I’m starting to think that Jay Jerrier is basically the culinary King Midas. Everything the man touches is nothing less than gastronomic gold. It’s not good enough that, essentially, the entire city of Dallas is certifiably psychotic over his pizza. (Personally, I have had at least three auditory hallucinations while eating his pizza, in which my “Paulie Gee” spoke to me, telling me to give all my money, the deed to my home, and my first-born child over to Mr. Jerrier) Jay continues to offer this city a seemingly endless string of brilliant dishes including hot, succulent sandwiches, house-made pastas, and rich, creamy gelato. With the addition of the burly, bearded wunderkind, Matt Reddick, to the Cane Rosso kitchen, there is no telling what adventures are in store for diners able to painfully pry themselves away from the pizza.
Matt has been charged with running “the left side of the menu,” and while he may not be the big man up front, sweating in front of the scorching pizza oven, he is no less working miracles in the back.
Read on! It only gets better from here.
Upon my last visit, I was fortunate enough to sample a few of the delightful specials of the day, each of which deserves mention here. First, we were treated to the hand-made cannelloni, stuffed with tender braised pork and meatballs, a creamy white béchamel, and their house-made mozzarella. The entire dish is smothered in a tangy tomato sugo, a touch of rapini, and parmesan and pecorino cheeses. I don’t blame you if you just licked your computer screen. This was an exquisite piece of work. Sure, I felt like I was cheating on the pizza, but we all deserve a little naughty-naughty now and then.
Next, we were graced with their ingenious version of “biscuits and gravy.” In this case, the “biscuit” is a polenta cake, blended with mascarpone and parmigiano, fried up to order. The result is a lovely golden cake, creamy and soft in the center, slightly crunchy on the outside. The polenta is topped with crispy pancetta and an over-easy egg, then smothered in creamy white gravy blended with Calabrian chiles. It’s enough to make your grandma’s version of biscuits and gravy look like gruel. Please, sir, I want some more.
(Rumor has it, the wizards in the kitchen are conjuring up a weekend brunch menu, which is sure to dazzle Big D once again. I’m giddy.)
So, if the DEA ever does determine that Cane Rosso’s pizza is actually too addicting to be legal, rest assured there is a whole other side to the menu sure to satisfy. Enjoy it while you still can.
