Eating at Fabio on fire - Peoria, Arizona

We have been living in the U.S. for 8 years now and one of the things we miss the most about our home country Italy, is of course the food!

In all these years we have tried many Italian restaurants all around the Valley. We are always in search of those real Italian flavors and recipes. Believe me they aren’t easy to find! There are very few places that we really consider worth going to and without any doubt our friend Fabio’s new restaurant is one on our list now!

About Fabio On Fire

Fabio on Fire is a small pizzeria that offers an amazing variety of pizzas as well as many typical Italian dishes, if you are in the mood for something different. It is located in Peoria, Arizona, in the Phoenix West Valley.

Fabio was born and raised in Domodossola, a town in northern Italy. His family owned a restaurant, Il Barcantonio, and he grew up working his way through all the restaurant jobs from dishwasher to pizzaiolo to head chef. Fabio owes his culinary experience first to his family, he mastered his talents along side his mother, Felicetta, in the Barcantonio. It is no surprise that many of the recipes that we get to enjoy were handed down from him from his grandparents.

He was then schooled in the culinary arts in Italy and worked for five-star and diamond companies in Italy, London and the United States to expand and refine his skills.

Our culinary experience at Fabio on Fire

The other day we decided to take my husband’s parents there for lunch. They just came over from Italy for the holidays. We thought they were going to be pleasantly surprised by his delicious cuisine!

Since Fabio’s restaurant has opened June 2017, his clientele has been growing. Now most of the time you need to make a reservation or wait in line, in order to enjoy a meal in this little corner of paradise. We went for lunch and luckily were able to snatch a table.

When we are trying a new restaurant, what ever the type of cuisine it is, we always like to explore the menu. We try to get a variety of dishes to have a better idea of the quality and the type of food we are experiencing. We have already come to Fabio on Fire a few times so we know the menu. However we wanted to share more of this experience with our family, so we ordered a few different dishes.

For our meal we tried 2 different types of bruschetta. The Traditional Bruschetta had with tomatoes, garlic, basil and extra virgin olive oil. The Bruschetta Moderna had with prosciutto di Parma, mascarpone, arugula and shaved Parmigiano. Both were served on Chef Fabio’s AMAZING ciabatta Pugliese that he bakes fresh in his oven. Sometimes if he has enough you can buy a loaf and take it home with you. Unfortunately the other day he was expecting to get very busy for the weekend so he needed to have as much as possible for his clients, hopefully next time!

Mass and I shared a Pizza Bufalina (with San Marzano tomato sauce, imported bufala mozzarella, oregano, garlic, arugula, balsamic reduction and extra-virgin olive oil) and Butternut Squash Ravioli (Homemade ravioli stuffed with ricotta and butternut squash served with sage cream sauce and crispy prosciutto di Parma).

My in-Laws were trying to be a little more light since it was lunch time. They had a Farro (with Crème fresh, farro, apple juice, golden raisins, roasted pine nuts, arugula, shrimp, roasted cabbage and shaved Parmigiano) and a Pear Salad (with Arugula, pears, cherry tomatoes, toasted almonds, shaved parmesan and lemon vinaigrette). Sublime!

To end this amazing meal we could not skip trying one of Fabio’s freshly made desserts! Pandoro ripieno was a dream, with a cream of mascarpone that did in no way overpower the taste of the Pandoro, but was the perfect combination. Best way to end a meal!!!

Our meal was totally worth the long drive. It felt like being back in Italy. We got to speak Italian, which is a plus! We found all those flavors that we were so used to. Thanks Fabio for sharing your culinary traditions with all of us here in the United States!

So if you are ever in Peoria, Arizona, and are planning on having some excellent Italian food you should definitely stop by Fabio on Fire!!!

In case you have an event, the great news is that he caters as well! He imported his Mobile Wood-Fired Oven straight from Italy. Now you can have an amazing pizza party in the comfort of your own home!