By: Julieta Hernandez Photos by: Rachel Benavides
Salvatore Colicci, owner of the renowned Bella Luna downtown, saw what the Southside was lacking: a good slice of pizza from the Bronx. With his years of restaurant experience and taste for bona fide Italian cooking, he opened Sal’s Bronx Pizzeria on the Southside.
“We found this location and I just thought it was perfect,” he said. “It’s a great demographic. And ever since we’ve opened, it’s been wonderful.” The modern Italian menu features homemade focaccia bread, unique pasta dishes, and large oven-baked pizzas prepared from an authentic scratch kitchen. While some dishes pay homage to Bella Luna, like the Bella Supreme pizza, Sal’s Bronx offers gourmet Italian cuisine that’s completely new to the Coastal Bend area.
“My father was a really good cook,” Colicci said. “In Italy, he was a farmer, so when I lived in New York, we had a garden and there were always fresh vegetables on the table. We made everything from scratch, and that definitely impacted how I cook today.”
Star dishes of the restaurant include the Creamy Tuscan Gnocchi Bake, a tender potato dumpling pasta tossed in parmesan with sundried tomatoes and fresh herbs, and mixed in with roasted chicken and colossal shrimp. “I was also just able to procure cauliflower gnocchi, which is gluten- and dairy-free,” Colicci said, “which will be served with a choice of some of our house-made vegan sauces.”
For a shareable appetizer, Antipasto Misto is a handsome contender. The charcuterie platter assortment comes with spec prosciutto, genoa salami, capicola, a variety of cheeses, olives, marinated artichoke hearts, arugula, eggplant caponata, and focaccia bread to help you soak it all up.
Dining at Sal’s Bronx isn’t just about the food, though; for an audience of live music and stand-up comedy, the Southside can now provide. Four nights a week, the restaurant hosts jazz musicians and comedians to liven up the stage. “Why not go out to eat with some live jazz?” Colicci smiled. “What you see here, too, is families interacting with each other more and enjoying the atmosphere.”
While maintaining Bella Luna Downtown and now Sal’s Bronx Pizzeria, Colicci has ideas to continue his pizza conquest on the Coastal Bend. Plans to open a Bella Luna Southside are in the works, so fans of the downtown bistro can enjoy authentic Italian cuisine anywhere they go in town.
The restaurant owner aims to bring two things from his life in the Bronx to Corpus Christi: quality entertainment and delicious, authentic Italian cuisine. “Every place I’ve opened has been a step up from the last. I took my experience, and my mistakes, and every place has definitely been better.”
Contact:
5922 Yorktown Blvd | salsbronxpizza.com
