A new option for Neapolitan pizza in Bend

Published 10:30 am Wednesday, January 24, 2024

By Story and photos by JANAY WRIGHT • The Bulletin

: Fat Tony's Pizzeria on Hill Street in Bend has a full bar.

Fat Tony’s Pizzeria held its soft opening the week of Thanksgiving and is serving up pistachio pizza, dessert pizza and other Italian-inspired grub.

“We’re having a great response from our customers, so we’re thrilled,” said owner and chef Roberto Cardenas.

According to Cardenas, the pistachio pizza is one of the joint’s best sellers. It’s slathered with a white sauce and topped with crushed pistachios, mortadella, basil and drizzled with homemade pesto sauce.

The dough is prepared with a one-day fermentation process and baked in an oven that’s over 800 degrees, Cardenas said. The shop also offers vegan and gluten-free pizzas and pasta.

Sweet pizzas

The pizza shop started making dessert pizzas last week, which have yet to be added to the menu. The Daisy involves slices of banana, dollops of Nutella and a strawberry drizzle on top of a cinnamon sugar base. The Delizia dessert pizza is also prepared on a cinnamon sugar base and sprinkled with M&M’s, mini marshmallows and a chocolate drizzle and tastes like a churro pizza, according to Cardenas.

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From Mexican to American cuisine

Cardenas is the owner of Rio Distinctive Mexican Cuisine in Madras and the now-closed Islas Rio Mexican restaurant in Sisters. He opened La Rosa, A Modern Mexican Kitchen, in NorthWest Crossing and the now-shuttered Mexican restaurant in downtown Bend, Amalia’s, he said.

Cardenas also owns Madras Brewing Co. in Madras, which serves pizza, sandwiches, pasta and jambalaya. The brewery marked the chef’s venture away from Mexican food and into American cuisine in an effort to try something new, he said.

After operating the Madras brewery for five years, it became apparent to Cardenas the restaurant’s best-selling item was pizza.

“People keep on ordering pizza,” he said, adding that he noticed a big market for pizzas and pasta.

When the opportunity arose to open a pizza shop next to Esta Bien, a taco shop that is currently closed but plans to reopen, Cardenas said he didn’t have to think twice.

A grand opening is anticipated for the pizzeria in February.

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