By Rick Rodriguez Special to OnMilwaukee.com Published Jun 03, 2015 at 2:06 PM

Last summer, a new pizzeria opened near one of my favorite restaurants. I made a note and gave them some time to get the operation running. An interesting fact I learned was that the owner wanted out soon after opening and left.

Bruce Hicklin was working there at the time and essentially running the business on his own anyway, utilizing his knowledge from almost 20 years of industry experience. When the building owner Mario Morgese asked Hicklin if he could continue running the business, Hicklin accepted the role of general manager and took over the operation.

Hicklin had also been working for Morgese for several years, so Morgese was comfortable with the decision. Paper work was drawn up and signed to transfer ownership of the business to Hicklin, and Bari Pizzeria, 5919 W. Burnham St., was born. The name was chosen for the Italian port city on the coast of the Adriatic Sea that Morgese is fond of.

Bari Pizzeria’s menu is concise, consisting of Italian sausage patty sandwiches, pizza, garlic bread, cheese bread and pizza bread. The bread is baked at Scardina Bakery & Deli, just a couple of blocks away on Beloit Road.

Pizza crusts are made locally, par-baked and delivered to Bari in 10, 12, and 16 inches. Cheese pizzas range from $8 to $12.50, and additional toppings – including sausage, pepperoni, Canadian bacon, mushrooms, onions, black olives, green olives, green peppers, crushed tomatoes, jalapenos, pineapple and anchovies – range from $1 to $1.75.

Specialty pizzas are available on 12- and 16-inch crusts and range from $12.75 to $21.50. They are named for members of the Rat Pack and include the Chairman – with sausage, pepperoni, mushrooms, onions, green peppers, black olives and green olives – the Sammy, the Dino, the Peter and the Joey, with sausage, pepperoni, green peppers and onions.

Bari Pizzeria doesn’t have a website, but they do have a Facebook page where they list their specials. Wednesdays and Thursdays have recently featured a 16-inch, three-topping pizza and garlic bread for $16.50. Since my visit fell on a Thursday, I ordered that special and chose sausage, pepperoni and Canadian bacon, which turned out to be the same toppings as the Dino specialty pizza.

I watched and waited as Hicklin applied their house sauce and toppings to the par-baked crust before sliding it into one of their two large Blodgett ovens. 15 minutes later, the garlic bread went in to finish with my pizza.

Hicklin brought the pizza over right out of the oven to get my approval for the browning of the cheese. It looked perfect, as far as I was concerned. When I got home and picked up one of the square cut slices, the thin crust was crispy and slightly charred around the edges, while the cheese pulled away in the form of long strands. Yes, I’d say the pizza was baked for the right amount of time.

The sauce had a very subtle spicy undertone and was on the thicker side as far as pizza sauces go. Hicklin shared that he experimented with different seasoning combinations added to the canned sauce until he found a combination that he was happy with.

I was going to order mushrooms on my pizza, but I’m not a fan of canned mushrooms. Hicklin explained that the sink at Bari Pizzeria does not meet the commercial standards of the health department, so he is unable to use fresh mushrooms or other fresh vegetables. Therefore the other veggie toppings are mostly frozen.

The sausage and pepperoni were both on the mild side as far as piquancy goes, but both had a nice flavor, slightly salty and savory. The Canadian bacon is diced and provided a predictable flavor. I was surprised the sausage didn’t come from Scardina Bakery & Deli, but Scardina also sells pizza. Although cost may have also been a factor.

All of the ingredients are sourced from a distributor, but Hicklin pointed out that the choice of distributor is important. The quality of the ingredients must meet Hicklin’s requirements, and the ingredients must always be available. He added that some distributors may run out of a particular Italian sausage, for example, and may send a substitute product that doesn’t carry the same flavor characteristics. I have experienced this at local restaurants, so I will concur. It is important to keep the ingredients consistent.

Considering the sauce was the only ingredient made at Bari, I will say that I did enjoy the pizza. The crust was thin and crispy while each slice maintained its integrity holding the toppings and thick layers of cheese. While the flavor of the cheese stood out among the sauce, sausage and pepperoni, the overall flavor of the pizza was balanced.

What I was most impressed with was the garlic bread. It certainly makes a difference to use fresh bread, and Hicklin made great use of the product from Scardina. The bread was perfectly crisp, yet soft in the center, and the balance of garlic and butter was spot on in my humble opinion. You won’t feel guilty after eating this garlic bread, but you will enjoy it.

There is no shortage of pizzerias in West Allis, but Bari Pizzeria seems to be holding its own just two months from its one year anniversary. On my visit, the customer in front of me became the first customer to fill his customer loyalty card with his tenth order. I don’t expect to be completing a loyalty card, but Bari Pizzeria would satisfy my thin crust craving in a pinch.

Rick Rodriguez Special to OnMilwaukee.com
I was born and raised in Milwaukee, and I plan to stay in Milwaukee forever. I'm the oldest of three children and grew up in the Riverwest neighborhood. My family still lives in the same Riverwest house since 1971.

I graduated from Rufus King High School and the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater with a business degree.

My true passion for Milwaukee probably started after I joined the Young Professionals of Milwaukee (now called FUEL Milwaukee) which just celebrated its one year anniversary at the time. The events that I attended, and sometimes organized, really opened my eyes to what Milwaukee had to offer, as well as its potential for the future. So for the past, present, and future FUEL Milwaukee corporate sponsors out there, that organization does produce results (editorial)!

I love all of the Milwaukee Sports teams, professional and amateur. I love the Milwaukee arts scene and all of the festivals. I love that you can find a free concert in the summer just about every day of the week. I love the various neighborhoods around the Milwaukee area and the unique characteristics that they offer. I love the people who take the time to tell us about those unique characteristics. I have to hold my breath and count to ten when someone tells me that there is nothing to do in Milwaukee. Then I prove them wrong.

Most of all, I love the Milwaukee dining scene. I love how it continues to evolve with modern dishes and new trends while the classic restaurants continue to remind us that great food doesn't have to be "fancy schmancy." However, I also love the chefs that create the "fancy schmancy" dishes and continue to challenge themselves and Milwaukee diners with dishes we've never seen before.

Our media provides attention to the new restaurants, which is great, but I don't like seeing the older great restaurants close their doors (Don Quijote, African Hut) because they've been forgotten, so I try to do my part to let Milwaukeeans know that they're still out there, too. I do that through social media, online reviews, and a dinner club I run for my friends, where we visit restaurants they haven't heard of before or try ethnic cuisine they haven't had before.

My dream is that one day I can mention a great experience in Milwaukee and not have someone respond with "have you been to Chicago?" I don't like those people very much.