What’s better than wine in a cozy atmosphere? How about wine and pizza! Patron Saint, 1152 Magazine St., has recently introduced a pizza shop, St. Pizza, right next to its wine shop. It serves as a haven for those who crave a taste of Italy uptown.
Established by Leslie Pariseau and Tony Biancosino in 2023, Patron Saint offers an eclectic selection of wine by the glass or bottle. Biancosino is a television director and producer who has produced shows for the Food Network and considers himself a wine enthusiast. Pariseau is a three-time James Beard Award-nominated journalist and author. The couple combined their passions into Patron Saint during the pandemic, starting as a popup before opening their shop on Magazine St. last year.
“We had the opportunity to look at this space and we knew the wine shop would be perfect here,” Pariseau says. “We realized there was an adjacent space which allowed us to dream about the possibility of a sibling business.”
The experimental concept of Patron Saint is a European model where you can buy a bottle to take home or enjoy a glass of wine in the shop. Offerings include a rotating selection of cider, sherry, sparkling, red, white, orange, and rosé. The “by the glass” list offers wine from small producers and rotates about every two weeks. Pariseau explains that the team of producers Patron Saint works with have dedicated their careers to wine, and Patron’s wine selection honors those producers.
“Our wine selections are always different, but there’s something for everyone,” Pariseau says. “We have the classics but we also have a few things that are more experimental.”
When it comes to St. Pizza, Biancosino, who was raised in an Italian family in Pennsylvania and New Jersey, wanted to serve the Italian-American food he grew up on.
The pizza selection at the restaurant isn’t what anyone would call fancy, but it covers all of the bases of what you would hope to find at a pizza joint. Highlights include Pepperoni Pizza with thick-cut pepperoni, mozzarella, fresh mozzarella, pecorino-parmesan blend, tomato sauce, and finished with more pecorino-parmesan and basil; Bianca with roasted garlic, olive oil, parmesan, pecorino, mozzarella, fresh mozzarella, and sweet-cream ricotta, finished with pecorino-parm and basil; and Green Pie with seasonal greens, mozzarella, parmesan, and pecorino, sweet ricotta, garlic confit, basil, and Calabrian chile oil. The sausage pizza is topped with fennel sausage homemade at the restaurant.
The menu’s simplicity is by design. Biancosino says he aimed to create a pizza menu featuring what he considers essentials.
He says, “The fun and challenging part has been to show people that you don’t need to cover up pizza with a thousand things. Pizza should be good on its own. We’ll add more options in the future, but we aren’t going to offer very unusual things on the menu.”
Aside from the pizza, the restaurant offers other Italian favorites such as The Meatball and Spaghetti; and Chicken Parm. An array of appetizers like Marinated Olives and Buffalo Wings and a selection of salads round out the menu. For added convenience, food can be ordered directly at St. Pizza’s takeout window.
Recipes contain elements from Biancosino’s family cooking and combine that family approach with more elevated techniques.
“The recipes are a hybrid of Tony’s ideas and his sense of nostalgia mixed with technically-perfect cooking,” Pariseau explains. “Even when he’s cooking at home, Tony is metabolizing different recipes and taking elements of all of them, testing them at home, and taking them to our chef to put them into practice in a professional capacity.”
If you’re in the mood for something other than wine, St. Pizza boasts beer, a full bar, and a selection of specialty cocktails.
Patron Saint is open Thursday through Saturday, from 12:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m., and Sunday and Wednesday, from 12:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.
St. Pizza is open Thursday through Saturday, from 12:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m., and Sunday and Wednesday, from 12:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.
