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You wouldn't know from his accent or his food that Tony Rosa moved here in the mid-1970s.

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(ENLARGE)
Atlanta mainstay Rosa's Pizza recently expanded outside the Perimeter with a location on Sandy Plains Road in Marietta. The new restaurant is offering their famous cheese pizza (top) and also entrees like lasagna (above).
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His speech is as deeply rooted in his native Long Island as if he just stepped off the Delta jet yesterday. The same authenticity comes through on the menu of his restaurant, Rosa's Pizza, which he owns with his brother and son.

"I've been in this business since I was about 17 and worked for a guy named Joe Sinatra," said Rosa. "He came over from Sicily and made his own meatballs, sausage and eggplant. It was a great teaching tool."

Since arriving in the Atlanta area, Rosa and his family have owned several spots, including the 18-year-old Rosa's on Broad Street downtown. But his own residence is in Woodstock, and with brother John in west Cobb and son Joe in Canton, they looked for a second location a bit closer to home. The Sandy Plains location opened almost five months ago.

That's been a boon for Cobb diners who had been dying for a taste of their old haunts.

"A lot of people come in and say, 'We've been looking for this for years!' " said Tony Rosa. "There are a lot of people here from New York who love us, thank God."

Short and sweet

The primo offering is hand-tossed pizza, by the slice or in medium or large pies. Pick your favorite toppings from the 21 listed, or go with one of the specialty combinations.

Looking for something that's not the same old same old? Try the chicken with mozzarella, Parmesan, ranch or honey mustard dressing — no sauce.

House and Caesar salads are the greens here. Main dishes are several pastas that Tony Rosa has perfected over the years: beef or spinach lasagna; spaghetti or penne with tomato sauce and meatballs or sausage; baked ziti or ravioli. Heroes are filled with meatballs, sausage, chicken and eggplant Parm. And there's a selection of fillers for the calzones. Dessert is either cheesecake or cannoli.

What's not made on the premises is imported from up North. "We bring in a lot from a company on Long Island, and our meats come from Chicago," said Joe Rosa.

From the bar

Peroni, an Italian beer, is on tap and there are another 10 options in the bottle. The small wine list features Cabernet, Merlot, white Zinfandel and Chardonnay, by the glass or bottle.

Just for fun

Rosa's hosts trivia on Monday nights. The action starts at 7:30 p.m.

ROSA'S PIZZA

• Where: 3605 Sandy Plains Road, Marietta, 770-321-7855

• Signature dish: Pizza

• Entree prices: $4.50-$21.95

• Hours: 11 a.m.-9:30 p.m. Mondays-Thursdays; 11 a.m.-11 p.m. Fridays; 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Saturdays; noon-9 p.m. Sundays

• Reservations: No

• Credit cards: Yes

• Web site: www.rosaspizza.net