That’s Amore! Too much of a good thing?

ONCE AGAIN, LONG, BUT IT WILL EVENTUALLY BE ABOUT PIZZA!

Most people believe that it’s possible to have “too much of a good thing”. I don’t subscribe to that; I prefer “to stick with what I know”.

Dean Martin was thought to have too much of a “good” liquor, but the “true” stories say that he drank whiskey colored water.

But, I also know that I never get too much “That’s Amore” from a old movie that I frequently watch, “The Caddy,” with Martin & Lewis.

Napoli is my favorite place to visit, but our May 1 walk through a massive (10’s of thousands) holiday Sunday passeggiata in search of a stroller (to replace what was lost by the airline).

SOME CALL A NEAPOLITAN PASSEGGIATA CHAOS; too much of a good thing. I CALL IT EXOTHERMIC, NUCLEAR; THE SPONTANEOUS RELEASE OF ENERGY! (sorry to get all mechanical engineer on you…I yam what I yam)!

Italian Slang for Today. Piangere sul latte versato – Don’t cry over spilt milk. Maybe more appropriate for today, when life gives you lemons, drink limoncello!

After wading through the human mass and finding a baby store in Vomero (the upper district of Napoli), I thought “let’s make some limoncello!” (BTW – I already had been nearly stupid drunk from the MORNING’s lemon grove tour.)

I was able to easily convince our travel partners to find pizza! And, this was despite that I was nearing my pizza limit (never thought I’d write that!); too much of a good thing?

Once again, turning to Google, I found a pizzeria nearby. It was on Via Francesco Solimena; hey, there’s that same family name again. FRANCESCO IS QUITE FAMOUS (see Italian Wikipedia here).

I figured a pizzeria on a street named after a famous relative has to be good.

ASIDE – OK, so how’s Francesco a relative? My Great grandmother was a Solimene (aka Solimena) and from Serino, Avellino, Campania, the same town as the birthplace of Francesco.

My brother has traced our lineage 6 generations back to the late 1600’s only 1 or 2 generations after Francesco. And, there are several great grandfathers with the name Francesco. So, I take author’s liberty that I’m related!

The pizzeria was a “hole in the wall” called Sandropizzettata. When I say hole in the wall, just look. But, again, don’t judge a book by it’s cover. We’ve been all over Italy and have eaten at countless holes in the wall. Typically, Italian holes are really good pizza. So, we were hopeful!

Although, my pizza was good (not great). But, another’s Pizza Frittata (fried pizza stuffed with sauce, cheese, some type of pork) was fabulous.

Also, the experience was INCREDIBLE. The entire family works there – dad, mom, son, daughter, and a couple of cousins AND NO ONE SPOKE ENGLISH!

Our inability to communicate brought us some surprises! We tried to order pizza, we got an appetizer instead! It was a breaded and fried mashed potato log; ”salsiccia patate e provolone fusa” – literally a fusion of sausage, potato, and provolone.

Then the wine and beer. Sannio (BENEVENTO Region) Aglianico for E6 (~$6) for a bottle!!!! It was great!

Then the salads – OH MY, the tomato!

Our meal ended with a desert of FRIED PIZ (ANOTHER TYPE OF PIZZA FOR ANOTHER DAY)!

THE PIZZA

It was good (not great). It had all the makings of a great pizza, good tasting dough/crust with a great char and large cornicione puff.

The sauce was simple tomato with little spice, but in Naples, simple tomato is sweet, tangy, and excellent.

The cheese was very tasty.

Unfortunately, the pizziola’s technique was off (wrong?). The prosuit and rucola (rocket, aka arugula) was baked with the pizza instead of adding after (as others do). The liquids from the topping caused the crust to turn to a mushy mush of lost texture.