Pizzeria Seven Twelve

On a chalkboard mounted on the wall of Pizzeria Seven Twelve is the following quotation from Alice Waters: "When you have the best and tastiest ingredients, you can cook very simply and the food will be extraordinary because it tastes like what it is."

This quotation identifies the roots of 712 in California cuisine and also demonstrates their commitment to excellence. They take pizza to an art form.

712 takes its name from the proper temperature needed to cook pizza dough. Their name suggests an attention to detail that is evident in the food. The chefs, Colton and Joseph, came from the Tree Room at Sundance, which has long set the standard for fine dining in the Utah Valley area. But unlike the Tree Room, 712 is affordable. The pizza here costs about the same as pizza at California Pizza Kitchen, but at 712 you don't feel like you're eating at a chain restaurant. And I'm going to say that the pizza is better (even though I really like CPK).

712 reminds me of those small neighborhood restaurants you find in New York City. It may only have a dozen tables. As a result, you may find yourself waiting for a table at busy times (although we went about 1:00 pm and were seated immediately). This may also not be the best place to take young kids. Also, they don't do take out. But who would want to "take out" one of these pizzas when you can eat it hot out of the wood-fired oven in such a nice environment. (If you're really looking for take out, drive on down to CPK.) We found the service there to be great. If you're not sure what some of the ingredients are, just ask. Need a recommendation on a pizza? They're more than happy to oblige.

I visited 712 with Ed, a friend from work. While we waited for our pizza to cook, we polished off the complimentary handmade hummus with pizza crust cut into triangles.

He had the pizza margherita, a Neapolitan classic (which the server casually referred to as "our Marg"). It is tomato sauce, hand-pulled mozzarella cheese, and fresh basil. I had pizza with speck, sopressata, garlic, and mozzarella. Readers of this blog know that my favorite kind of pizza is cheese pizza (which I would expand to include a good margherita). I normally don't like sausage on pizza unless it's really good. And soppresata is really good. (I asked the server about it.) It's an Italian dry-cured salami, but a long way from the greasy, waxy salami you get at the grocery store. Speck is a cured and smoked prosciutto from the South Tirol area of Austria (near the Italian border). The smoking is what sets it apart from regular prosciutto, which is typically dry cured. I think we both liked this second pizza better. Ed's pizza was $9.50 and mine was $11.50. These 10 inchers were more than enough for one but probably wouldn't have been enough for two large guys to share (unless we had ordered salads are some other accompaniment.) These prices are comparable to CPK. In fact, although I haven't checked, I think 712 may be slightly cheaper.

We decided against dessert, but their offerings look pretty enticing: apple cobbler, panna cotta, and chocolate cake with premium vanilla ice cream. (AnneMarie and I will make a trip back for dessert.) The dessert menu shows their commitment to high quality local ingredients. The panna cotta is made with creme from local Winder Farms, and the premium vanilla is from the Spotted Dog.

Here's the only problem with 712. It's kind of hard to find. It's located on the ground floor in one of the buildings in the upscale Midtown Village commercial/residential development at about 400 S. and State Street in Orem. (Since I blog about food, not architecture, I'll just say that you can't miss it.) It's much easier to turn in coming from the North, or perhaps from Orem Boulevard (State Street's parallel universe). But perhaps it's all right that 712 requires a bit of work to find. The more for the rest of us.

Joseph and Colton are also fellow food bloggers. Check them out.