From the day it opened in 2019, Taglio Cucina & Pizzeria Romana has been a culinary laboratory churning out firsts for Charlotte County.
Built around a big, round, lipstick-red Moretti Forni oven, the kitchen even looks like a stainless-steel lab. Its fermenting dough bubbles like a living thing.
Taglio’s 96-hour-proofed, bubbly, burnt Roman pizza crust took Port Charlotte by storm, but it also called for so much educating that the eatery had to print a glossary on its wall.
Now owner Vito Recchia has more vocabulary words for us to learn, including “gluten-free,” “hydrated,” “sous vide” and “squooshy.”
SEPARATING THE WHEAT FROM THE CHEF
Englewood competitive chef Linda DeLuca Bonwill ricocheted from one misdiagnosis to another before deciding to go gluten free to cure a debilitating cartilage inflammation.
“By now people have at least heard of gluten intolerance, but that doesn’t mean they understand,” she said.
It’s especially frustrating to the gluten-sensitive when a restaurant manager or server just doesn’t get it.
An ingenuous server once told Bonwill, “Oh, the fryer gets to 375, so the gluten is killed.”
Unlike bacteria, which high temperatures can kill, gluten isn’t a living organism. It’s a protein found in grains like wheat, and it isn’t toxic. But in the gluten intolerant, some of whom suffer from celiac disease, it triggers an autoimmune response that can lead to a host of diseases.
A truly gluten-free environment must provide separate stations and equipment, to prevent cross-contamination. Croutons on a salad, even toast lying on an otherwise-gluten-free breakfast plate, can trigger a reaction.
And sometimes the gluten-free world has no good substitutes.
Growing up in an Italian family, Bonwill’s biggest gluten-free disappointment was “not being able to eat good Italian bread or New Haven-style tomato pie. Gluten-free crust just isn’t the same.”
TAGLIO SHOWS OFF DOUGH
Enter Vito Recchia, who might just have the answer.
Recchia has been up to his elbows playing with flour for years now, ever since he first proofed pizza dough four full days, then based an entire restaurant on it at Taglio.
He knew that his unbromated, unbleached, 96-hour-proofed Roman-style dough was easier on the stomach. But he was also aware of swelling demand for totally gluten-free foods.
And the one thing that, like Bonwill, many of the gluten intolerant can’t tolerate is not having good Italian bread and pizza dough. Commercial gluten-free brands taste like cardboard.
“People kept asking us for it,” said Recchia. “But I couldn’t do it until I was sure I could serve a freshly made, safe product.”
He tried different flours and discovered that the ideal is 85% hydrated potato-rice flour, which yields a focaccia-like texture for both bread and pizza crust.
“It has body and it’s squooshy,” he said.
If that sounds weird, just try a piece. It’s substantial but light enough to float away if you let it.
“It’s not too salty or oily and has just the right amount of sweetness from organic local honey. When we finally got it right, it was so good we said, ‘We’ve got something here that nobody else in the area is making.’”
Taglio pours its gluten-free bread and pizza dough into cast iron pans that never touch regular flour, then lets it proof for three hours.
Recchia explained, “We sanitize everything to avoid cross-contamination, have a dedicated mixer for the gluten-free dough, and coat the cast iron pan with extra virgin olive oil. It cooks at over 600 degrees for about 6 minutes. For pizza, it’s cooked an additional 6 minutes for crispness and to melt the toppings.”
Gluten-free desserts like Italian rainbow cookies and pumpkin cheesecake also come out of the Taglio kitchen.
Since introducing gluten-free products, for dine-in and for sale by piece or in quantity, they’ve been selling out.
“It freezes fantastic,” Recchia added.
BEYOND GLUTEN FREE
And there’s more going on at Taglio than the gluten-free revolution.
The pizzeria opened as a fast-casual concept where diners ordered from overhead menus at the counter, but Recchia soon realized that full-service, sit-down dining was far easier, especially given the restaurant’s expanding menu options.
With 100% indoor seating, it was time for him to roll out the eclectic, experimental menu that he’d been perfecting for half a year.
The goal remains authentic Roman meals, using the highest-quality ingredients and techniques like sous vide — submersion cooking that steams and transmutes food in a vacuum-sealed plastic bag at lower-than-normal temperatures for longer-than-normal times.
Taglio’s style is elegant simplicity that lets flavors sparkle. For instance, you might get a sous-vided steak served with roasted potatoes seasoned, simply, with thyme, salt and olive oil.
Taglio serves not just gourmet Roman pizza, but also entrées like panko-crusted tuna Milanese with lemon couscous and wasabi cream, and pasta plates like “Zoodles” & Noodles": homemade zucchini spaghetti, scampi style with shrimp, grape tomatoes, Pecorino Romano, lemon zest and basil.
Dinner sides now include roasted fingerling potatoes, roasted peppers and cheesy polenta with wild mushrooms.
Recchia was already plating pasta with extraordinary flourishes. Imagine topping gourmet pizza — Roman crust or gluten-free — with those same ingredients, and you’ve got another culinary innovation.
The Dancing Cheek to Cheek pizza comes with braised beef and veal, Fontina, salsa verde, horseradish and mozzarella. The Aye Piglet is topped with a whole meal’s worth of pork ragu, creamy polenta, mozzarella and Pecorino Romano. The Hawaiiana — with marinated pulled pork, mozzarella, sharp provolone, tangy barbecue sauce and pineapple slaw — wins over even Hawaiian pizza haters.
If all that sounds like fine dining, it is — without having to drive 40 miles for it.
“At Taglio,” concluded Recchia, “we want people to experience something that they otherwise couldn’t without traveling to Europe.”
Taglio ($$), 941-628-ROME (7663), 24065 Peachland Boulevard, Unit 103 (outbuilding), Port Charlotte, is open Monday to Saturday 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.
MORE HOMEMADE GLUTEN-FREE GOODS
For over two years now, T n D Bakery of Punta Gorda has been baking and serving all gluten-free goods: sweet breads, yeast breads, muffins, pastries, cookies, bread crumbs, pizza crust, waffles, spinach pie and cheesecake.
T n D Bakery ($), 941-585-9443, 122 Nesbit Street, Unit 114, Punta Gorda, is open Tuesday to Friday 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., Saturday to 1 p.m.
Send restaurant and bar news and recommendations to columnist Sue Wade at suewade47@aol.com.
Average price ranges are $ = inexpensive (under $10), $$ = moderate ($11-$30), and $$$ = pricey (over $30), including tip and beverage.
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