Pronto's New York Pizzeria

New Yorkers will say you can’t get true New York-style pizza outside of Manhattan. A great New York-style pizza has a thin but pliant, wheaty crust that's slightly crisp for a delicious contrast to the rich, chewy mozzarella that bubbles atop a tart tomato sauce, mildly spiced with basil and oregano. Lucky Sacramento-area pizza connoisseurs just have to drive to Folsom for an authentic New York experience. Pronto’s Pizzeria opened August 1st at 299 Iron Point Road. Not only is it 3000 miles closer than New York, but it’s conveniently located hear the Century Theaters, and across the street from the Folsom Outlet Stores for a delicious meal after a movie or shopping.

Pronto's pizzas begin with a ''small'' (12-inch) cheese, simple but elegant for $12.99, and ends in lavish large (16-inch) combinations priced at $ 22.99. The vegetarian pizza stocks a garden of artichokes, bell peppers, broccoli, garlic, mushrooms, olives, onions and tomatoes. Combinations also can be deconstructed. Add artichoke to a small cheese pizza, for example. The result: an excellent ratio of melted whole-milk mozzarella to artichoke leaves.

The Italian dinners include the standards often discussed on ''The Sopranos,'' such as baked ziti, spaghetti with meatballs and/or marinara sauce, and the whole family of Parmigiana: chicken, veal or eggplant. The dinners come with a small green salad and house-made crusty bread. Cheese ravioli are stuffed with ricotta cheese. The house-made lasagna stands tall and meaty.

''When you're here, you're family'' actually approaches truth at Pronto Pizzeria. People walk in, and the nice woman at the counter, who turns out to be owner Diane Benevento, remembers what they usually have. Then her husband, Joe Benevento, makes it for them from scratch. The Beneventos are from the east coast and inherited the family recipes. Joe Benevento bakes the terrific bread that enfolds the Genova salami and the melted Provolone cheese in a particularly wonderful way. Most sandwiches are $6, packing in a salad of iceberg lettuce, tomatoes and sweetly pickled red onions. The meatball parmigiana sandwich ($6) is nicely sauced. There is also a vegetarian sub ($6) featuring eggplant, mushrooms, onions and green peppers.

Come in and check it out… and Buon Appetito!