BY OLIVIA STEIN

All pizza is good pizza. That being said, there are some pizzas so brilliant that they rise above the rest. Ameraucana Pizzeria, a newcomer to Gainesville, has joined in the upper echelons of Gainesville’s pizza hierarchy from the start.

Photo by Steph Stickland

Much like the Ameraucana itself, these pizzas, with its pre-industrial style wild yeast sourdough, look down with disdain onDomino’s all-day carryout large 3-topping pizza for $7.99. Ameraucana pizza is for those with a refined palate (and a real adult budget) who want everyone to know that they backpacked through Europe and therefore, know what real pizza tastes like.

Ameraucana is located on Northwest 43rd Street, near the Flying Biscuit, and is open for lunch Monday through Thursday and for dinner Monday through Saturday. According to Ameraucana’s website, its hours depend on when the restaurant runs out of pizza ingredients.  When I arrived at the restaurant itself (after praying they had not run out of dough already), I discovered  rustic picnic tables, fairy lights strung across the patio and a carefully curated hipster aesthetic that leaves the vague impression that one may need a secret password to enter the speakeasy.

Ameraucana may be elitist pizza, but it is worth every beautiful bite. I ordered the Spicy Pancetta, topped with pancetta, red pepper flakes, parmigiano reggiano, honey and a type of mozzarella called fior di latte. The composition of the Spicy Pancetta was a culinary symphony, each ingredient complemented the other ingredients to, dare I say, create an ode to pizza itself.

Photo by Steph Stickland

The saltiness of the pancetta contrasted perfectly with creaminess of the fior di latte. The sweetness of the honey toned down the heat of the red pepper flakes. The richness of all the toppings was contrasted by the thin, blackened crust created by the wood fire oven. Finally, the sourdough added an unexpected kick of tartness. By the time I was three pizza slices in, I was convinced I had died and gone to pizza heaven.

While Ameraucana’s atmosphere of pizza pretentious leaves much to be desired, its culinary skills fill in these gaps with doughy deliciousness.