--Many pizza chefs prefer wood-burning ovens over gas ones, because wood adds flavor to the dough as it bakes. John Ganley, who owns Cosimo’s Brick Oven with his wife, Susie, extols the virtue of the restaurant’s wood-burning brick oven. “We’ve used it since the day we opened in 1988,” he says. “Instead of cooking with an odorless flavorless material like gas, you’re using wood, which adds flavor. That’s important.”

--When it comes pairing appetizers and wine with antipasto, Rob Caragiulo, co-owner of Caragiulo’s, says you have all sorts of choices. “It really depends on the pizza,” he says. “A clean, white wine would pair well with a white pizza, for example, which would pick up on the wine’s lighter notes.” And as far as appetizers, or antipasti, his rule is simple: “You want to light up all the senses” in preparation for the pizza to come.

Do you have a favorite Sarasota gourmet pizza? Post your nominations below.