Bradenton restaurant The Dough Forge opens serving Sicilian family recipes
When he was 12 years old, Zo Rizzo started learning Sicilian-style cooking alongside his brother.
Their father, Camillo, who taught his kids how to cook, was born in Palermo and came to the United States as part of a large family.
Eventually, he started his own business — opening restaurants wherever they lived.
By the late 1980s, that became Manatee County. And for years, Camillo owned and operated Carmen’s Italian Cafe.
Zo, though, wanted to keep the restaurant going as Camillo began his retirement. The space at 515 27th Street E. was recently relaunched as The Dough Forge.
“My dad’s been doing this forever, so I just wanted to keep it going for him,” Rizzo said. “I have a construction company and I came down here, he wanted to retire and bought this from him to keep the legacy going.”
Cooking with Italian water
Co-owning the restaurant with his wife, Rikkii, Zo Rizzo said the food is made when it’s ordered, so nothing is pre-made or microwaved.
“I can’t skimp on quality,” Rizzo said.
That quality even comes down to the water used for cooking dishes.
“I’m bringing water from Italy,” Rizzo said. “... And it’s the most amazing thing when you cut the pizza, you cut the middle – usually the middle is a little soggy – and it’s just crunch all the way through.”
What’s on the menu?
The menu features a variety of pizzas, calzones or rolls, but diners can also customize things with a build-your-own option. There are also subs and classic Italian dinner entrees such as chicken parmigiana, eggplant parmigiana, pasta alla vodka, manicotti, stuffed shells, ravioli and more.
“Everything is made from scratch, we make it daily and I think besides pizza that people are loving is the chicken parm,” Rikkii Rizzo said.
Most of the dinner entrees are between $18.45 and $23.95, while build-your-own cheese pizzas start at $14.50 for a 12-inch pie, with additional charges per topping.
“I don’t make New York pizza, I don’t make Chicago pizza, I make Italian pizza,” Rizzo said.
In the future, Rizzo said he’s going to add even more pizzas that aren’t typically seen in the United States such as prosciutto and pear, and goat cheese and berries.
“It’s like the pasta,” he said. “You’re never going to find spaghetti here. You’re never going to find fettuccine here. You’re going to find … pappardelle. All kinds of stuff that people don’t have around here. So I can make something different. I don’t want anything that the guy down the street’s got.”
The Dough Forge also has seasonal desserts, with a limoncello mascarpone cake, tiramisu and chocolate bamba are some of the ones on the current menu. The restaurant features wines from Sicily from its full-liquor bar and other beverages.
Passing the knowledge down
Rizzo said his father taught him everything. And the goal of The Dough Forge is to carry that legacy forward. Rizzo’s 15-year-old son, Luciano, is there to learn the Sicilian cooking secrets.
Rizzo said his father taught him to keep it simple in the kitchen.
“That’s why I buy the high-quality stuff, because I want you to be able to taste what it really tastes like,” Rizzo said.
The Dough Forge is open Monday through Thursday from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. and Fridays and Saturdays from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.
For more information, visit TheDoughForge.com.
