The Charlottesville 29

A common myth in the food world is a preference for “simple” food — the idea that food is best in its natural state, free of human manipulation.

In some cases, this may be true. A ripe mango has no room for improvement. When heirloom tomatoes are in season, a little salt is all you need. And, once you crack open an oyster, no chef can make it better.

But usually, human intervention enhances food, and the preference for simplicity is illusory. “I like simple food, with as little human intervention as possible. I am happy with just some bread, cheese, and wine.”

Say what?

Few foods require more manipulation than bread, cheese, and wine. Take bread. Try gnawing on a piece of wheat in the field. Somehow, humans figured out how to grind that wheat into flour, mix it with water and a living microorganism that consumes sugars and releases gas, trapping bubbles in stretchy dough, and then apply heat so the bubbles set into a light, solid loaf.

Bread is delicious not because it’s simple. But because it’s not.

The Greatness of Ciaccia

Ciaccia is an ode to the human triumph of bread. Next to its sibling Belle, the tiny, order-at-the-counter shop builds an entire menu around a single bread. And if you’re going to build a restaurant around just one food, Scott Shanesy’s schiacciata is as good as any.

With a few basic ingredients, Scott calls schiacciata “deceptively simple.” The complexity and the challenge are in the process. “There’s a finesse to it,” said Scott, who has baked for most of his life, and trained at one of the nation’s best bakeries, Sullivan Street Bakery. Even the cookware matters. The common thread among great schiacciata, Scott said, is baking it in a blue steel pan, whose non-stick surface allows using very little oil, preserving the bread’s light texture without it becoming too chewy from excess oil.  The result is a product that makes people swoon– a crisp exterior with a soft and tender interior.

At Ciaccia, the schiacciata is available two ways — either as sandwich bread or pizza. For the sandwiches, their inspiration is Florence – where order-at-the counter joints offer schiacciata sandwiches with toppings like cured meats, creamy cheeses, and a few other adornments. Enough to enhance enjoyment of the bread without impeding it.

For the pizza, they looked south to Rome. Also known as pizza al taglio, Roman pizza is traditionally baked in long rectangles and then sliced to order for a snack or quick meal. It’s the same dough as the sandwich bread, topped with combinations like Scott’s favorite: zucchini, pecorino romano, gruyere, dill, and mint. As in Italy, the pizza is sold by the weight — depending on how large a slice you’d like cut off for you.

Before 2025, few people may have realized how much Charlottesville could use a Florentine sandwich shop. We’re better off now that we do. Among a great group of finalists, Charlottesville’s 2026 Best New Restaurant is Ciaccia.