Kansas City Food Blog

Salvatore DiFatta puts raw sausage on his pizza and...it works

​Salvatore DiFatta sells pizza at the lunch-only venues he owns in Chicago and Washington, D.C., but he's actually from Baltimore, where he began working at a pizzeria as a teenager.

DiFatta was hired by the Cordish Company to re-vamp the Power & Light District's failed Vinino Bistro -- an Italian restaurant concept that was too fancy (and seriously unfocused) for its location. The initial idea behind Vinino was to serve bocconcini -- small plates -- as if this oversized dining room was on the Via Condetti instead of across Grand Avenue from the Sprint Center.

Cordish gutted most of the ill-fated Vinino but kept the gas-fired pizza oven for the new concept, The Pizza Bar, which features Sal DiFatta's recipes for pizza, subs, stromboli, salads and a couple of hot soups. DiFatta likes fresh ingredients on his pies and he's already discovered the sausage and meatballs sold by the legendary Scimeca Sausage Company (Sal toured the 8th Street factory yesterday), which he's using on his pies.

The secret to a great sausage pizza, DiFatta told me, is to crumble fresh, raw sausage on the top of the pizza before it goes into the 600-degree oven. "It has to be watched carefully," he explained, "so that it cooks completely, but the sausage renders over the molten cheese and there's nothing more delicious."

I'm sure I raised my eyebrows, but he gave me a slice from the Pizza Bar's signature sausage-and-pepperoni Abe Froeman pizza -- named for a character in the 1986 film Ferris Bueller's Day Off --  and I'll admit, it was excellent.

The Pizza Bar will be closed tonight for a fund-raising event for the Children's Miracle Network, then officially opens for business -- from 11 a.m.to 3 a.m. seven days a week -- beginning tomorrow. DiFatta's pies range in price from $15 (for a classic cheese pie) to $19 for the La Dolce Vita (topped with artichokes, shaved Parmesan-Reggiano and roasted garlic).