The Place: Village Idiot Pizzeria, 11904 Cortez Road W., Cortez, (941) 896-4857.

The Fare: Sublime pizzas baked in a flash in a super hot wood-burning oven by chef Joseph Yost.

The Bottom Line: The pizzas are 13-inchers on a hand-stretched crust in combinations to die for, some white and some red, ranging in price from $12 to $15. Doesn’t sound like a good deal? Don’t judge until you’ve tasted. These are magisterial pizzas and worth every cent. One recent evening I watched as the chef put together his fungi white pizza ($14), ladling on a lovely sweet pesto, sprinkling on his four-cheese shredded mix, carefully placing crimini mushrooms and crowning the whole with chunks ripped from a ball of fresh mozzarella before popping into that glowing oven for about six minutes. Dine in if you’re not close by, or order take-out when you get there rather than phoning. The pizzas cook fast and you don’t want to miss watching yours made.

This article appeared in the February 2012 issue of Sarasota Magazine.

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