Power of Pizza

The offerings sound like they came out of a culinary fairy tale. Items such as “The Pig & Goat,” “The Smoke & Cure,” “Peppy Roni” and “The Bee Sting” fill the menu at Polpo Pizza Co., a Sarasota food truck.

Danni Bleil and Tom Baril are experienced culinary pioneers always on the hunt for the freshest ingredients and tantalizing combinations as they focus on one of the staples of American appetites: pizza.

“I’ve been cooking my whole life,” says Bleil. “I earned a culinary degree, worked as a freelance food stylist for celebrity chefs on television, but through it all I was an avid home cook.”

Originally hailing from Bucks County, Pa., the two met in 1998, and the couple has been feeding each other’s food fanaticism ever since by using ingredients from their own garden in their dishes. However, it was a fateful pit stop in the Garden State that inspired the two to combine their fresh and organic ingredients with a popular food staple.

“We stumbled on a pizzeria outside of Princeton, N.J., called Nomad Pizza three years ago,” says Bleil. “The owner was doing what we would do using fresh-from-the-garden ingredients with a small and specific menu.”

And that fresh-from-the-garden mentality is evident in the items offered on their menu, which include a traditional margherita with fresh basil and a “Pig & Goat” pizza that includes rosemary-infused olive oil, fresh thyme, peppadew and goat cheese. If that isn’t fresh enough, the duo has a potted plant of oregano in their food truck ready to be used for any order.

As Bleil and Baril were developing the recipes and groundwork for what has become Polpo Pizza Co. (polpo is Italian for squid), they recognized the two things that separated it from the hundreds of pizza restaurants around the country: concept and delivery.

According to the duo, what had made pizza a stale dish was that pizzerias had been ceding too much control to the customer.
Driven by the three major delivery conglomerates Pizza Hut, Papa John’s Pizza and Domino’s Pizza, the majority of American pizza production gives customers control of every aspect of the pizza. Bleil and Baril treat pizza with the craftsmanship like it is any formal dish.

“The chef in me wants to experience pizza,” says Bleil as she drizzles a hot chili pepper-infused honey on their signature pizza, The Bee Sting. “I want you to taste my vision in the flavor profiles that are in each pizza.”

Though the restaurant is on wheels, it’s managed to gain multiple regulars. Some of the most popular pizzas are the sweet and spicy “Bee Sting” and a breakfast pizza with an egg on top.

And the second thing that lets Polpo Pizza Co. stand out is how Bleil and Baril get their pizzas to the public. Baril searched a long time for the perfect vehicle to transport the duo’s pizza operation and custom Italian Valoriani wood oven. He found his dream kitchen chariot in a white 1951 Ford F5 truck with a 350 Chevrolet motor.

After the two moved in 2013 to Sarasota, it took six months for Baril to repair and customize the truck using rustic wood and metal from around Sarasota.

Polpo’s reputation has risen as it sells custom pizza at local farmers markets and food events since it launched in October.

“I’ve never heard from someone, ‘I don’t like pizza,’” says Bleil. “And Polpo Pizza Co. is a different pizza experience. We want to elevate pizza to something a little more.”

Pies & Pints

Even though it has been in business for six months, Polpo Pizza Co. has already made partnerships with local restaurants and vendors. An example of this is the inaugural Pies & Pints event. The mobile pizzeria partnered with four Sarasota chefs to pair an inspired pizza with a unique brew. The food truck has already collaborated with Darwin Santa Maria and Steve Phelps. The next two Pies & Pizza events, all held at the Shamrock Pub, are with Isaac Johnson from Pomona Bistro and Wine Bar at 8 p.m. April 27 and Mark Woodruff from Made Restaurant at 8 p.m. May 11. Tickets are $20 and include three courses of pizza and bottomless pints of local craft beer.