Trip to NAPLES - SEPTEMBER 2009 - part 3: Pizzeria Da Michele

Pizeria Da Michele is considered the best in Naples and we have to agree with that.  Small, hole-in-the-wall space that has been serving the same pizzas for 140 years.  The place is extremely popular with locals, and even more so with tourists.  They told me they make 500 pizzas a day.  Sometimes there are so many people in line that we'd rather walk away.  There are only 2 pizzas on the menu - Margherita (tomato sauce, basil, fior di latte) and Marinara (tomato sauce and some herbs, no cheese) .  Pizzas cost about 5 euros.  Only 2 options, but so amazingly good.  Perfect even.  I love love love this pizza.  I know Naples is supposed to be the best place to get pizza, but even there it is evident that making a perfect Neapolitan pizza is not an easy process.  In many places it is just alright, in many places it's bad, and only few places make it on point.  

Menu

Margherita

Margherita with extra cheese

Leopard charring 

IT'S OFFICIAL!

Pupatella is opening a restaurant.  And we’re going to blog about it!  The address is 5104 Wilson Boulevard in Arlington.  It is going to be a lot of work to turn it into a Neapolitan pizzeria, though. Even though it used to be a restaurant, previous tenants took everything (even the light bulbs and the air-conditioner!) and we have to basically build a pizzeria from an empty shell. While it is going to be a lot of work, we’re excited - having nothing there means that we’ll get to make the space exactly how we want it.  

So....

Step 1. Order a wood-burning pizza oven from Naples.  Marco Parente is our guy in Naples.  They have this oven shop, called Forno Napoletano.  http://forno-napoletano.it/  The ovens are built from local bricks and clay by Neapolitan artisans.  We personally tasted pizzas made in one of those ovens and they were the best!  It was in this pizzeria called Da Salvo, just outside of Naples. The pizzeria was great by the way, the best in the Naples area.  Not only they had the best-tasting pizzas, they also had amazing appetizers and fried calzones.  I must show you some pictures. Pizza Margherita:

Fried Calzone

The oven:

The pizzaiolo (right):

TRIP TO NAPLES - SEPTEMBER 2009

A little late post about our trip to Naples in September 2009.  Enzo's family lives in the outskirts of Naples (Castel Vuoturno to be exact), so we have a place to stay and explore all the awesome (and mediocre) pizzerias for as long as we please.  

So, the first place we go to - Trianon.  First off, let me say what a dump that area is. You literally have to rake garbage with your feet to get through the streets.  People trying to sell all kinds of stuff and beggars left and right.  Clenching Enzo's hand as hard as I could, I felt like a survivor when we made it from our car to the restaurant.  

Naples is quite different from the rest of Italy, you see.  It's even quite different than the other cities in Southern Italy. You have to get over a little bit of a cultural shock. For me, every time I go there, it goes like this: first 5 days - "Oh God, when are we gonna leave this dump and go home"; then - "Oh, it's not so bad, I mean - these people live here, right?"; and finally "Enzo, let's move here - it's the best place in the world." 

Anyway, we're at Trianon. The place is spacious - 2 floors. The decor is pretty outdated but we're here for the food.  Enzo orders "Quattro Staggioni" and I order "Margherita" (with buffalo mozzarella, of course), which is the only thing I ever order. I'm a purist.

Pizzas are quite large, about 16 inches in diameter. Thick. Thicker than should be. I have to say, their crust is unacceptable.  Doughy and flavorless.  Too thick in the cornicione (around the edges) area. And than the toppings.  My Margherita had god toppings - creamy mozzarella, nice simple sauce, fresh basil. As should be.  But poor Enzo had to eat some grossness.  Quattro Staggioni is divided into four sections - 1. Ham. 2. Salami. 3. Mushrooms. 4. Mozzarella. The ham and mushrooms were inedible. Salami and Mozzarella portions were good. 

As in any Neapolitan pizzeria, the prices are more than reasonable.  Our bill, with 2 beers, was 13 Euros.  13 Euros for two disgusting pizzas.  Too much. 

For those of you out there who, like us, are all about perfecting the technique, we shot a video of them making pizzas.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LnscC-Xm-CU