounded bland in the extreme — just mozzarella, ricotta and garlic. The garlic held possibilities, but too many chefs, even in Italian restaurants, are timid about doling it out. But, maybe because it was the first specialty pizza listed on the menu, it just seemed to call to me, and so a 12-inch it would be ($12.75, $15 for 14-inch, $16.50 for 16-inch, $18 for 18-inch).

And it was, as it turned out, one of the best pizzas I’ve had in a while.

Enzo’s white pizza was an example of how simple ingredients, used simply, can be simply magical. The thinnish, stretchy, slightly charred (in a good way) crust was topped with an even layer of creamy ricotta, its moistness serving as a kind of de facto sauce. On top of that was a layer of melted mozzarella and — maybe best of all — enough garlic to make things truly interesting. Again, simple ingredients, but there was nothing bland about this pizza, hot in the restaurant or cold the next day.

Garlic knots ($3.50 for 12) were another delight. Yeasty and light, they had plenty of garlic and just enough oil to render them crispy on the edges.

Pasta Norma ($10.50) was a little less effective. Somebody at Enzo’s clearly likes eggplant (always a positive), because it shows up on this menu not only as the ubiquitous eggplant Parmesan but also as a pizza topping, rolled with spinach and cheeses, baked with meat and ziti, and in this dish, where the eggplant is sauteed and cut in strips (or cut in strips and sauteed) and mixed with the house marinara. The eggplant was great, the penne we chose (linguine, angel hair and fettucine are other options) nicely al dente.

But here’s the thing: Enzo’s marinara isn’t nearly as zippy as its white pizza. I know I’m probably insulting somebody’s mother or grandmother here, because very often that’s the basis for an Italian restaurant’s red sauce. But this was a mother or grandmother who went easy on the seasoning, maybe in deference to the tamer palates of whatever period it was. But it’s time for an update.

And, well, ditto for the salad. Dinners at Enzo’s include a salad as well as four garlic knots and bread. The salad was another anachronism, consisting primarily of iceberg lettuce, which doesn’t offer much in the way of flavor. The bread was pretty good, though, nice and crusty.

Service was fairly perfunctory but extremely pleasant, so we’d call it even. I also take into account the prices, and those are certainly reasonable.

Decor? Not much, aside from some New York memorabilia, but then again, this is an old-school strip-center spot that relies more on its reputation (“since 1979”) and food than on gimmicks.

But we wish they’d step up that marinara.

Las Vegas Review-Journal restaurant reviews are done anonymously at Review-Journal expense. Contact Heidi Knapp Rinella at 383-0474 or email her at hrinella@ reviewjournal.com.