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Il Cane Rosso is the passion project from Jay Jerrier that all started while he was on his honeymoon in Italy (while in Sorrento specifically) back in 1995. A decade later, he created a wood-burning pizza oven in his backyard in hopes of recreating authentic Italian pizza. After a few failed attempts at making that perfect pizza, Jerrier decided he wanted to learn the skills of a pizzaioli and trained at the Associazone Verace Pizza Napoletana, the group that certifies true Neapolitan pizza in the U.S., in Los Angeles.
With a mission to promote genuine Italian pizza in DFW, he created Il Cane Rosso, Italian for “the red dog” – a loving gesture to his first dog Zoli, and we’re so lucky he did!
Jerrier started with only his mobile pizza oven that he took to Times Ten Cellar in Lakewood in hopes of spreading the news of his authentic pizza. He quickly created a loyal following and officiallyopened a physical location in Deep Ellum on Valentine’s Day last month. He’s keeping the mobile oven that travels to Times Ten Cellar (both in Dallas and Fort Worth), Green Spot Market in Dallas and is even available for private events.
Cane Rosso’s pizza has a thin crust made out of four simple ingredients: sea salt, water, yeast and imported “double zero†flour. The dough is prepared over two days and is hand-stretched by trained pizzaiolis. The sauce is just hand-crushed San Marzano tomatoes and the mozzarella is made in-house. Meat toppings include Jimmy’s sausage, prosciutto (crudo and cotto) and hot soppressata. The beautiful red tile, wood-burning pizza oven was created in Naples from volcanic rock and is fired up to a scorching 900 degrees – meaning your pizza is done in just one minute. Â
My husband and I have been twice now to the Deep Ellum location and have ordered the same thing both times. I like simple pizza and went for the Regina Margherita, Ben chose the Zoli. The Regina Margherita really takes you to the root of how a pizza should taste. With imported mozzarella di bufala, San Marzano sauce, basil and that amazing thin crust with the crispy charred edges – it’s a beautiful piece of pizza art.
The Zoli has a Margherita foundation topped with Jimmy’s sausage and hot soppressata. Ben liked how light and flavorful all the ingredients were. Everything just really went well together. We both took a moment after our first bite of pizza as the flavors transported us back to Italy where we spent our honeymoon last September. The large canvas pictures of different Italian landscape made us feel even more nostalgic during our dining experience.
The restaurant recently received its beer/wine license and their patio is full of covered tables – great for all the upcoming sunny days. Free parking is available in the lot at 2629 Commerce. The restaurant is open Tuesday-Saturday from 11 a.m. – 3 p.m. and 5 p.m. to midnight Thursday through Saturday. They’re closed Sundays and Mondays. Follow Jay and all the ll Cane Rosso news on Facebook and Twitter.
Great write up! I love that place. We’ve been three times since it opened and twice we’ve been lucky to find a spot to sit down. It’s just packed! And for good reason… like you said, the pizza is fantastic and it really does take you back to Italy. Ain’t nothin’ wrong with that!
Thanks Margie! We’re already planning our next trip back to Cane Rosso – maybe I’ll see you there! 🙂
I have such famous friends!
[…] sauce, and thin Napoletana dough made for a delicious pizza. It’s very similar in quality to Il Cane Rosso; though, I have to give Cane the edge here not so much for taste – it’s a tie – but for […]