Il Forno
14981 Stony Plain Rd., 780-455-0443
Almost 30 years ago, Italian restaurateur Ralph Maio opened Sceppas, a trattoria eatery just outside Little Italy. A decade later, Maio sold Sceppas and opened Il Forno in Crestwood with a new menu. It gained a reputation for serving some of the best thin-crust pizza in town. Ten years after that, Il Forno moved again, to Jasper Gate, where it now boasts a brick oven as a centrepiece of the open kitchen.
It has been a seamless transition to Il Forno’s new owner of three years, Anna Muze, who continues the food traditions started by Maio. Through her guidance, Il Forno is now a member of Original Fare, a group of 17 restaurants in greater Edmonton focused on using local ingredients.
Despite its transformations, the cuisine stays deliciously traditional, from the gelato made locally by Fantasia to the tasty antipasti, such as the Mediterrano ($16), a platter of salami, prosciutto, mortadella, housemade porchetta (pork roast stuffed with garlic and parsley), provolone cheese, olives and artichokes. And despite the restaurant’s name meaning “the brick oven,” the stove also plays a role in cooking up a delectable selection of entrées.
Linguine busera ($22), with shrimp, scallops, calamari and mussels covered in a garlicky tomato sauce, has the right balance of meat, pasta and sauce — with enough jalapeno to give it a good kick. The filetto di maiale al porto ($23) is a heartier dish of delicate sliced pork tenderloin finished in a rich sundried tomato and port wine sauce, and rounded out with potatoes and fresh vegetables.
But let’s not forget why most people are here. With a special, slightly smoky flavour, Il Forno’s delicate 12-inch thin-crust pizza is unforgettable. You can create your own, but the specials are already perfectly designed. Try the verdura ($18), a vegetarian delight covered with roasted peppers, mushrooms, onions, zucchini, eggplant and feta cheese, or the colourful gambaretti ($19), a melody of bistro shrimp, spinach, bacon and roasted red peppers.
It’s not clear where Il Forno will go next, what ingredients it may blend or which style of interior design it may use, but so long as it preserves its cultural emphasis on food, it will remain a city favourite.
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