Cheli and I are proud to be visiting Tony’s Brick Oven Pizzeria in downtown Gulfport. Tony’s has been a staple for pizza downtown for many years, located two blocks north of the port, off of Hwy49. Under new ownership, Kelly and Justin Cuevas are excited to continue the previous owners’, Tony & Beth, recipes, making their sauces and breads from scratch daily, offering a great selection of pizzas, pastas, sandwiches and beverages. Tony’s atmosphere is family friendly with an Italian ambience, and the adjoining Seagrapes wine bar with a full menu available and live music on the weekends. Nominated many times for Covey awards in the past, this year they have made top three nominees in the categories of Best Pizza, Best Italian, and Best Bartender. They are already winners of The Food Networks Best Pizza in Mississippi for their most original, and most amazing Gumbo Pizza!
We began with a side salad topped with red onion, cucumber, zucchini, carrots, cherry tomatoes, an olive, and a pepperoncini pepper, topped with a very tasty Italian-parmesan house dressing, served with house made warm focaccia bread. I enjoyed a dirty vodka martini that went along with all of the zesty enticements I devoured. We enjoyed our salad, and, there are several Starters that may spike your interest such as: Fried Mozzarella, Meatballs, Fried Ravioli, Roasted Garlic, Focaccia Herb Bread, Spinach Artichoke Dip, and Seafood Stuffed Mushrooms. All of these apps are some of my favorites, with the roasted garlic bulb being highly recommended.
We were served an Italian buffet in a matter of minutes, and were overwhelmed with the feast before us. I began plating a tour of Italy with Lasagna, Spaghetti with Meatballs, and Seafood Rosa, all served with a side salad and focaccia slices. Very authentic, the lasagna was loaded with robust flavors and cheeses, while the spaghetti hosted true Italian meatballs, both served with fresh house made red sauce, and nicely portioned. The seafood Rosa was hands down my favorite dish! Penne pasta tossed in a secret red sauce with a hint of cream, topped with grilled jumbo gulf shrimp and a nice heap of lump crabmeat. I have always loved seafood and pasta, yet, this may be the best! I think grilling the shrimp separate then layering the crabmeat gave it more depth than the usual sauteed in butter, the flavor profiles popped while complimenting the combination. They also offer Blackened Shrimp or Chicken Alfredo, Chicken or Eggplant Parmesan with spaghetti and marina. Other specialty dishes to choose from are Strip Steak – a 10 oz. grilled steak topped with sautéed mushrooms and garlic, and, roasted asparagus topped with your choice of asiago, goat or feta cheese, served with a side of pasta marinara. Tuna Florentine – seared yellowfin tuna topped with lump crabmeat and a Florentine (spinach) sauce served with seasoned pasta. The Yellowfin Tuna cooked to your liking served with roasted asparagus and fried eggplant. As much as we loved our pastas, I wish we had adventured to one of the tuna or fresh catch dishes, sounds amazing today!
They also serve Signature Salads that can be topped with chicken, shrimp, steak, or blackened fresh catch fish, with a list of house made dressings to compliment your choice. Signature Sandwiches are all presented on fresh warm focaccia herb bread and served with kettle potato chips with a list of mouth -watering temptations. The Eggplant Parmesan Sub – breaded and sautéed served with Tony’s marinara, melted provolone and parmesan cheeses. We opted for Rustic Italian Sub – with sliced prosciutto, capicolla and salami, topped with provolone, and an altered version of Italian salad. It was absolutely the best Italian sub! The Meatball Sub, the Italian Chicken (pesto mayo added), the PLT – prosciutto ham fried crisp with spinach, Roma tomato, avocado, and mayo, and, the Brick Fish Sandwich – tuna or fresh catch cooked to your preference with lettuce, tomato, capers and pesto mayo. Yum, sounds amazing!
Well, I know you are ready to hear about some pizza, here we go! Brick oven pizza is one of many ways to cook a pizza, (thin and crispy with a slight rise on the edges), this is by far my favorite! Tony’s makes their dough fresh daily, offers a few different homemade sauces, and a choice of your toppings. They also have Specialty pizza offerings, and can be ordered half and half so that you can share and still enjoy your topping preferences. We ordered a half Mediterranean with pesto sauce topped with sun dried tomatoes, roasted garlic, basil, green olives, roasted red peppers and sweet peppers with goat and feta cheeses, and half Downtown’s Supreme with pepperoni, Italian sausage, capicolla, green peppers, sweet peppers, baby portabella mushrooms, artichoke hearts, black and green olives, and Roma tomatoes over Tony’s marinara and a four cheese blend. Both of these specialties were outstanding, with several more options or build your own. They have a Pesto Pizza, a Veggie Pizza, a Meat Lovers Pizza, a Pizza Bianca with alfredo sauce, marinated chicken, garlic, rosemary and artichoke hearts, a Margharita Pizza, a BBQ Chicken Pizza, a Shrimp Pizza, and of course, the Gumbo Pizza! Don’t even try to wrap your brain around it, if you love gumbo, you will more than likely love this award winning pizza! They begin with a homemade roux for the sauce, top it with shrimp and crabmeat, andouille sausage, a four cheese blend, diced tomatoes and okra on top! It was truly amazing, and even better re-heated, (in a cast iron skillet or pizza stone, in the oven).
Italian desserts are very hard to pass up because they are all amazing! We had a bite of the homemade Cannoli with chocolate chips, and, it was heavenly. Tony’s also serves Lemon-Blueberry Mascarpone Cake, and the Ultimate Chocolate Cake, both tempting. I enjoyed a glass of Moscato (sweet white wine) to enjoy with my sweets.
We really enjoyed our adventure at Tony’s with Kayla providing excellent service and Kelly and Justin carrying-on the traditions of the previous owners, Tony & Beth. Congratulations on your three Covey nominations! Y’all need to check this place out soon!
