Celebrity Salami Breaks Bread with Dan Marino

Antonio Bandeja was thrilled to his cured core with the cheese pizza.

On Thursday, I was invited to the "friends and family preview" of a new Anthony's Coal-Fired Pizza in Coral Gables.  My sidekick, celebrity salami Antonio Bandeja, came along, as he was very eager to enjoy a bite of the cauliflower pizza.

As it turns out, some handsome, blue-eyed, tall, deep-voiced guy named Dan Marino, who is apparently a rather famous football athlete -- played with the Miami Dolphins, who knew? -- broke bread with us and Anthony Bruno, founder of the chain.

I confessed to Dan Marino that I didn't know much about football.  An ex-boyfriend of mine was a big fan of the Buffalo Bills, but all that taught me was an appreciation for chicken wings -- which fed me through graduate school, one stick of butter and bottle of hot sauce at a time, baby.

Well, this Dan Marino guy was quite nice and eager to share an incredible spread of salad, meatballs, pizza, succulent ribs and his namesake Eggplant Marino with Antonio and I.  Anthony Bruno was in the da house also, and we truly felt like la famiglia.

It took some convincing, but celebrity salami did warm up to Dan Marino.    You know, being stuck between two hunky, gorgeous Italian men before a big meal ... wait a minute, is this 50 Shades of Marinara?

The Eggplant Marino is baked not fried. {Insert bad sophomoric joke here.} 

I'm really glad there's a new Anthony's Coal-Fired Pizza in Coral Gables for two very important reasons.  One, I just moved nearby, and I absolutely adore their salad. I have said it before and I'll say it again, something so simple is impossible for me to replicate at home and I want to just bathe in the salad dressing -- the perfect tango of olive oil and vinegar.

Who said Italian food is all bad carbs?

Reason number two: they have a Meatballs and Martinis night, which is what every single woman should put on her agenda. Don't tell me you can't find balls in Miami!

More importantly, Antonio was pleased. But he got a little stuck up and didn't even give Dan Marino an autograph.  Bad salami! Who does he think he is, Kim Kardashian?

This dish is like 50 Shades of Italian Ribs.  "Lascivious" is putting it Catholic-nun modestly. Expect finger-lickin' buono!

Anthony's Coal-Fired Pizza in Coral Gables opened today to the public. I'm not kidding about the salad. And the ribs are seriously to die for, redolent of rosemary and smothered in red and green hot Italian men ... oops, I mean peppers.  Go some time and you might find Antonio Bandeja enjoying a bite or two of the vegetarian dishes -- he doesn't like to eat his pepperoni cousins.