Don Antonio by Startita

For the next chapter in Atlanta’s unexpected pizza preeminence, a restaurant run by two New York–based pie masters has opened quietly in Buckhead. Antonio Starita owns an eponymous pizza joint in Naples. Roberto Caporuscio, his protégé, is the U.S. president of the Association of Neapolitan Pizza Makers. He also owns Kesté Pizza and Vino, along with the original location of Don Antonio by Starita, both in Manhattan. The menu of more than sixty varieties of pizza can overwhelm, but zero in on the Montanara: Its dough is flash-fried before being topped with ingredients, including smoked mozzarella, and baked in a wood-burning oven. The interplay of textures and flavors alone is worth a visit. This outpost of Don Antonio replaced under-trafficked STG Trattoria, though STG’s owner, Brian Lewis, has a minority stake in the new venture. The place hides in the back of a strip mall next to the St. Regis Atlanta. We’ll see if the Italian star power can help lift the curse from this location and draw the crowds.