04/26/2026
Yesterday's dinner was such a delight. We have been eyeing this place for a while and finally decided to try it. The story behind this restaurant is pretty remarkable. The owner, Joe Carlucci, has an incredible life story that brought his award winning pizza to Huntsville. What started out as a small pizzeria at a local gas station is now a hit pizzeria with its own brick and mortar restaurant. His story started well before then, but I will keep this post highlighting this restaurant.
We started out with the meatball appetizer. It consisted of veal, pork, and beef. So flavorful, so tender (thanks to the veal) and so delicious!
For our entrée, there was an extensive lists of pizzas to choose from...so many, we couldn't decide. So we left it up to our bartender, Mason, to choose for us. He placed the order and we didn't know what he ordered until it was brought to us. It was like a pizza reveal party..lol! He ordered the "The Award Winner" (that's literally the name of the pizza because of its awards) with the Garlic Butter crust. BTW, there are a few crust options..too many to name. It was a solid good pizza!
For dessert, we had the Tiramusu. It came in a cute cocktail glass which we enjoyed and enjoyed having fun taking pictures with it!
The highlight of the evening was meeting Joe and hearing his life story and how this restaurant came to be. We learned that Valentina's was named in his daughter's honor who is now 13 years old and who was his motivation and inspiration for this restaurant. A mural in the back of the restaurant (shown in the pics) featured a painting of her.
Extra bonus was we were given a copy of his book titled, "Slicing Through Diversity", which details his life's challenges which led him to opening the restaurant.
They will be opening a new Italian restaurant in the same gas station as the original location of Valentina's soon. Looking forward to that!
It's a little bit of a drive but definitely worth it in my opinion! We will definitely be back to check out other menu options!
Location:
25783 Huntsville Brownsferry Rd, Madison, AL 35756
Hours:
Sunday Closed
Monday Closed
Tuesday 4–8 PM
Wednesday 4–8 PM
Thursday 4–8 PM
Friday 4–9 PM
Saturday 12–9 PM