I watched Mario's new series "Ciao America" last week with great anticipation of Mario pointing out places in America that serve authentic Italian pizza. Instead he showed nothing but typical American pizza. I was expecting his next stop to be Pizza Hut. Why is it that there is not a traditional Italian Pizzaria here in the States? We can get the tomatoes from San Marzaon, we can get the Mozzarella from Battipaglian, why can't we make a real Napoli styly Margharita? Am I going to have to start my own Pizzaria?
I worked for one of the places where you actually can get a neapolitan style pizza. It in Los Angeles and its called Caffe Angeli. Evan Kleiman runs it and it serves as authentic a menu as you will find.
The pizza tastes as you will find in Napoli except that mozarella di bufala is not available as a topping. I prefer the funghi with prosciutto and mushroom or the puttanesca with capers, olive oil, olives and hot pepper.
In DC the king pizza is Pizza Paradiso which reminds me of the maching in Douglas Adams, Hitchhiker series that does a full analysis of the drinker, their wants and needs, their expectations from a beverage and then dispenses something that looks like but is opposite to a cup of tea. Pizza Paradiso looks like a neapolitan pizza, sort of (Its too puffy in the crust) but it has no character. Its got too much stuff in the middle and too much puffy crust around the edge. However, there are lines out the door!
I am fully resigned to the fact that, while in the USA I will never drink an espresso as good as an average experience in Italy nor eat a pizza that is really as good as one over there!
We've had the same experience once we came back from Italy. The pizza & lasagna can't compare. We have a couple of small family run Italian places in town...good, but not at all like we had every day in Italy.The crust is always too thick for my liking.
Hey, we have had "bad" espresso here and there...worst was in Venice, I don't remember the name of the place but it was on one of the "streets" behind San Marco leading to the Rialto, shoulda known they were not Italians running it...(that is as close as I will get to telling who(m) it was, other than to say they came from halfway around the globe) As far as Pizza, nothing we have found in the US comes close. I think that most americans like thick pasty dough loaded with cheese.
Daniel and Priscilla in Fort Lauderdale
Posts: 643 | Location: South Florida | Registered: 25 July 2001
It's actually the 23rd. I think she needs to be told how lucky she is to have such a wonderful hubby who makes sure she has an almost never ending supply of old red wines so her allergies are not affected by the tannins and histamines........
Topic Closed
(hmmm....we need a glass of brunello)
