By Rod Lee

First impressions created by the new Pizzeria Bruno in the southeast corner of Pleasant Valley Crossing in Sutton are entirely favorable, offering proof that “the boy can be taken out of Italy, but Italy not out of the boy.”

Talking about the venture on the afternoon of May 27th, Marcello Bruno, owner of Pizzeria Bruno with his brother David, said the restaurant is an extension of a family business in the Milan area of his native country that dates to the mid-1990s.

“We are trying do exactly what we did in the past, in Italy, same oven, same brand,” Mr. Bruno said. “We import flour, cheese, chips, soda, beer and wine from Italy. I live three minutes from here, it’s very nice. When we saw this location for the first time, we fell in love with it. Mike O’Brien (of Galaxy Development, developer of the plaza) is a good guy.”

Italia-themed throughout, Pizzera Bruno features wood-fired, brick-oven pizza in a variety of combinations and flavors. There is red pizza (no cheese), classic pizza, gourmet pizza and white pizza, along with calzone, panini, piadina (flat bread), a butcher mix (plate of meat and cheese), salad, focaccia and dessert.

Pizza toppings include artichokes, arugula, broccoli rabe, capers, cherry tomato, eggplant, egg, French fries, hot dog, mozzarella, mushrooms, Kalamata olives, red onions, peppers, pesto, red sauce, sausage, smoked caciotta cheese, spinach, taleggio cheese, truffle sauce, zucchini and ricotta cheese. Brie cheese, gorgonzola cheese, grana cheese, bresaola, ham, hot soppressata, ndujga, poricini mushrooms, prosciutto, shrimp, speck, tuna, meat sauce and buffalo-milk mozzarella are also available.

Telephone ordering is provided at 508-917-8182.

“Delicious,” Beverly Ricciardona of Millbury, finishing lunch with her husband, said. “The music is good too.”

Already drawing steady patronage, Pizzeria Bruno joins such food and drink enterprises as Five Guys and Starbucks in an ever-expanding Pleasant Valley Crossing, which is anchored by a Market 32.

Contact Rod Lee with news for The Feisty Fork column at [email protected] or 774-232-2999.