New downtown Sacramento pizzeria dishes up slices crafted by veterans of 3 city favorites
A new pizzeria opened quietly over the weekend near downtown Sacramento. You’d be excused for not knowing its name.
Anonimo, which translates to “anonymous” in Italian, doesn’t yet have signage up outside its 1,600-square foot home at 400 12th St. in Alkali Flat. Yet Broderick Roadhouse founder Chris Jarosz and a slew of practiced pizzaiolos are already serving Sacramento customers, with hopes of eventually reaching further.
“We’re really trying to not just be a great pizza option for Sacramento, but (to) really produce some of the best pizza anywhere,” Jarosz said.
Tasked with implementing that vision is former Pizza Rock culinary manager Tim Benham, who once oversaw concessions at Sutter Health Park (then Raley Field) for the Sacramento River Cats and was most recently Punch Bowl Social’s executive chef. Pizza Rock’s downtown Sacramento location closed in July 2020.
Juan Ramazzini will manage operations for not just Anonimo but both Broderick locations.
Born to an Italian family in Guatamala, Ramazzini began working at Hot Italian as a teenage dishwasher and returned as the kitchen manager for all three locations (the mini-chain has since folded) after a stint at Pizza Rock. He was also the executive chef at Build Pizzeria Roma in Berkeley, and the general manager for On Fire Pizza in San Ramon.
More wisdom came from Glenn Cybulski, the Persona Wood Fired Pizza owner and 2007 “Best Pizza in North America” Citta Di Napoli world pizza competition winner, who consulted on Anonimo prior to its opening. Jarosz, too, got his start at a pizzeria before joining the Marine Corps and opening his local burger chain, and brought pizzaiolo Mario Martinez along from Broderick.
“I always wanted to be in pizza. I never thought I was going to be (owning) a burger joint,” Jarosz said.
Anonimo riffs on New York (thin, wide, crunchy crust), Neapolitan (thin, somewhat charred crust that puffs up around the edges) and Detroit (square, deep, focaccia-like) styles of pizza. None will mirror their inspiration exactly, though.
“Whenever you try to knock off New York or Neapolitan, everyone always spends their time criticizing it, asking why it’s not exactly what they perceive that to be,” Jarosz said. “We figured we were not going to try to be like anybody else. We’re just going to take the best feature of those (styles) and make them ours.”
The 13-inch, Neapolitan-influenced pies all have Italian names and ingredients like the $19 Dolce Vita (prosciutto, sliced pear, Gorgonzola, honey and shredded mozzarella). Seventeen-inch “Pizza Americana” pies include the $28 Meatball Pizza with red onion and fresh ricotta. Detroit-style options like the $29 Pesto Veggie (fresh mushrooms, black olives, artichoke hearts, bell peppers, red onion and mozzarella, brick and Parmesan cheeses) and a quartet of salads round out the menu.
Adamo’s owner John Adamo purchased and built out the space at 400 12th St. in hopes of opening a second Italian restaurant, but ultimately opted to lease it to Anonimo instead, Jarosz said. Originally conceived as a bottle shop attached to now-closed La Crosta Pizza Bar, Anonimo opened less than a month after signing its Alkali Flat lease.
Jarosz hopes to expand Anonimo to a second location soon. For now, the pizzeria is reachable at (916) 382- 4248 and on DoorDash. Opening hours are 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. seven days a week.
This story was originally published February 9, 2022 at 11:35 AM.