Places I Eat: Michelangelo

For years friends have been telling me about this Italian restaurant that is really close to where I live. Several friends have said it is the only place that they will get pizza from, and yet we never tried it. A couple of months ago, J forgot to pick up our favorite pizza from another place in Sarasota that we were planning on having with champagne for the finale of one of our favorite shows. Well, when J came home empty handed, I grabbed Michelangelo's menu, and am very glad i did! Not only did the have a version of the pizza that we didn't order that night, we think that it may actually even be better! It is a ricotta and spinach pizza with lovely cloves of roasted garlic. We add bacon, and sometimes I like to get tomato on half. Add some red pepper flakes and it's pretty close to perfection.

My first experience there wasn't complete bliss. When I called to order and asked for a spinach pizza, as it's called on the menu, it was returned with, "you mean gourmet pie?". I felt like answering in a language that she could understand: "no, i mean a friggin' gourmet pizza as it's called on your menu", but I could never be so crude to a stranger... so I opted to kill with kindness, "of course, how silly of me to call it that, please forgive my mistake". Come on, take a look at the close up... could you really pass on something this good over the rudeness of someone over the phone. They do hail from Long Island, so you are getting the full on NY experience. To be fair, we've eaten there several times and she's softened up, so maybe she was just having a bad day. However, in this economy, you think that everyone in the public sector would be as nice as can be. Or am I just delusional?

Michelangelo of Long Island! Pizzeria &Italian Restaurant: Lakewood Ranch

Lakewood Ranch Blvd. & State Road 70

Phone: (941) 739-5656

Open Everyday 11-10