Where We Were Eating: Pizzeria Oceano

The front patio at Pizzeria Oceano is fun, al fresco dining.

​Monday's Where Are We Eating? was the first time we've gone without a correct answer. You guys are slipping! (Or the pic was too hard... hmmm...) The patio in question belongs to none other than Pizzeria Oceano in Lantana.

This tiny bungalow turned restaurant is known for its daily-changing menu leveraging local produce and specially sourced meats and cheeses. Owner Dak Kerprich makes his own mozzarella and sausages too. He spreads all that creative love on his pies, which he cooks in an attractive wood-burning oven.

This isn't your typical coal-oven clone, though. Pizzeria Oceano's pies are really, really good -- so good, in fact, that my friend and I actually ordered a second one after downing our first. The crust is thin and very crisp. Pick up a slice by one end and the rest stands at attention (it doesn't sag in the middle like a droopy dog). The inventive toppings include a Vitamin Green pie with leafy lettuces from Swank Farms accented by lemon, garlic, and artichoke; Black & White pizza with cracked pepper and oozing robiola; and wild boar sausage with English cheddar and roasted onion. You can eat your pies outside on wide, wooden benches underneath strings of Christmas lights.

Besides pizzas, the place offers four or five salads and light starters that rotate daily -- they also focus on local greens and produce, like the fennel and shaved celery salad that accompanies fresh poached lobster tail. The wine and beer list are dynamic and intriguing, with small batch offerings that are hard to find around here, like an Organic Bison Pale Ale that goes great with a pie.

Just make sure to bring cash -- Pizzeria Oceano doesn't take cards. It does have an ATM on premises to make life easier.

Pizzeria Oceano
201 E. Ocean Ave., Lantana
561-429-5550