Cristino’s 100 percent coal oven-fired pizza is just right, the crust pleasantly blistered (not charred) and topped with quality toppings like fresh mozzarella. Like its sister location in Clearwater, Cristino’s Ybor has homemade pasta and luxuriant gelato in flavors like almond, hazelnut, and mango made on the premises in a “gelato lab.” Lower-priced items like panini (try the eggplant Parmigiana) and panzerotti — the Pugliese version of calzones — are great lunch options if you’re not in the mood for pizza (whenever that is).
This article appears in Sep 18-24, 2014.