Pie-by-Pie: La Pizza Fresca

The Hungry Goat — August 05, 2009

With the proliferation of Neapolitan-style pizzerias in New York City, the debate over who serves the most authentic, wood-oven baked pizza is as hotly contested as where to get the best slice. With the buzz around heavy-hitting newcomers like Motorino and Kesté swelling, AlwaysHungryNY.com decided to see if an originator of Neapolitan-style pizza in New York City, La Pizza Fresca (restaurant page), still held its own. Renowned for being the first New York City restaurant to become certified by the Associazione Vera Pizza Napoletana in 1997, the amount of praise that La Pizza Fresca’s pies has garnered is staggering—most recently including mention in New York Magazine’s Top 20 Pies of the Moment. It makes our negative experience there all the more puzzling.

 

“La Pizza Fresca” (Tomato Sauce, Bufala Mozzarella, Italian Cherry Tomatoes, Black Olives, Parmigiano Reggiano, & Basil, $18)

The restaurant’s namesake pizza was its best. The sweet, fruity San Marzano tomato sauce starred, acting as a foil to the briny, whole black olives. Slices of fresh buffalo mozzarella added a subtle tang. A meager scattering of cherry tomatoes makes you wonder why they bothered with them at all. Of course, the real draw of a Neapolitan style pizza is the thin crust, and La Pizza Fresca’s limp, chewy base was dangerously close to that of Franny’s, a problem with every pie.

 

Quattro Formaggi (Bufala Mozzarella, Gorgonzola, Fontina & Parmigiano Cheeses, $19)

Billed as featuring bold cheese, their flavors were muted and overshadowed by heavily charred bubbles in the crust. The plump pieces of mozzarella which featured so prominently in the signature La Fresca pie, had melted into obscurity.

Continue for more pictures of La Pizza Fresca's pies. >>

AlwaysInvestigating: Pizza D.O.C.

Lina Mark — March 17, 2009

New Yorkers are passionate about the definition of true ‘New York Pizza,’ but it does not compare to the Neapolitans’ obsession with, and pride over, their beloved creation. In 1984, the Associazione Vera Pizza Napoletana (True Neapolitan Pizza Association) established strict guidelines for what is considered a true Neapolitan pie. In order to control the origins and protect its reputation, only the most authentic pizza is granted the status of D.O.C. (‘Denominazione di Origine Controllata,’ meaning, Controlled Denomination of Origin).

To be recognized as such, all ingredients must be fresh, and all natural, including San Marzano tomatoes, and Bufala Mozzarella or Fior di Latte (a mozzarella-like cheese made from cow’s milk rather than milk from water buffalo). The dough must be made with only “00” flour, water, yeast, and salt. The pizza can be no wider than 12 inches in diameter and it must be baked in a wood-burning oven at about 800 degrees for no longer than 90 seconds.

In an awesome example of “practice what your preach”, the American-chapter president of the Associazone Pizzaiouli Napoletana is taking perfect pizza-making into his own hands. March 23rd marks the prospective debut of Roberto Caporuscio’s Kesté on Bleecker Street. While Kesté‘s pies are hotly-anticipated, will they really be significantly better than any of Manhattan’s others D.O.C.-approved eateries? You’ve got a few weeks before the first pie is served, so in the meantime, check out these AlwaysHungryNY-approved pizza shops, that have the distinction of D.O.C.:

1. Naples 45 Ristorante

2. La Pizza Fresca

3. L’asso

4. No. 28 Carmine

5. Una Pizza Napoletana

6. Peasant