Saturday, October 06, 2001


naturally, when travelling to naples, ya gotta go eat the pizza. i know, i know, real naples food buffs will scream that the city is a treasure trove of undiscovered authentic cooking and why would anyone waste time at a pizza place?

and it's true, real neapolitan food is nothing like the sweet red sauces we americans associate with southern italian cooking. in fact, neapolitans seem to live on the most delicious fried fish you've ever dreamed of. . . but pizza was on my agenda; long time readers know it's a favorite topic here! i did have the chance to go to the famous brandi's. i also wanted to go to da michele and see the beautiful wood burning tile stove at trianon, but didn't get the chance. . .

at brandi the pizza was well, strange. i went with tradition and ordered the margherita: sauce, mozzarella, fresh basil. nothing more. it should be the classic perfect food.

the crust: amazing. thin all the way to the edge of the crust, but soft & chewy, not like a roman pizza, which is thin and rather like a large cracker. a delicious wheaty taste in every bite; and the italian 00 grade flour seems to have a natural sweetness american flours lack. so the crust was perfection.

it was the toppings that struck me as odd. with the exception of the tomatoes, they aren't fresh. order mushrooms, and you'll get canned mushrooms on your pizza! this is so at odds with the normal italian food practice. . .the sauce seemed bland to me. it was clearly just crushed tomatoes and salt, no herbs or garlic. the mozzarella was fresh and delicious and spread thinly across the surface. finally, the basil was scarce. maybe one leaf.

all in all, a disappointment, i must reluctantly confess. however, the crust was magical, and it does strengthen my resolve to take a class at the italian cooking school to improve my pizza shaping skills.

doubtless all you old neapolitan hands will be writing me saying, "stupida! da michele was the right place to go!" next time, next time. . .

posted by fortune | 6:06 PM | top | link to this | email this: | | | 0 comments