Italy's Small Snack Pizzas Deserve A Place In US Bar Culture

It's no wonder pizza is such a common favorite food, with its crispy, chewy, fluffy crust, its sweet, acidic tomato sauce, its rich, gooey cheese, and its variety of spices, seasonings, and toppings. If we had one complaint, though, it would be that pizza isn't so versatile in terms of when and how we eat it. From restaurants to at-home DIY kits, pizza tends to either come in big slices or personal-to-full-sized pies meant for lunch or dinner meals. What about when you're craving that crust, cheese, and sauce magic just as a little snack? In Italy, as it turns out, they've got this covered. It's no surprise that pizza's homeland knows how to work the dish into even more occasions. 

Pizzette are mini pizzas enjoyed as snacks or appetizers. They're only a few bites big and are made from either regular pizza dough or puff pastry, plus sauce and cheese. You can buy them by weight in bakeries around Italian cities like Rome, but — even better — they're commonly served up for free when you order a drink during aperitivo, the Italian happy hour characterized by leisurely spritzes and bites. Mini pizzas are a far cry from what you might get gratis at an American bar if you're lucky, like peanuts or pretzels. Consider this our official appeal to stateside bars: Pizzette might be Italian, but it's a fun, snacky way for Americans to enjoy one of their favorites, too, and it would certainly upgrade our happy hours.

Pizzette are one of the most fun and mouthwatering options among what is an entire Italian happy hour snack culture. Similarly, there's bruschetta, an essential simple dish of toasted bread with olive oil, tomatoes, and basil; cheeses and cured meats; olives — which may be stuffed or fried — and classic arancini, or fried balls of risotto, mozzarella, and peas. These complimentary bites are called struzzichini, and would be served and enjoyed alongside Aperol and Americano spritzes, sparkling wines, and perhaps negronis. Countries like Greece and Spain are also known to offer these kinds of snacks with drinks.

The popularity of aperitivo hour is booming now in the United States, with the popularity of drinks like the Aperol spritz, more aperitif and amaro brands popping up, and more spritz-focused bars opening. But so far, the fuss has been about the drinks — it's time to go full "La Dolce Vita" and incorporate some struzzichini into the mix here, and pizzette gets our vote for the first free snack to embrace. For now, pizzette is one of the tastiest and easiest European bar snacks to upgrade on your own. Just follow tips for making mini pizzas, like using pre-made, frozen puff pastry, or baking them in muffin tins to keep them tiny and tidy. With some pizzette and a few spritz options, your own kitchen or patio can become the best bar outside of Italy — cin cin!