Ok, now I'm not complaining, but this was the first time since being in Italy when we had, well, bad pasta. I know, it can't be that bad. It was pretty bad, airplane food bad. It was potato gnocchi, dense yet mushy, with canned tomato sauce and cheese. Oh well. Some tiramisu like thing for dessert.
For dinner, though, here was another meal of a life time. If you know anything about Naples, you probably know that they are known for the best pizza in the world. And it's true, this pizza is a completely different thing from anything you have ever had. We went to L'Antica Pizzeria da Michele (Via Cesare Sersale, 1, Napoli), one of the better known pizzerias in the city. First, as this place is very popular, we were given a number and told to wait outside. We knew it would be a bit of a wait, so we walked down the street to get a snack as we waited. Common in Naples are these little stalls outside restaurants or pizza places that sell arancini (risotto balls), tortas, croquettes, etc... We picked up some arancini and spinach tort for the wait.
Not long after, we were let into the pizzeria, which has been around since 1870. This place is very simple, with sparsely decorated walls (that did include a picture of Julia Roberts eating there), and an even simpler menu. Here is what the menu includes:
-Margarita Pizza (small, medium, or extra mozzarella)
-Marinara Pizza (small, medium or large)
-Water, Soda or Beer
I ordered a Margarita Pizza. Now some would say that there is better pizza in Naples, some would say that the proportions of dough to sauce and sauce to cheese could be slightly better. Some would say the oven needs to be slightly hotter, or use a different type of wood. But as far as I am concerned, this pizza was absolutely perfect. As someone, like many Americans, who has probably eaten pizza from thousands of places both in the US and now here in Italy, I can honestly tell you I have never had anything that even comes close. And this is not one of those things where the pizza tastes better only because I'm eating it in Naples. This pizza is entirely different. It's mostly in the dough, which is incredibly flavorful and perfectly cooked. There are tastes of pancake, crepe, toast, bread, and cookie (I'm not kidding). It is slightly salty and a little sweet, on the thinner side but still fluffy. It is cooked until the dough is blistering and has little burnt bubbles, but the inside is delicate and not overcooked. The sauce and cheese are top-notch too, but this pizza is all about the dough.
It is put into an wood-fired oven, pictured below, that is clearly extremely hot and swarming with black smoke. A man, who I can only imagine has been working there his whole life, artfully handles the pizzas in the oven, slowly moving them back and forth, flipping up the sides to see if they are cooked, taking them out at exactly the right moment whereupon they are swiftly taken to their consumer.
Here it is, the best pizza in the world as far as I am concerned. I've also included a picture of the underside of the dough. Just looking at these pictures kills me, and makes me want to jump back on the six hour train right now just so I can eat it again for dinner tonight.
