New Places: Manhattan Chicago Pizzeria and CAO Bakery & Café
Manhattan Chicago Pizzeria
Left: New York-Style Margherita Pizza
Right: Deep-Dish Pizza with a Mountain of Cheese
Chicago or New York-style pizza? This age-old debate has long been a hot topic for pizza lovers everywhere. But luckily for Gableites, they don’t have to pick a side at the recently opened Manhattan Chicago Pizzeria. The new pizza parlor, which shares a space with Butter Moon Bakehouse, makes thin-crust, New York-style pies, as well as deep-dish, Chicago-style ‘zas. Before diving into ours, we first tried the garlic rolls, definitely worth the $4 price tag.
We then moved onto the stars of the show – the pizzas. For our Chicago pie, we tried the eight-inch original deep-dish pizza ($21.99), filled with a mountain of cheese and Italian sausage. The cheese pull we got when going for our first slice was astonishing and tasted as good as it looked. Be prepared to tackle this dish with friends; the sheer amount of cheese is staggering – perhaps a thicker crust would work well to balance out the fromage.
Our experience with the 12-inch New York-style margherita pizza ($16.99) was quite different. This slice, topped with light tomato sauce, tomatoes, olive oil, oregano, basil, and buffalo mozzarella, was light, crunchy, and satisfying. The pizzeria nailed the crust, perfectly golden brown and not at all doughy. The sauce was nice but could have packed more flavor.
We enjoyed the open layout of the restaurant, which creates an authentic pizzeria feel. We’ll make sure to return with some of our most lactose-tolerant friends for another deep-dish. – Luke Chaney
4259 W FLAGLER ST
786.876.9965
MANHATTANCHICAGOPIZZERIACORALGABLES.COM
CAO Bakery & Café
Left: Pan Con Lechon Cuban Sandwich
Right: Locally Owned Cao Bakery & Café
Just when we started to mourn the loss of Vicky Bakery, CAO Bakery appeared, seemingly fully formed overnight, with a menu featuring the same Cuban classics. The chain restaurant, led by South Florida locals Tony Cao and Carlos De Varona, boasts 12 company-owned locations and two franchises in South Florida, with Coral Gables the latest to open.
Still a couple of weeks out from its official ribbon cutting in February, we were surprised to see CAO so busy when we visited on a rainy afternoon in late January. The ventanita still stands, as it did when Vicky Bakery operated the space, and there was even one optimistic patron braving the cold and wet. Less inclined to the winter weather, we headed inside and were immediately disappointed – not by CAO, but by the fact that, by late afternoon, the selection of baked goods was already exhausted; only a single lonely empanada and a few leftover pastelitos remained.
Undeterred, we ordered a bevy of classic Cuban sandwiches. Our favorite was the pan con lechon ($9), made fresh with the classic combo of roasted pork and onions. Both the lechon and the pan con bistec ($11.49) are freshly made, while the media noche ($9) and classic Cuban ($9.49) come pre-wrapped – slightly less fresh but still good. We’d love for the bakery to start toasting its bread, but for grab-and-go, we were pleased with the speed and the prices. Next time, we’ll come earlier for the croquetas. – Kylie Wang
245 UNIVERSITY DR
305.441.0611
CAOBAKERYCAFE.COM
Want more new dining spots? Check out our previous New Places feature on Miss Crispy Rice, Tina in the Gables, and More