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Photograph by Skye Dunlap
Antonio's Gourmet Pizza owner Hamid Lashgari uses spices like mint, cinnamon and turmeric in his not-so-traditional Italian sauces.
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Create your own pizza and bake it on the spot
Antonio's blends Italian and Persian flavors
By PAM MARINO
At some pizza places you can take your pizza home and bake it yourself. Antonio's Gourmet Pizza takes it one step further. You can actually build and bake the pizza yourself right at the restaurant.
"We let customers come in the back and make their own pizza," said Hamid Lashgari. "I think we're getting closer to our customers that way."
During the busiest of hours Lashgari closes the kitchen to customers so the staff can work as quickly as possible, he said.
Lashgari opened Antonio's about a year ago when he took over what used to be Grand Mom's Pizza. Although the restaurant has a decidedly Italian name, Lashgari offers Italian food with a Persian twist.
"We mix Persian cuisine with an Italian cuisine," he said. "It works well." Lashgari said he wanted to offer something unique and new to local customers.
The staff makes its own tomato sauce for the pizza and pasta with some Persian spices thrown in like mint, cinnamon and turmeric. The beef used in recipes is pre-cooked with Persian spices. Instead of using green peppers on pizza, Lashgari uses red peppers for a sweeter taste, he said.
Pizza is the main offering at the restaurant, with 18 different toppings from which to choose. There are also four gourmet pizzas: Greek Pizza with black olives, feta cheese and other ingredients; Hawaiian Pizza with pineapple and ham; B.B.Q. Pizza with chicken, onion, barbecue sauce and cilantro, and a Gourmet Veggie Pizza that uses a white garlic sauce instead of red sauce. Pizzas range in price from $2.50 for a mini cheese pizza to $15.45 for a large specialty pizza.
Antonio's also offers Persian sandwiches, which are made mostly of beef-cutlets. There's also the Oloveyeh sandwich, made with a special Persian chicken salad. "It's pretty traditional," Lashgari said. All nine sandwiches on the menu are $3.50 each.
Besides pizza and sandwiches, Antonio's has pastas like spaghetti and meatballs, penne and fettucini. The cost for pasta dishes runs between $4.55 and $5.50. Antonio's garlic bread is made with garlic, olive oil, parsley, feta cheese and red onions and costs $1.50. The Crazy Bread is more like traditional garlic bread, with garlic, basil and parmesan cheese, also for $1.50.
The restaurant is small, with just a few tables, so takeout and delivery are popular with customers.
Antonio's Gourmet Pizza is at 1234 S. Wolfe Road, Sunnyvale, behind the Shell station at the corner of El Camino Real and Wolfe roads. The phone number is 735-0333. Hours are Monday through Thursday, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., Friday and Saturday 11 a.m. to 11 p.m., and Sunday noon to 10 p.m.
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Sunnyvale, California Since 1994
