Monday, September 26, 2011

La Dolce Vita: The Perfect Pizza



One of the best things I love about Italy is undoubtedly the food. But more specifically, the pizza. I thought I was in love with the pizza here when I lived in Siena, but there is no comparison to where pizza originated from... southern Italy. I think everyone has their own taste and preference to the type of pizza they like... for Americans - its about what toppings, thin crust or thick crust, deep dish or traditional. For Italians, it's about the dough and the way it is cooked, and of course what is on it.

My rule of thumb in judging pizza is trying the Margherita everywhere. You get to savor every aspect of it without anything being masked by another ingredient. In this case - the dough, tomato sauce, and the mozzarella.

It's been great down south, there are sooo many pizzerias in our home town as well as neighboring towns that I have been able to eat so many different kinds. My husband and I have made it a hobby in trying them and rating them on a scale of 1 to 10. Of course, nothing gets a 10 because who knows if we will find something even yummier.

Well, this past weekend we tried a new one that just opened in our town, and O.M.G. it has made it's way to number one on our list! The pizza is very thin, the mozzarella is divine, and it just melts in your mouth - just the way I like it. It is simply heaven in your mouth... MmmmMmm che buona! This is coming from a blogger that has tried Da Michele in Naples, voted the best pizza in the world, as well as Trionon across the street from it, and Antonio and Antonio also well known in Naples, but the best pizza I have eaten so far is 3 minutes away from my doorstep... oh sweet heaven.

So, if you are ever in my neighborhood, which may be unusual, you must stop by Coco's in Vitulazio. And if you are here, you must also try my, previously first place, and now second place, favorite pizzeria - Vecchio Frantoio's in Bellona, our neighboring town, where I always eat the Diavola.

Oh La Dolce Pizza.

8 comments:

  1. Calling by as another La Dolce Vita participant. Diavola is one Pizza my husband always trys!

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  2. HI Lindy, Thanks for reading my blog. Mmmm La Diavola is my favorite among many others of course. =) Where in Italy do you live?

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  3. YUMMMMMMO in the grandest of forms! Okay, pizza it is tonight for me!! Grazie for posting in the series Anna! Love, Christine

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  4. Hi there, thanks so much for deciding to become a follower it is much appreciated. We live in the region of Viterbo, Northern Lazio. I look forward to getting to know each other via our blogs :)

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  5. i was stuck at home today (i must be the only sicilian who can catch a cold in october) and i stubmled upon this blog while i was roaming around the web... i read a few entries of your blog and i gotta say it was a nice read. i don't know why but i find it fascinating to hear how foreigners feel about their "italian experiences"... it's kinda like looking at yourself though a different perspective.
    your idea about using a margherita as a benchmark to rate different pizze is absolutely spot on. although it might appear the easiest, la margherita is actually the most difficult pizza to prepare (since it's so simple, u can't hide any flaw or mistake). a bad pizzaiolo might be able to prepare fancy pizzas, full of the most unappropriate ingredients... but only a master can prepare a good margherita!
    my personal favourite is a variation of the classic san daniele. raw ham (obviously san daniele ham), mozzarella (fiordilatte), grana shavings and rucola.... man i'm hungry!

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  6. Hi Ben!

    Thanks so much for reading my blog and finding it interesting. That is another pizza that me and my husband often order! Prosciutto di San Daniele is our absolute favorite type of prosciutto... yummm. I really want to make it to Sicily to try the food there... my husbands friend brought us cannolis with pistacchio shavings, omg, to die for!

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  7. i'm glad u didn't mind me reading your entries. i felt a little guilty going through your posts. your entries are aimed to your friends and family back home so i felt like i was eavesdropping on a private conversation (i guess i must have some voyeristic instincts... LOL!).
    anyway i'f you're into italian food u just have to spend some time in sicily. i don't wanna sound biased here, but no italian region can match sicilian cuisine (although campania and emilia romagna come close). it's not just a matter of quality, it's also about variety; no other italian region has more "tipycal" dishes and courses than sicily (whether it's primi piatti or fish).... and then there's the wine!
    if u wanna have an almost complete experience of sicilian food in a quick trip (like a week) the best solution is to have a tour of our agriturismi (i suppose u know what an agriturismo is).
    also another good idea is to come here during the last week of may. during the last sunday of may there's a big event called "cantine aperte" (litterally open wineyards or open cellars). during this day all the wineyards in sicily are opened to guests. they will offer u a taste of their best wines (and lots of tipycal sicilian food to go with it of course!).
    every year my girlfriend and i take a daytrip and pick 2 or 3 wineyards to visit (it's impossible to go through all the wineyards in one day, as there's only so much u can eat and drink in one single day). the owners of the winyards and the people who work there are so charming and nice, they will guide u though a tour of their cellars as u eat their delicious food and taste their wine, they will tell u the story of their own wineyard and so on. it's a very nice experience, quite romantic and extremely satifying for your stomach :-)

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  8. Hi Ben,

    Of course I don't mind! It's a blog so of course I would expect the public to read it and am happy about it. =) I am pretty biased to the campania region and their yummy food but definitely can't wait to try the food in Sicily. Thanks for all the tips!!! I will definitely make a note of all of that for our trip! The wine tasting in the vineyards sound amazing. I did that when I lived in SIena and actually lived in the hills where they make Chianti but this sounds like a whole production. Awesome.

    Grazie mille!

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