Neapolitan Words of the Day – Zi ’Ntonio
’Ntonio is Neapolitan for Antonio, drop the letter up front this time and add an apostrophe! Antonio is Anthony in english.
Zi – is short for Zia (aunt) OR Zio (uncle). Zi becomes Aunt or Uncle depending on the masculinity of the name that follows!
And, yes, I had an Uncle Tony too (and two Uncle Mikes…). And my brother is an Uncle Tony, and my father was an Uncle Tony.
This is Part 3 of additional pizza gems in and around Napoli that I’ve enjoyed!
May 3 – Dinner at Zi Teresa – Napoli, Santa Lucia District
Also, I had two Zia (Auntie/Aunt) Theresa (in Italian – Teresa). My mother was adopted at birth and had sisters by the name of Theresa in both her adopted and birth families. I loved them both dearly. Unfortunately, I did not take the time to know them better. BUT, I am smart enough to use Auntie Theresa’s pizza sauce recipe (the one with the secret ingredient)!
Just like two Auntie Theresa, dinner that day was also my 2nd pizza! We went to Zi Teresa two blocks from our Air B & B in the Santa Lucia district of Napoli (see Wikipedia) right on the Tyrrhenian Sea (see Wikipedia). Per usual for the trip, I requested an arugula and prosuit pizza.
The crust at Zi Teresa was tasty and had a nice airy cornicione. But, like others recently, it was soggy in the middle. I watched as the pizziola added the toppings on after baking, but the crust was still soggy. I had thought that the sogginess was from adding the toppings before baking, but this proved me wrong.
Since it was a genuine wood fired brick oven (unlike Da Alberto from earlier that day), My guess is that the brick was not fully up to temp since we were early customers (for Italy). I’m guessing this because the char, though present, was less pronounced in the flavor than others I’ve had in Napoli. As you can see from the side picture of the slice below, it was very thin but soggy and “wet”.
The pizza was SALTY. I began to wonder if that was just normal for Napoli.
Above, pictures leaving Zi Teresa. When you reach the top of the stairs, a great view of the Bay of Naples looking north to Mergelina and Posillipo (ritzy coastal areas of the city). As much as I love the name and location, but once again, the pizza was good (not great). I probably wouldn’t go back.
May 4 – took a breather from pizza – Island of Procida (PS – Procida is way better than Capri!)
May 5 – Zi ’Ntonio – Sorrento
From Auntie Theresa to Uncle Tony….we traveled back to Sorrento via two ferries and settled back in to what is becoming a home. The Ristorante Zi ‘Ntonio is immediately next to our hotel and was a welcome respite from walking (20k+ steps per day)!
The atmosphere of Zi ’Ntonio was great. The tables are close enough to acquaint yourself with other diners. The pizziola was very accomodating of my obsession with ovens, there was a guitarist playing Neapolitan folk songs, AND THE MURAL OF DIEGO MARADONA IN A ”LAST SUPPER” SCENE with other famous Neapolitans!
ASIDE – I have a sticker on the back of my phone of SCC Napoli (Napoli’s pro soccer team…one of the top teams in the world). I usually set the phone on the ristorante table with the sticker side up. Typically, it’s noticed by the wait staff and patrons. They will approach “the American” which results in animated broken English/Italian/Neapolitan conversations about “The Azzurri”! The connection is palpable!
As a change of pace, I ordered prosuit and mushrooms (not arugula). I was hoping for a different result from the soggy crust. Unfortunately, again the crust was soggy in the middle, although, very tasty. I’m beginning to wonder if the soggy crust is due to the toppings I’m choosing. Arugula and Mushrooms are both watery.
As much as I love the atmosphere of Zi ‘Ntonio, again, the pizza was much too salty. The salt overpowered the crust, tomato, and cheese. Prosuit has been the common denominator in all the salty pizzas that I’ve had in Napoli. Is it the prosuit? Maybe I should just try a regular Margherita without wet toppings to see if I still get a soggy crust in the middle and no prosuit to see if the pizza is less salty.
In any event, despite the sogginess and saltiness, Zi ’Ntonio was still a good (not great) pizza, but I’m not sure if we’d go back.
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