Pizza Bistro, one of our favorite pizza haunts, is no more. Former owner Joe and gang appear to have slipped away in the dead of night with nary a word of warning to their many devotees. Under new management, and newly renamed, the owner and staff of Da Vinci’s Bistro claim to have “better, healthier” fare, but our meatball heros were sad proof that the gourmet touch (as well as the joking comraderie) that once resided at this South Broadway address has left the building.

Cold-to-lukewarm, pre-pressed meatballs covered with sauce that tasted suspiciously from a jar sat between crusty halves of a roll, sadly alone on a starkly empty plate. Turiello and Tarantella will be gladdened by the surge of new customers, but fans of the former Pizza Bistro will be mourning the passing of this popular shop. Say it ain’t so, Joe! Where’d you go?