Mandala baking up wood-fired pizza

SANDPOINT — In the Tibetan Buddhist tradition, a mandala is an offering symbolic of the universe. In the Sandpoint food court, a Mandala pizza is a gourmet microcosm, complete with fresh, locally sourced and additive-free ingredients. Both are flat and round, both are infused with good intentions and both provide sustenance to body and/or soul.

Mandala Pizza recently opened for business in the food court at the corner of Oak Street and Fourth Avenue in downtown Sandpoint. A completely mobile operation, it features a trailer-mounted, brick-lined oven from Italy that proprietors Elissa and Steve Rookey use to bake their 10-inch chef d'oeuvres. The mobility of their equipment enables the couple to do on-site catering for private events.

Elissa Rookey has been in the pizza business since 2002 when she owned Romeo's Pizza, also based in the food court. Romeo's was named for the chef she fired the day before she opened her original stand. Her friend, a Tibetan Buddhist who filled in on a moment's notice, taught her that a mandala is an offering made with good intentions, like the pizzas they were selling.

After closing Romeo's in 2004, the Rookeys spent five years in Missoula and two in Taos, N.M. When they returned in 2014, they found Sandpoint still had a jones for their wares.

"Every day over the summer, I would run into someone who asked if I was going to make pizza again," she said. "Steven had also been trying to talk me into buying a mobile wood-fired pizza oven. After watching the movie 'Chef,' my fate was sealed, and we bought an oven in October."

In honor of their Buddhist friend, the Rookeys called their new venture Mandala Pizza. They are open at least five days per week during the lunchtime hours. Their menu consists of both vegetarian and traditional fare, and each 10-inch pizza is equivalent to two large slices, said Rookey. Although they make each pie to order, they can bake them relatively quickly in their 800-degree pizza oven.

"All ingredients are free of GMOs, hormones, antibiotics and nitrates. Greens are grown locally and are pesticide-free," she said.

One of their most popular menu items is the Bianca, a combination of garlic oil, mozzarella, goat chevre, Italian prosciutto and Parmesan cheese on a scratch-made crust. When it comes out of the oven, they add some fresh arugula leaves on top. The menu includes vegetarian and gluten-free options, too. Prices are below $10.

Mandala Pizza will be open at the food court until October. The Rookeys move their mobile stand to MickDuff's Beer Hall, 220 Cedar Street, every other Friday evening. They also take part in special events such 7B Sunday at Schweitzer Mountain Resort June 26. Mandala Pizza caters private parties and get-togethers, too.

"We hope to provide the community with good food, lots of smiles and a place that people want to come back to," Rookey said.

Information: 208-217-1006