this is life in austin & aspen

I get a lot of press releases, and a lot of food-related press release (something about loving to eat …?). Anyway, a lot of times I save them until I can go visit the restaurant in question, using the info to write a photo-filled blog post about what I liked and didn’t. Rarely do I get a press release, immediately want to post the thing in its entirety, and do so. This might be a this is life in austin (&aspen!) first. But read the following press release and tell me you don’t want to go eat some backspace pizza RIGHT. NOW. Even you paleos. [Emphasis is mine. If you're a skimmer...]

the backspace: Put away your passport. Cancel your flight to Italy. Naples is coming to Austin. (October 27, 2010) Austin, TX — Inspired by the legendary pizzerias of Naples, Chef-Owner Shawn Cirkiel announces his newest restaurant, the backspace, serving authentic Neapolitan pizza and artisanal antipasti. Riding a wave of popularity around the globe, Neapolitan pizza even had a starring role in this summer’s blockbuster, “Eat, Pray, Love,” in which Julia Roberts gleefully devours a classic Naples pie.
Opening mid-November, the backspace will bring an authentic slice of Italy to downtown Austin. “I want to make food that has a sense of place,” Cirkiel says. “Reminiscent of food and travel experiences, but uniquely Austin.” Hip, casual and affordable, the backspace will offer a selection of pizzas, antipasti, salads and desserts – all meant for sharing. The star will be the Neapolitan pizza, known for its unique thin, chewy crust. Imported Italian “00” flour gives the dough its special lightness and lift, while baking it in a wood-fired oven gives it the desired crispy, charred crust.

The centerpiece of the backspace is its $12,000 Forni Cirigliano wood-fired pizza oven, custom-made and shipped over from Naples. The only one like it in Austin, its red clay dome heats to 900 degrees and bakes a perfect pizza in just 90 seconds. The backspace will offer seven Neapolitan-style pizzas, including classics like the Margherita and marinara, plus specialty pies like smoked ricotta topped with arugula.

A rotating selection of hot and cold antipasti will also be offered, such as creamy cannellini bean spread, homemade meatballs and ocean-fresh baked clams. For dessert, Italian favorites like tiramisu and budino pudding will be served in whimsical glass jars. The all-Italian wine list will feature 40 bottles, with almost half offered by the glass. On draft will be Moretti Italian beer.

Cirkiel shopped the globe for the finest ingredients, starting with two essentials of Neapolitan pizza: sweet Italian San Marzano tomatoes for the sauce and feathery Italian “00” flour for the dough. He sourced artisanal salami from Salumi Artisan Cured Meats of Seattle and Fra’ Mani Handcrafted Salumi out of the Bay Area in California; and Speck (a smoked prosciutto) from La Quercia in Iowa.

Closer to home, he found fresh cheese from Mozzarella Company in Dallas, ricotta from Wateroak Farm in Bryan, greens from Bluebonnet Hydroponics in Schertz, and arugula from Wood Duck Farm just north of Houston. Some ingredients, like sausage, will be made in-house.

Also gracing the backspace menu is espresso from Austin’s Cuvée Coffee. Cuvée’s Meritage blend, a Northern Italian-style espresso with new American characteristics, makes for a distinctive and delightful sipping espresso, and is the ideal base for a traditional cappucino. “I think our approach to espresso, along with Shawn Cirkiel’s affinity for the flavor, make Cuvée Coffee the perfect fit,” says Mike McKim, Cuvée Coffee founder and CEO. “This also helps backspace establish an espresso program that equals the level of quality of everything else they do.”

Easy and urban, the backspace seats just 30 diners, half at tables and the rest around the convivial bar. Local designers Michael Hsu and Kasey McCarty, who also designed Cirkiel’s parkside restaurant, restored the historic 130-year-old building to its original luster. A century of dirt and dust were removed to reveal original 16-foot tin ceilings, Austin brick walls and picture windows. Decoration has been kept to a minimum, allowing the building’s antique beauty to take center stage. A few flourishes have been added, an eclectic mix of Old World and new, like rustic flooring, gothic hanging lanterns and stained-glass windows on the south-facing wall.

Located just off Austin’s famous Sixth Street, the backspace sits behind Cirkiel’s acclaimed parkside restaurant, named by “Texas Monthly” magazine as one of the “Top 10 Best New Restaurants” of 2009. “Bon Appétit” magazine crowned parkside one of the “Hot 10 New American Taverns” in 2009. The “Los Angeles Times,” “Cooks Illustrated,” “American Way,” “Spirit,” and almost every local and regional publication have recognized Cirkiel.

The backspace is located at 507 San Jacinto Blvd., near the corner of East Sixth Street. For more information about the backspace call 512.474.9899 or visit www.backspace-austin.com. Valet parking is available. Operating hours are Wednesday through Sunday, 5 p.m. to 12:30 a.m.

Thoughts? Must I immediately beg for a sample until the restaurant opens in the ambiguous mid-November time frame? Will you go here pre-downtown-partying? Perhaps post?