Alpharetta: Alpine Bakery and Trattoria

Category: Worth a detour
Verdict: Excellent pizza as part of a full Italian-American menu

I've heard about Alpine Bakery for awhile and finally made it. Alpine Bakery is, you must admit, not the most obvious name for a white-linen Italian restaurant, but there you have it. They also have an extensive bakery case with a large variety of cakes.

The restaurant has a full menu of Italian-American dishes but I went for the pizza. I was slightly skeptical at first when my waitress explained that they make margherita pizzas in both white and red. (For all you food geeks out there, you can read about the origin of the pizza margherita on Wikipedia's History of Pizza page.) But it was an excellent family style pizza, the best I've had in quite awhile. The crust was the right combination of crunchy on the outside and chewy on the inside. The cheese was outstanding. I had a small cup of sauce on the side, which helped me isolate its flavor. The sauce had the right balance of acidity and just a little sweetness.

The atmosphere is fancy but still warm and accessible. The service was very attentive and friendly.

Alpine Bakery and Trattoria on Urbanspoon

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