by Antoine Wiley
Nestled in a grove of trees and flowers behind the Edgartown courthouse on Main Street is a hidden gem of the island’s take-out scene: Isola Pizzeria. Stroll to the end of the parking lot until your nostrils hit the aroma of freshbaked, hand-tossed dough straight out of the oven. This week I stopped by and ordered one of their signature pies and talked to the chef.
At the helm of this revitalized establishment is Anthony Sullo, an enthusiastic young chef/manager (and son of Peter, the family patriarch who runs the restaurant) who has been here for four years and is behind many of the recent changes in the remodeled shop and its expanded menu. Isola’s features Mediterranean salads (ready to go), paninis, desserts, and its much-vaunted pizza by the slice or whole pie. It’s open for lunch in the summertime. Sullo takes pride in Isola’s insistence on being true to its pies and maintaining both authenticity and quality: “Everything’s homemade, homemade dough, homemade toppings. I hand toss my dough every morning.” ”I actually built this bar,” Sullo adds, thumping his hand down on a stunningly beautiful, shellacked wood take-out counter. The ingredients are brought in daily from “anywhere we can get them fresh,” according to Sullo, helping to explain the delightful quality of toppings on my pizza.
“The Carnivore” is a beast of a pizza that lies in wait for you at the intersection of every meat and pizza lover’s deepest desires, sitting squarely atop Isola’s signature thin, crispy crust and posing a quadruple threat of pepperoni, sausage, meatball, and crunchy bacon that feels so right. Despite these show-stopping meat toppings, the pie somehow balances them with the subtleties of the homemade tomato sauce and mouth-watering mozzarella cheese. Go and be smitten.
