Restaurant also serves gluten-free pastas and pizzas
Published in the March 5- 18, 2014 issue of Morgan Hill Life
By Staff Report
Photo by Marty Cheek
Luis Frausto, chef at Hang Ten Pizza & Pasta, prepares a pie.
Families with youngsters playing in tournaments at the Outdoor Sports Center often head to nearby Hang Ten Pizza & Pasta after games because they know they can get a good Italian meal for a fair price. And that’s how owner Gurpreet “Tony” Singh wants it.
Singh took over the former Straw Hat Pizza parlor March 1 last year and revamped the interior to provide an inviting and relaxing environment for his customers. Recently, he opened up the outdoor patio area, expanding the options for his patrons to enjoy their pizza or pasta outdoors. But it’s the high-end food at chain restaurant prices that draw people in — and keeps them coming back for more.
Executive chef Santos Villa works hard in the kitchen with his staff preparing the sauces and dough using the freshest ingredients available. With the lunch-time rush, he stays busy putting pizzas through the roll-through oven and preparing hot meatball calzones and other delicious meals for customers. Singh discovered the Hang Ten chef when he worked at the legendary Il Postale bistro in Sunnyvale.
“I’ve known Santos for a long time. He’s been preparing Italian food for almost 35 years. I get all of Santos’s recipes,” he said. “He comes and prepares things for me and we sell high-end Italian food at prices like a fast-food restaurant. Everything is made in house, even the sauce.”
Singh raves about the dough Villa makes for the pizza pies and calzones. “It’s a light sourdough crust and there are herbs baked into the pizza crust, Italian herbs — basil, a little bit parsley, a little bit thyme all baked into the crust,” he said.
In addition to pizza and calzones, patrons come in for Hang Ten’s renown clam chowder bread bowls. “Those are the ones we get a lot of compliments on,” Singh said.
Hang Ten also makes gluten-free spaghetti, penne pasta and pizza available for its customers. “People can choose their own sauce from the regular menu, so we can prepare that for them,” Singh said. “A lot of kids are allergic to gluten and have stomach problems.” The menu even offers a gluten-free chocolate cake for dessert.
The restaurant serves many wines from the region including vino from Guglielmo Winery. And as a treat for beer drinkers, Hang Ten is the only place in Morgan Hill to find the uniquely-named Denogginizer, an imperial IPA from Drake’s Brewing Company in San Leandro, Singh said.
With 15 wide-screen television sets tuned to sports channels, the restaurant caters to local sports fans who come in to relax with a cold beer with their meal. During 49ers games, beers are half off, Singh said. During the March Madness basketball playoffs, Hang Ten will also have special promotions to entice customers who come in to watch games. Tuesdays bring in customers during the week for half-off discounts on pizzas.
Many families come into Hang Ten for special celebrations.
“We get a lot of repeat guests, a lot of people who keep coming back,” Singh said. “We also get a lot of parties, birthday parties, sports parties. We get a lot of baseball and soccer teams come in. Any time there’s something going on, people come in with their kids.”
Nordstrom Elementary School fourth-grade teacher Agnes Davis often comes in for Wednesday lunch meetings with her friends.
“The pizza is amazing,” she said. “There is an everything-on-it pizza and the crust is really good. It’s always great service and very friendly. There is a great variety of foods and everything is fresh.”
