Some pizzerias for escaping the ordinary

At last, after long years of searching, and no doubt so as to not dampen spirits by continuing to idealize impossible recipes, we have stumbled upon the true pizza—great pizzas, those that have inspired and precipitated the dish’s worldwide success. This dish has perhaps the same fate as the Spanish tortilla: they are all dire until one finds the exceptions, which are so exceptional that they practically don’t exist. This is true of tortilla, paella, cassoulet, hamburgers…of everything that is extended and generalized and ends up being as ordinary as the most common mortal.
It is the work of the country that has taken bread to the highest form of cultural expression. In no other place than in Italian restaurants is its quality and creativity no nurtured. Viva focaccia! Testimonials abound, and Naples has become famous for its pizza. Just as one must go to Casa Gerardo (Spain) to taste fabada, one must visit the capital of Campania to taste the pizza in ancestral establishments, many of which only serve Coca-Cola, Fanta and beer to go along with it. And all on Formica or wooden tables, rustic, simple, old, used… that recall a famine. And food that is nothing more than an ingenious expression of something more than bread. It is all about the crust—thin, the thinner and crispier the better—baked in a wood-burning oven and topped with little gems. Of course a Castillian baby lamb can be masterfully roasted using electric heat. If the ingredient is of outstanding quality and the technique reflects a doctoral expertise, the lamb will be exquisite. Just as delicious as that cooked in a baker’s oven of any type. But it will never have those woody fragrances that give it that charming rusticity. This is what happens to the pizza, which has that artisanal and ancestral touch that evokes and illustrates its origins. Just as the secret dough composed of flour, water, salt and grape-yeast is illustrated by the toppings, which have two secrets of their own: their intrinsic goodness and their even distribution. The varieties are many, the most famous of which is the “Margherita”, made with fresh strained San Manzano tomatoes, mozzarella, basil and olive oil; though we prefer the “Marinara”, simpler and also vegetarian, topped with the same San Marzano tomato, garlic, oregano and peanut oil. Of course, the little secrets make all the difference in a society so exceedingly traditional and close nit as the Neapolitan—they stay in the family, passed down from parents to children, from generation to generation. And they take such pride and identity in tradition that the two most emblematic pizzerias in Naples have parts of their names in common, used to convey authenticity: Antica Pizzeria.
Establishing supremacy is very difficult, and the best thing to do is to visit both establishments—atavistic, even a bit seedy as they are—and take doubled pleasure in learning a bit more about pizza. And it is extremely inexpensive, to boot. A regular portion sells for about €3.10, a medium one for €3.65 and a large for €4.15. The ambiance, genuine; the flavors, exceptional; and the price, cheaper than you will pay for dreadful, indigestible pizza in any airport; mean that there is almost always a line.
Antica Pizzeria da Michele (8/10), founded by the Condurro family in 1870, is located in 80137, Naples. Via Cesare Sersale 1 and 3. Phone: 081.5539204. Closed: Sundays and for three weeks in August. Open from 10:00am to 11:00pm. Only marinara and margherita are prepared. For the wuality of the dough, refinement and the wood-fired aromas, it is the finest in all the city, with a clear division.
Europeo di Mattozzi (7,5/10) is located in 80133 Naples. Via Marchese Campodisola 4-6-8. (+39) 081.5521323. Closed: Sunday, Monday and Tuesday nights and from 8/15 to 8/31. The pizzas with fresh tomato, basil and oregano or mozzarella and bacon are wonderful, but the establishment is famous for the baked calzone filled with friarelli provola, a kind of crispy bread crust with hardly a crumb to be found hiding a generous amount of fresh broccoli leaves, which are characterized by their bitter, meaty qualities.
Antica Pizzeria di Matteo (7/10), dating back to 1936, is located in 80100, Naples. Via Tribunali, 94. Phone: (+39) 081.455262. Closed: Sundays and from 8/8 to 8/24. Hours: from 9:00am to 12:00am. Margherita and Marinara.
Ernesto Cacialli-Pizzaiolo del Presidente (7/10), located in 80100 Naples. Via Tribunali, 120-121. Phone: (+39) 81.210903. Closed: Sundays and from 8/12 to 8/26. Marinara, Margherita and fried.

If you can’t make it to Naples, the world capital of pizza, Gatta Mangiona (7/10) in Rome at Via Oznam, 30, deserves a visit. Phone: (+39) 6.5346702. Closed: Mondays and for two weeks in August. Open nights. So does Sforzo, located in Via Statilio Ottato, 110-116, phone (+39) 6.71546118. Closed: Mondays and two weeks in August. Creative pizza with a spread that urges one to indulge.

It is the work of the country that has taken bread to the highest form of cultural expression. In no other place than in Italian restaurants is its quality and creativity no nurtured. Viva focaccia! Testimonials abound, and Naples has become famous for its pizza. Just as one must go to Casa Gerardo (Spain) to taste fabada, one must visit the capital of Campania to taste the pizza in ancestral establishments, many of which only serve Coca-Cola, Fanta and beer to go along with it. And all on Formica or wooden tables, rustic, simple, old, used… that recall a famine. And food that is nothing more than an ingenious expression of something more than bread. It is all about the crust—thin, the thinner and crispier the better—baked in a wood-burning oven and topped with little gems. Of course a Castillian baby lamb can be masterfully roasted using electric heat. If the ingredient is of outstanding quality and the technique reflects a doctoral expertise, the lamb will be exquisite. Just as delicious as that cooked in a baker’s oven of any type. But it will never have those woody fragrances that give it that charming rusticity. This is what happens to the pizza, which has that artisanal and ancestral touch that evokes and illustrates its origins. Just as the secret dough composed of flour, water, salt and grape-yeast is illustrated by the toppings, which have two secrets of their own: their intrinsic goodness and their even distribution. The varieties are many, the most famous of which is the “Margherita”, made with fresh strained San Manzano tomatoes, mozzarella, basil and olive oil; though we prefer the “Marinara”, simpler and also vegetarian, topped with the same San Marzano tomato, garlic, oregano and peanut oil. Of course, the little secrets make all the difference in a society so exceedingly traditional and close nit as the Neapolitan—they stay in the family, passed down from parents to children, from generation to generation. And they take such pride and identity in tradition that the two most emblematic pizzerias in Naples have parts of their names in common, used to convey authenticity: Antica Pizzeria.

Establishing supremacy is very difficult, and the best thing to do is to visit both establishments—atavistic, even a bit seedy as they are—and take doubled pleasure in learning a bit more about pizza. And it is extremely inexpensive, to boot. A regular portion sells for about €3.10, a medium one for €3.65 and a large for €4.15. The ambiance, genuine; the flavors, exceptional; and the price, cheaper than you will pay for dreadful, indigestible pizza in any airport; mean that there is almost always a line.

Antica Pizzeria da Michele, founded by the Condurro family in 1870, is located in 80137, Naples. Via Cesare Sersale 1 and 3. Phone: 081.5539204. Closed: Sundays and for three weeks in August. Open from 10:00am to 11:00pm.

Antica Pizzeria di Matteo, dating back to 1936, is located in 80100, Naples. Via Tribunali, 94. Phone: 081.455262. Closed: Sundays and from 8/8 to 8/24. Hours: from 9:00am to 12:00am.

If you can’t make it to Naples, the world capital of pizza, Gatta Mangiona in Rome at Via Oznam, 30, deserves a visit. Phone: 06.5346702. Closed: Mondays and for two weeks in August. Open nights.