Prior to launching POLPO Pizza Co. Tom Baril and Danni Bleil both worked in creative fields. Tom, as a fine art photographer, Danni as a food stylist working for New York Times best selling cookbook authors and celebrity chefs. The idea for Polpo Pizza Company was born from their combined love of great food, their desire to do something creative together, and their need to be a part of something that resonates with who they are. They wanted to create something unique and memorable and they agreed these things would be paramount.
• Be authentic and true to who we are, no matter what • Put out a stellar product - no shortcuts, no bad stuff • Keep it local - support farmers and small businesses • Create an experience that people want to be a part of • Give back to our community • Create jobs that pay honest wages and be a place you want to work • Treat the planet right.
Photo by Chad Spencer for Sarasota Magazine
We're a wood-fired pizza catering company on wheels which means we bring the party to you!
We make Neapolitan pizza they way it's been made in Naples, Italy for generations. Our menu is chef-driven and features local, fresh, organic ingredients. While our pizzas are the star, we also have tasty appetizers, fresh organic salads, and desserts as well.
We offer two types of parties …The Purely Pizza Party or The Octopus's Garden Party.
The Purely Pizza Party: Is ideal for simpler-smaller events, or as an add-on option for larger events where other food is available. It features unlimited gourmet pizzas served buffet style and includes our Traditional Margherita PLUS 4 additional pizza choices from our menu.
The Octopus’s Garden Party: Is a 4 course gastronomic feast. It's perfect for weddings, and other events wanting a complete start to finish meal. Also served buffet style, the OGP includes: (1) Appetizer, (1) Salad, our Traditional Margherita PLUS (3) additional pizzas choices from our menu and (1) Dessert (you may add an additional pizza selection in lieu of dessert).
We've catered tons of events and would love to make your next party...the greatest party, ever.
We believe that quality in equals quality out and that buying local, fresh, and organic is more than a catchy tag line.
To say we’re obsessed with quality and making the best pizza we possibly can is a bit of an understatement. Our dough, sauce, mozzarella, sausage, salad dressings and desserts are lovingly crafted in house. What we don't make from scratch comes from local purveyors who value quality and craft like we do.
At the core of our seasonal chef driven menu you'll find traditional Neapolitan pizzas with distinct culinary flare. If you are not familiar with what real “Neapolitan” pizza is, check out this great description here.
Menu & Rates - PDF Download
We have the perfect bite (or bites) to get your POLPO Pizza party started. We feature a range of tasty appetizers like: our traditional bruschetta trio, wood-fired artichoke dip, our parma board which includes; prosciutto di parma, parmesan, seasonal melon and fig balsamic, or our tuscan board which has house-made smokey white bean hummus, charred carrots, and olives.
Always fresh, always amazing, never dressed with store-bought commercial salad dressing, We take the same care crafting our salads as we do our pizzas. Our Signature Salad (we've had people beg us for this recipe) features field fresh greens, shaved parmesan, sliced mushrooms, toasted walnuts, and is tossed with a porcini-truffle vinaigrette. Plus, all of our salads are served with hot, fresh, rosemary flatbread.
In case you haven't noticed yet, we take "hand-crafted" very seriously around here. In addition to making our own dough and "motz" daily - We also make: bacon, pancetta, bresaola, capicola, n'duja, and sausage using Niman Ranch pork and other all natural-hormone free animal products.
Save room for dessert! A Polpo Pizza party would not be complete without our famous S'mores Italiano featuring graham crackers, toasted marshmallow, nutella, and toasted hazelnuts. If you're looking for something a little more traditional give our Holy Canoli's a try. Yes. Please.
Pizza is our jam. It's what we live, eat and breathe. When we're not making it we're obsessing about it. We love all pizza - but truth-be-told, not equally. What fascinates us so much about Neapolitan pizza is that on the surface it seems so rudimentary, yet when you delve into the the sum of its parts (amazing history aside) - it's really quite complex and beautiful. Our dough is made in house without any GMO grains and takes three or more days to mature. Our tomato sauce is nothing more than the finest organic tomatoes and sea salt. Our "motz", kitchen slag for mozzarella, is hand stretched daily, our herbs are always fresh - no dusty oregano from 1989 here, and our toppings are hand-culled and hand-crafted for their freshness and vibrancy.
There are plenty of "create your own pizza" concepts out there, we aren't one of them. A lot of thought, care and creativity goes into crafting our flavor profiles and we want you to enjoy the pizza the way we envisioned. Not so different from when you go to a fine restaurant and the chef has made a beautiful meal for you. That's not to say we won't accommodate dietary needs or make "dad's" favorite pie.
PS- Yes, we do have a POLPO pizza on our menu-and it's delicious if we do say so ourselves.
Refreshing beverages are available as a per person add on to any of our pizza parties. Our Signature Honey-Basil Lemonade features local honey and is not to be missed! Click here for pricing.
Whether your having 100+ seated guests or an intimate backyard gathering for 25 we can help you have the best day (or day before) ever. We are a catering company that happens to be mobile - not a food-truck trying to pick up catering gigs. That distinction is more important than you may realize. We have many years of experience in catering and our first and foremost priority is to make sure that you and your guests have a stress free fantastic time. We'll work seamlessly with you, your planner, your venue etc. to ensure that happens. Chances are if your considering a "food truck" for your big day you are wanting something different, fun, unpretentious, and memorable - we can deliver all of those things - with a little sparkle sauce on top.
You can catch us EVERY Tuesday year round (except August) 6pm-9pm at the Mandeville Beer Garden. Enjoy an evening of Pizza, Beer, Trivia & S'mores. The Mandeville Beer Garden is family and four-legged friend friendly.
You can find us on Wednesday's - October through April, 9am-2pm at the Phillippi Farmer's Market. We feature a breakfast/brunch pizza, a few of our signature pies, plus a weekly Market Special which is created once we arrive at the market. If you haven't tasted "The Monkey" our cult classic breakfast pizza with caramelized bananas, bacon, smoked cheese and maple syrup - you haven't lived.
Psst: It's best to get to the market early. We've been known to sell out of pizza before 1pm (You can thank Jimmy here for swiping yours.). Don't want pizza for breakfast? Snag a donut from our friends at The Amish Baking Company (Hint: it's the one with the huge line!), then grab a pizza to go.
Yep, we sure do like to party! We've been fortunate to be a part of so many fun, creative, and cool events.
We're honored to be included in so many teriffic publications and media outlets.
Magazines/Newspapers
Edible Sarasota Spring, 2015
Femme Rouge Magazine May, 2105
SRQ Magazine, February 2017
Sarasota Magazine, March 1, 2015
Sarasota Magazine, June 25, 2015
Sarasota Magazine, October 26, 2016
Sarasota Magazine chef Judi, March 3, 2015
Herald Tribune Cheap Eats November 2014
Your Observer (Links to page with multiple articles)
The Business Observer, May 12, 2017
Pizza Magazine Quarterly, February 2015
Videos
10 News! April 2, 2015
McFadden Creative, January 2015
This Week in Sarasota October 29, 2014
Blogs
SRQuisine January 2017
Eat A Duck May 20, 2015
Pink O'Clock, June 22, 2015
Sarasota Foodies, November 2014 (We were open for business only two weeks prior to this event)
Travel Sites
Just like our pizzas, a ton of creativity and thought went into creating the perfect truck for our little pizza business. We looked for two long years for the right truck, then spent another 6 months with the design and fabrication. The truck features a 100% wood burning Italian oven, refrigeration, taps, sinks, and plenty of storage for all of our tables etc. There are other pizza trucks out there but none "exactly" like ours.
The two questions we get asked the most when we are out with the truck are...
1.) What year is the truck? - It's a 1951 Ford F5 Farm Truck
2.) Where's your restaurant? - We're looking! We're looking!
We're so fortunate to have such a fantastic team. We're a tight crew that has been together for years. Collectively we bring a wealth of pizza, restaurant, catering and hospitality experience. We work like a well oiled machine and it shows.
Locals we love, are our customers who blow us away with their support, they are the people who supply us with amazing ingredients, they are the people who lend an ear when we need advice, they are people who have supported us from day one (thank you chef Phelps), they are our like-minded colleagues and they are people who help our business grow and flourish. They are our friends.
We believe in the power of community. Since we launched our business in October 2014 we have been committed to giving back. We donate our time, product and services to several local charities. One event in particular - All Faiths Food Bank's "Bowls of Hope" is a personal favorite and one we've been involved with since the very beginning. It's mission is a powerful reminder that even within our own community there are so many families that go hungry every day.
Find out how you can help:
We've had the privilege to work for some pretty cool companies. A lot of these folks have had us back more than once. Want throw a kick ass company party? Get in touch!
Once upon a time there was an event called Pies & Pints. It went down at the Shamrock Pub in the Spring of 2015 - and it was epic.
Click here to read about it and what we did with the proceeds.
Most of the photos on this page were shot by Katelyn Prisco Photography - or - as of August 6th 2017, the future Mrs. Mark Woodruff - Congrats!
