I continue to focus on MY TOWNS. Now that we’re back in Napoli, let’s be honest…I’M A PIZZA NERD! There I said it! I probably should seek help from a Pizza Nerd Support Group.
- TABLE OF CONTENTS
- Pizza Nerdiness…
- Da Michele
- ‘O Surdato ‘Nnammurato
- Nebaladan Word of the Day – Mamma Mia!
- Pizza Review – L’Antica Pizzeria Da Michele, Napoli
Pizza Nerdiness…
- Why am I a Pizza Nerd? Well, just look at my Pizza Spreadsheet/Table (click here). As of this writing, in the last 3 years, I’ve chronicled:
- Travel to Napoli yearly (almost) to eat pizza
- Chronicled:
- 103 pizzas purchased
- Nearly 500 homemade pizzas
- 95 doughs, of which 95% are homemade
- And other tables!
Da Michele
As part of my NERDNESS, there’s been a strong desire to go to L’Antica Pizzeria Da Michele (see link – Pizzeria da Michele – The Temple of Pizza – historical headquarters of Naples) in Napoli.
Da Michele has been on the top of my list to visit for several years. Cathy and I have attempted to visit in the past, but the line was just too long to wait. So, this time, we snagged an Air B and B immediately across the street from Da Michele so that I can watch the line, and pounce when the line gets short…DID I MENTION THAT I’M A PIZZA NERD?
- Why has Da Michele been on the top of my list? Well let me count the ways…
- It’s in Napoli, where pizza was invented/created (although some argue that…)
- It was in the movie “Eat, Pray, Love” with Julia Robert’s (although I’ve never seen it, nor likely never will…)
- They openly share their recipe and ingredients online (see here – Pizza Margherita (authentico.it)
- It’s been around nearly 150 years!
- The name, Da Michele. In Italian it means ”from or of Michael”…how can I go wrong?!!
‘O Surdato ‘Nnammurato
‘O Surdato ‘Nnammurato (see Wikipedia here) is a Neapolitan song written 1915 during World War I. As with many things in Italy, the aristocrats in Northern Italy joined the war and enlisted the peasants in Southern Italy to be the solders.
It’s about the love of solders’ lives, their wives, children, parents, and cottage (city), Napoli, and his yearning to return. This matters to me because the men who went to war were the age of my great grandfather, Lucio. I’ll never know if any were relatives (but I sure hope to find out someday).
It has been performed by most famous of the famous Italian singers, but it’s also one of the theme songs for my calico Napoli (soccer team).
This was after Napoli’s championship win in June 2023. This was emotional for me, but since I’ve only been a fan for 13 seasons, I’m sure that the depth of my emotion was only skin deep compared to a native Neapolitan. I can only imagine such emotion if the Browns win a Super Bowl.
But, in the meantime, I can at least enjoy Napoli, eat my Da Michele pizza, and dream.
Nebaladan Word of the Day – Mamma Mia!
No, not the friggin’ Abba song, holy crap, not the friggin’ movie with friggin’ Meryl friggin’ Streep, but the expression!
I don’t recall this term being used at home as a kid, but it seems to be a favorite for native Neapolitans and Italians.
Last spring when we were last in Napoli, we hired a Neapolitan driver, Manuele. Even though he spoke English excellently, he would revert to Neapolitan expressions and exclamations. Mamma Mia seemed to be his favorite.
In addition, our friend Manlio, who’s a waiter at Angelo’s (see this post) is a native Neapolitan and uses Mamma Mia whenever we talk about Napoli calico.
I really like the exclamation Mamma Mia and have been attempting to add it to my vocabulary repertoire. It’s fun, and hopefully someday, when Miles writes a blog about me, just maybe he’ll write…Papa V used to say ”Momma Mia!” instead of my typical F-bomb. That’s a better way to be remembered!
Pizza Review – L’Antica Pizzeria Da Michele, Napoli
Well, Mamma Mia! Whatta’ you know, we visited Da Michele, how appropriate given the title of the blog. Here’s our review:
| Date | September 12, 2023 |
| Website | Pizzeria da Michele – The Temple of Pizza –historical headquarters of Naples |
| Location | Napoli, Campania, Italy |
| District | Quartieri Pendino (Pendino Quarter) – https://it.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pendino |
| Ambiance | Mamma Mia! Where do I start? Historical pizzeria in the heart of Napoli. A line for hours. TWO OVENS! Quintessential Napoli pizzeria – the tables, chars, tile, different levels. One hour line when we arrived at 5:30pm, likely about a 2 hour line when we walked by at 8pm! Also, a 30 minute line just for take out! They crank out the pizza! ONLY 4 DIFFERENT OPTIONS FOR PIZZA – DO A FEW AND DO THEM WELL. The interior is littered with celebrity photos and articles. Definitely a tourist joint. Our section of the restaurant had 8 tables of which 6 were tourists, but nice to see that natives will wait in line. |
| Style | True Neapolitan |
| Shape | 12” Round Plate, but pizza overlapped in all directions, more like a 14”! |
| Toppings | We ordered two pizzas: – Margarita (sauce, moozedell, and basil) or Marinara (sauce only) – Cosacca (sauce, parmigiana, basanigol) – like a tomato pie |
| Dough/Crust | Both – thin, thin, thin, chewy, distinct char taste, the char taste on my Margherita was almost over powered the yeasty, floury taste that I’d expected. No real crunch Margherita – too water due to the fresh mozzarella Di Buffala (Buffalo milk moozedell) (sauce, moozedell, and basil). I’ve had this “problem” before in Napoli, so it might be the norm due to the amount of water in the moozedell Cosacca – no watery, but very soft and chewy Frankly, I expected more |
| Cornicione | Some puff, some air, again, expected more |
| Sauce | Very bright, tangy, and thin. Just enough, but not too much! Just plain ol’ San Mariano from just up the road new Vesiuvio, no hint of any other ingredient SIMPLE, and NEARLY PERFECT! |
| Cheese | Margherita – despite the watery stuff, the fresh mozzarella Di Buffala is to DIE FOR! Butter, not oily taste, stringy to the cows, err buffalo, come home, some saltiness, but not over powering. THIS IS WHAT MOOZEDELL SHOULD ALWAYS BE! Cosacca – nice, not overly sharp, just a nice hint of added flavor |
| Sauce to Cheese Ratio | Sauce Amount = medium Cheese Amount = a lot on the Margherita, a hint on the Cosacca Balance = a little too cheesy on the Margherita |
| Value | Holy crap! We’re in on of the pizza meccas of the world and THE COST IS ONLY E5.50 ($6)! THE TRUE DEFINITION OF VALUE! |
| Overall | Good, I really wanted Da Michele to be great, but the crust let me down a little. |
| Would I Go Back? | Likely, no. There are just so many more pizzas to eat in Napoli! |
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