“The Scratch Kitchen in the Shopping Center” Alforno: Trattoria – Bar - Pizza

Michele, Robert, and Benjamin Zemmel

by RONA MANN

You probably wouldn’t expect it.

If you didn’t know to look for it, you might just drive right by.

But once you do find it, you’re never going to let it go.

“It” is Alforno, all at once a trattoria, a well stocked, welcoming bar, and a place that has been serving the best pizza on the shoreline for the last 28 years. For many it’s a must-stop every few days; for others it’s the best kept secret in this part of Connecticut, yet it’s one that when revealed, shares something very special where good food, good spirits, and good people regularly come together to enjoy a unique experience.

“It’s a scratch kitchen in a shopping center,” owner Bob Zemmel says, clearly enjoying his tongue-in-cheek understatement, for Zemmel, his wife, Linda, and son, Ben have done what few restaurant owners ever do to ensure success...they have proceeded slowly, cautiously, purposefully, investing not just their finances, but their time, education, and sweat equity as well.

Yes, this is Alforno, the product of a man’s insatiable appetite for pizza, his wife’s 30-plus years as a professional food writer, and their son’s realization that his attraction to the family business was too great to ignore.

The dining room at Alforno is surprisingly seductive. With perfect dinner lighting and art nearly everywhere!

Bob Zemmel grew up in New York, studying both economics and chemistry in college. As a young student with little money, he found a couple of slices of pizza and a Coke to be an easy solution to the quest for inexpensive, filling daily fare. Upon graduation, Zemmel went into business designing sport luggage, but still relishing his favorite food. “By the time I turned 30, I had eaten 10,000 slices of pizza,” Bob reports with a sly smile, revealing this was no exaggeration.

The new addition of the beautiful bar area was welcome to both old and new friends.

Zemmel’s gustatory horizons widened, however, when he met and married Linda Giuca, Food Editor for the Hartford Courant and an accomplished Italian cook in her own right. Moving to Connecticut and frequently accompanying Linda to a myriad of restaurants as she wrote and reviewed the local scene for the newspaper, opened Bob’s eyes wide. This foray also marked his introduction to the famous Connecticut legend, Pepe’s Pizza, and soon Zemmel became obsessed with recreating and perfecting the Pepe’s pizza crust. His chemistry background served him well as he explored “the enzymatic reaction that takes place through slow fermentation.” For decades enzymes had been used in bread making of all types, including pizza crust. Enzymes are catalysts that increase the speed of a chemical reaction and may be used to replace additives, which appeals to today’s health conscious consumers. Enzyme applications in baking become more intrinsic and more difficult to understand, but Bob Zemmel’s schooling led to his understanding of how this played into making not only a superior pizza crust, but also loaves of bread that locals and regulars cannot wait to wolf down.

“Sometimes they come in just to buy our bread, and we’re out of it in less than an hour, even though we bake 100 loaves a day,” relates Alforno’s very affable and equally engaging bartender, Tim. “They get the saddest look on their faces when that happens.”

Fresh out of the oven goodness.

Zemmel says it takes “fully three days to make a loaf of our bread, which begins with a starter and ferments overnight.” The loaves sit regally in a basket at the bar seducing customers and are the perfect complement to a glass of wine, a mug of beer, or a specialty cocktail, in addition to accompanying lunch or dinner at Alforno.

Initially, creating the best pizza on the shoreline was Alforno’s primary business. Then Bob and Linda made the first of many trips to Italy and were fortunate enough to meet famed Florentine born chef, Giuliano Bugialli. Bugialli stressed tradition in all Italian cooking, but championed Tuscan cooking above all else. Bob Zemmel said, “Giuliano felt that if it wasn’t 400-500 years old, the recipe was not authentic.” The three became fast friends and soon began going back and forth to learn from, and work with, Bugialli.

Arugula Salad

Each time the Zemmels returned to Old Saybrook they added more and more dishes…. House made pastas, meatballs, veal dishes, “and the best chicken in Connecticut,” Bob said. “Some women didn’t want a fatty cheese pizza, so we experimented with all kinds of chicken until we settled upon Bell and Evans, the very finest, freshest product.”

Butternut Squash Ravioli

They have incorporated Giuliano’s pastas into their growing menu, renovated their space, and soon, according to Bob, “we flipped our business from mostly pizza to just 25% pizza.” They also added and are now well known for four or five specialty dinners a year when they close Alforno for the evening and have a lavish tasting dinner, complete with special wine pairings. “These sell out almost as soon as they’re advertised,” Zemmel said, who added, “We even had famed chef, cookbook author, and nearby Madison resident, Jacques Pepin at one of them. He hung his art right here and signed his books. It was wonderful.”

Although having grown up in his parents’ restaurant, son Ben Zemmel was initially reticent about joining the family business. After college in Boston and working in the hospitality business following graduation, he changed his mind, spent some time honing and perfecting his craft in Italy, and the kitchen is now his. Eventually, Bob said, Alforno will be solely under his stewardship.

Wild Mushroom Pizza

Bob’s new passion, in addition to his family and the restaurant they built together, are his Italian water dogs, known as lagotta romagnolo. These curly haired loveable animals are known for truffle hunting and are very popular in Italy. It was shortly after 911 that the Zemmels had a planned trip to Italy, but the pain was still too great, and Linda did not want to fly after the horror that had recently occurred. Bob went without her nevertheless, but returned with his first Italian water dog...now he breeds them and opens other eyes to these wonderful animals.

So, Alforno has come full circle in 28 years, leaving Bob Zemmel to remark, “I’m pretty contented. Still, there are those who walk by or drive by and think we’re still just a pizzeria, even some local people. Then the word of mouth gets out.”

So, take this word of mouth to heart because now you do know, now you won’t drive right by, and now you probably can expect it...the most authentic Italian food on the shoreline, each dish containing ingredients concocted from history, education, and love in...well, you know the place. It’s that little scratch kitchen in the shopping center.

Alforno is open seven days a week where they’re waiting to host you at 1654 Boston Post Road (Rt. 1) in Old Saybrook (860) 399-4166 www.alforno.net