Pie-by-Pie: Osteria (Philadelphia, PA)
The Gluttoness — October 28, 2009
Chef Marc Vetri, who had been the 2005 recipient of the James Beard Award for ‘Best Chef: Mid-Atlantic’ with his eponymous restaurant Vetri in Philadelphia, followed his success by partnering with Jeff Benjamin and Jeff Michaud to open Osteria (view), which quickly received its own recognition: 2008 nomination for the James Beard Award for ‘Best New Restaurant.’
We sampled the menu’s breadth, from a bountiful Antipasti with beets and Brussels sprouts, to a phenomenal Stewed Rabbit Casalinga with pancetta-speckled polenta. But it was ‘Le Pizze’ that stood out, and not just to me, Alan Richman’s roundup of America’s 25 Best Pizzas for GQ Magazine put Osteria at #22. The variety of pies dictated the following Pie-by-Pie, and forced us to forgo a Margherita for more complex creations. All pizzas were served piping hot with crisp bottoms, charcoaled edges and aptly seasoned crusts that were exceptional whether topped with tomato sauce or octopus.
AlwaysTraveling: Pizza & Poetry of Da Michele (Naples, Italy)
Arthur Bovino — May 18, 2009
The pizza of Da Michele has inspired glutton and poet alike.
For the pizza lover, a trip to L’Antica Pizzeria Da Michele in Naples, Italy, is the ultimate pilgrimage.
There’s little choice here. No extra toppings, just three types of Neapolitan-style pizza: the Marinara (sauce and crust), the Margherita (sauce, cheese, basil and crust), or the Margherita with extra cheese. Five Euros gets you a pizza and a bottle of Orangina within four minutes. Why is it so good? Without adding to the breathless account in Elizabeth Gilbert’s “Eat, Pray, Love”, it’s not hyperbolic to declare this will most likely be the best and most pure pizza you will ever eat. At Da Michele it’s about simplicity, quality and tradition.
Restaurant: L’Antica Pizzeria Da Michele (view site)
Address: Via Sersale Cesare, 1, 80139 Napoli, Italy (view map)
AlwaysHungry Grade: A+
AlwaysHungry Recommends: Everything.
The Condurro family has been making fantastic pizza in Naples since 1870. The story goes that Michele Condurro perfected the family art by learning the secrets of dough preparation, kneading and cooking from the pizza masters in Torre Annunziata, a suburb of Naples. In 1906, Michele opened his first pizzeria, which he was forced to move in 1930 to Via Cesare Sersale when the Ascalesi Hospital was under construction. His instructions and philosophy for making true Neapolitan pizza have been continued for five generations. Each component is the essence of what it is meant to be at its highest potential of being. These components interact in a sublime equation, their ratios perfect: charred to non-charred crust, crust to sauce, crust to cheese, and sauce to cheese— the Platonic ideal in pizza form.
Considering Da Michele’s pizzas are virtually edible poems themselves, it’s not surprising that poets were inspired to write about them. Two signs on the wall add to the simple décor (white walls and a religious statue overlooking the pizzaiolos). They feature poems dedicated to the pizzeria’s two types of pizza: ‘A Margarita (To the Margherita) by Gennaro Esposito (left), and ‘A Marinara (To the Marinara) by S. Galante (right). Esposito (1920-2004) was a popular poet who wrote in the Neapolitan dialect about social issues and his memories of “the old Naples.” Galante is harder to find information about, but both poets were said to have been frequent patrons of the pizzeria.
Included below are the poems and their approximate translations (care of Emily Bovino).
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