Sapori di Napoli

            In Italian class we have recently been studying Napoli and its culture.  This of course inherently involved a discussion about pizza.  Last week, as a treat for our hard work, our professor took us a relatively new restaurant in Decatur “Sapori di Napli” (Taste of Naples).  Living up to its name, this restaurant maintains strong integrity in creating delicious and ethnic cuisine.  We visited during the day and were therefore able to get personal insight towards the distinctions of the restaurant.  We were greeted by two charismatic brothers form Italy who operate it.  Given that this was a school-affiliated trip, they gave us a brief history lesson about pizza, which I have tried to briefly recreate their summary from some notes I jotted down:

The truly modern pizza we eat today has its origins with the infamous Margherita pizza straight from the pizza capital of the world, Naples, Italy.  For the most part, pizza was a peasant food. In 1800s Naples it was sold in markets and eaten on the streets for breakfast, lunch and dinner. These pizzas were topped with a variety of toppings  such as mushrooms and anchovies. The first pizza restaurant was called Port’Alba.  The owners used a form of what is today called a brick oven, fired by rocks from nearby Mount Vesuvius. The oven was able to reach high temperatures that produced the best pizza in town. 

It wasn’t until 1889 that the “Pizza Margherita” was created when  Queen Margherita Teresa Giovanni visited Naples.  The queen became quite interested in the food she saw the peasants eating: a large flatbread.  She tried it herself and loved it. She ate it every chance she got during her travels, even though it was not appropriate for a queen to eat this type of peasant food.

She was determined to enjoy this new, tasty discovery and ordered a local chef to make her a selection of pizzas to enjoy.  In honor of the Queen, the chef made three pizzas for her to choose from.  Although the Queen liked all three, her favorite pizza was one topped with tomatoes, mozzarella cheese and fresh basil.  She felt this pizza represented Italy well with its colors being the same as those of the Italian flag (red, white and green). Thus the Pizza Margherita was born, immediately setting the standard that pizza is judged by even today.

“Sapori di Napoli” has embraced its roots and has gone to great lengths to recreate the same pizza that can be found in Italy.  They imported an entire oven all the way from Naples to cook their pizzas.  This oven is wood burning and, as the owners explained, it is unique because the hood of the oven is lower than other pizza ovens, thus allowing temperatures to get very hot.  In fact, they claimed that their pizzas typically cook in less than two minutes.  Doubtful of this claim, we clocked them and our eyes were baffled as they were true to their word.  In addition, this restaurant imports tomatoes from Italy, adding to the authentic taste.  The owners explained that San Marzano tomatoes (which grow on the volcanic plains to the south of Mount Vesuvius) are less acidic than tomatoes typically found in America. Lastly, the cheese that they use at “Sapori di Napoli” is buffalo mozzarella which is made from the milk of water buffalo. These animals are also indigenous to the Campania region of Italy. 

Nevertheless, all this effort begs the question, “Is it worth it? Does the pizza taste any better?”  My answer: absolutely yes.  We were served traditional “Margherita” pizzas and my mind was blown.  Just some dough, covered in sauce, sprinkled with cheese and topped off with fresh basil at the center. The pizzas were being cranked out at an incredible rate, yet there were no sacrifices made.  Every two minutes three masterpieces were pulled out of the oven with perfectly flaky crusts. The people at “Sapori di Napoli” had it right: it was simple, but it was right.  As many times as I’ve eaten pizza in the past, never before did I taste something quite like this.  I have had plenty exposure to what is generally considered great pizza as I live just outside New York City.  Although it's in the in the south, a region not typically known for outstanding pizza, “Sapori di Napli” of Decatur, Atlanta is exceptional.  I ate four of the most satisfying slices of pizza that I’ve had to date; each was light yet full of flavor.  “Sapori di Napli” is only six months young, and I believe they have many fruitful years ahead.  Buon Appetito!