Nov 19 2009
Davido’s Pizza & More – Rio Rancho, New Mexico
Davido's Pizza in Rio Rancho
Some might call the American Realty and Petroleum Company (AMREP for short) a pioneering visionary for its early 1960s purchase of over 50,000 acres on the dusty Sandoval County plains that are now Rio Rancho. Others use different–and not necessarily as complimentary–adjectives to describe the land speculator whose clever marketing attracted hundreds of New Yorkers (among others) to the then untamed western fringes overlooking the Rio Grande.
They came because Rio Rancho was a “lucrative investment” with half acre lots going for under $800 in the 1960s. They came because Rio Rancho offered “fishing, camping, swimming and golfing in a place where the sun shone 360 days a year.” They came to live in an area which sloped “among the greenest, most fertile valleys in the world.”
Middle income retirees from New York initially made up a significant percentage of Rio Rancho’s population, earning the community the sobriquet “Little New York.” The nickname is still bandied about even though Rio Rancho’s population is comprised of people from all over the country.
In its first decade, the fledgling newcomer became the sixth largest city in New Mexico and by 1990, the census indicated the city had grown to more than 32,000 residents. It grew by almost 20,000 residents by the millennium and as of 2009, is already the third most populous city in New Mexico.
A combination pizza loaded with ingredients
Demographically, the City of Vision has become younger, and while it still attracts retirees, its growth is primarily attributable to first-time buyers moving to Rio Rancho for the quality of life advantages it offers.
Among the most apparent vestiges of the New York lifestyle in Rio Rancho is the sheer number of high quality pizzerias, many of them which launched years after the peak migration of New Yorkers.
In New York, pizza is practically a religion with nearly than 1700 restaurants in “Metropolis” containing the words “pizza” or “pizzeria” in their name. Not even in terms of per-capita can Rio Rancho boast of such pizza prominence, but it can sing the praises of several highly regarded New York style pizzerias: Fratellis, Sal-E-Boy’s Pizzeria and Venezia’s Pizzeria as well as a very popular gourmet pizza interloper, Turtle Mountain Brewing Company and Dion’s, a local chain.
Add Davido’s Pizza & More to the list of Rio Rancho pizzerias with a claim to the New York pizza heritage. The family patriarch (not named Davido) is indeed a transplanted New Yorker though it is his daughter and son-in-law who own and manage the restaurant. The restaurant opened in April, 2008.
Davido’s is situated just about as far north as you can go in Rio Rancho before you’re on Santa Ana Pueblo. Heretofore, the good citizens of this outpost had to drive several miles to placate their pizza fixes with the good stuff–or they could have “pizza” delivered by nearby chains Pizza Hut, Little Caesar’s and Domino’s. Pizza pundits now have a real choice–a good one.
A slice of cheese pizza
Ensconced in a contemporary shopping center, Davido’s has fewer than a dozen tables so it’s operation includes a robust take-out business. It is open seven days a week save for some holidays.
You won’t find any of the stereotypical pizzeria trappings inside Davido’s. It’s colors aren’t red, green and white like the Italian flag. The walls are battleship gray and hung on those walls are no pictures of New York City or anything pizza. Instead, occupying places of honor on those walls are posters of rock bands such as AC/DC and the Rolling Stones.
The “more” in the restaurant’s name includes five different salads, sandwiches (6-, 9- or 12-inch), stromboli and calzones. The appetizer line-up features bread sticks, cheese bread sticks and wings. For dessert there is cheesecake, chocolate cake, cannoli, fruit cup and tiramisu.
Pizzas come in three sizes–12-, 18- and 24-inches. Features pizzas include the Mexican (refried beans, green chili, mozzarella, Cheddar, lettuce and tomato), the Hawaiian (Canadian bacon and pineapple), the Greek (garlic sauce, spinach, mozzarella, black olive, red onion, artichoke hearts, feta), BBQ chicken, veggie and even a Pizza Bianca (no red sauce).
A Meat Stromboli from Davido's in Rio Rancho
No pizza menu would be complete without a pizza adorned solely with cheese. Some purists will argue that the crusty canvas needs no other topping.
Davido’s cheese pizza is very good. Sauce is slathered on generously, but not so much that it overwhelms the rest of the pizza. The crust is chewy and pliable; you can easily fold it over vertically the way some New Yorkers like to eat their pizzas.
A combination pizza I recommend with great enthusiasm includes green chile, black olives, sausage, white onions and garlic. Davido’s uses a garlic paste instead of minced garlic, but it’s got plenty of garlicky zest. The green chile is not quite of medium piquancy, but it has a nice flavor. The sausage has nearly as much piquant bite as does the green chile.
Right out of the oven, the crust has the intoxicating, memory-triggering aroma of baked bread. The edges are thick and have plenty of air holes. There’s relatively little black char on the bottom of the crust. This is a good pizza residents of northernmost Rio Rancho will love.
They’ll also love the Stromboli, an Italian turnover stuffed with various cheeses, vegetables and meats. Carnivores will gravitate to one called simply “Meaty” because that’s what engorges its golden sheened crust. The meats include pepperoni, salami, Italian sausage and spicy ground beef topped with melted mozzarella. Omnivores who like a lot of vegetables with their meats will enjoy the Italian Stromboli which is stuffed with finely chopped green pepper, white onion, black olive with capicola and ham.
Davido’s Pizza & More has given Rio Rancho residents another New York inspired pizza restaurant to call its own.
Davido’s Pizza & More
4405 Jager Drive, Suite C-3
Rio Rancho, NM
(505) 867-4979
LATEST VISIT: 09 May 2008
# OF VISITS: 2
RATING: 18
COST: $
BEST BET: Cheese Pizza (by the slice), Pizza, Cannoli, Meat Stromboli, Italian Stromboli
