The brunch stakes have been raised, Fairfield County @ Amore Cucina + Bar – Stamford, CT

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

That title is pretty much ’nuff said for our review of Sunday brunch at Amore Cucina & Bar (11-3), but in typical OmNomCT style, we’re going to give ya every mouth-watering detail just in case you’re one of those people that needs to see their odds of a killer meal before they place their bets on a new spot.

First off, let’s talk drinks. In addition to their regular drink menu, they also have a plethora of brunch must-haves: a soon-to-be famous bloody Mary bar with 40 different toppings and bottomless mimosas and bellinis in various flavors for $15. Then they get even more creative with some surprises: Magic Milk, featuring brandy, milk, vanilla bean, and chocolate, and different shots too, including a breakfast shot, which Chef Jared Falco (a French Culinary Institute grad and former Executive Chef at Washington Prime) lined up for us a couple times throughout our brunch. This shot is like buttah, made of Jameson Irish Whiskey and butterscotch, chased with a shot of OJ. Yeah, that goes down waaaaaaaay too easy.

Give Pizza Chance @ Amore Cucina + Bar, Reopening with Bruno DiFabio – Stamford, CT

One of the best pies that you can find in Fairfield County is being baked, pie after delicious pie, at ReNapoli in Greenwich. There, at the always packed Old Greenwich BYOB, you can often find Bruno DiFabio, manning the peel, or helping things to run smoothly. If that name sounds familiar, there’s a reason for that: he’s won the World Pizza Championship six times in a row, has been a judge on Chopped, and has other restaurants in the area like Pinocchio Pizza (love it here, btw) in New Canaan and Norwalk, Amore Pizza in Scarsdale, NY, Stefano’s Pizza in Wilton, and Marco Polo Pizza in New Haven. Well, add one more to that list: Amore Cucina & Bar in Stamford (site under construction).

But, this opening doesn’t come without some pain and heartbreak. Amore, run by Al Carozza, was a Stamford favorite and had a cult-like following. Invariably, if you asked a Stamfordite where to get a good slice of pie, they’d tell you to check out Amore. And, if you asked where to get some good, classic Italian: Amore. So, people were understandably upset when Carozza announced that he was closing the restaurant. But, who should swoop in and make things better but Bruno DiFabio, who actually started making pizza at Amore, thus completing a full circle as owner and Executive Chef/Pizzaiolo.