Naples: The Good, The Bad, and the Delicious

Melanie and I wanted to spend a full week in Italy's Sorrento area, but we booked our trip at the last minute and couldn't find any rooms available for seven contiguous days. Our airport was in Naples, so we thought about spending a few days there, but my research included plenty of warnings about Italy's “Città del Sole” (city of the sun), and we were a little nervous.

Though there is some debate, Naples Italy is widely regarded as the birthplace of the most popular food in the world: pizza, so being fans of this culinary delicacy we figured it was worth the risk...

While staying in Sorrento we asked the locals about our next destination, and they told us lots of stories about the Mafia-style crime syndicate known as the Camorra, which has apparently controlled everything in Naples since the late 1800's. One of our drivers (who called himself "Tony the Penguin") explained that there is no terrorism in Italy because the Mafia grabs those terrorists by the ears and "BOOM!" they're swimmin' wit da fishes! This and his other stories did not make us feel better...

NOTE: I was very entertained to learn that Italian people really do say, "Mama Mia!" and when the men get mad they go, "AYYYyyy". (This is in contrast to our recent adventure in Ireland where we never once heard anyone say, "Top o' the Mornin' to ya!")

As we neared our hotel in Naples we couldn't help staring out the window. The city offers first time visitors a strange mix of putrefaction and pulchritude. Many of the narrow alleyways are crumbling, dark, oppressive, and covered in graffiti; and yet the city has a timeless charm that is beautiful, with its brightly colored clothes hanging out windows, or on lines stretched between buildings.

Naturally, I had done some some extensive research on the best places to get pizza in Naples, so I chose a hotel near some prime targets. Our plan, after checking in, was to walk to a nearby street called Via dei Tribunali, and get pizza at either "Gina Sorbillo" or "Di Meteo". (They are only about a block apart and both show up on the "Best Pizza in Naples" lists.)

Unfortunately, Naples is a pretty confusing place and we quickly got a little lost. Seeing our frustration a woman approached us. Melanie and I immediately suspected some kind of a scam, but she seemed pretty sincere about helping us. We managed to convey the name of the street we were seeking and she motioned, "Why?" Melanie blurted out, "Pizza", which made the woman shake her head. "No no no. I take you..." Danger alarms began to sound in my head, but we reluctantly followed.

The woman lead us about a block and then pointed at a pizzeria just down the street. "You go there. They know me. Is very good pizza." We tried to give her some money for helping us but she scoffed and refused to take it. Oops, we clearly misjudged this woman. I felt bad for being so suspicious...

The pizza restaurant she lead us to, Spuzzuliamm, wasn't fancy but we were tired, hot, and hungry, so we decided to give it a try. Boy are we glad we did. The pizza was extraordinary.

Margherita pizza only has three toppings: marinara sauce, mozzarella, and a little basil

Italy actually has laws regarding their pizzas. First, you need to have a 3 mm thick disk of dough with a 1-2 cm high crust. No other working tools other than the hands of the pizzaiolo are allowed, no rolling pin or mechanical press machine can be used. The sauce must be made using San Marzano tomatoes, which grow on the volcanic plains to the south of Mount Vesuvius, and mozzarella Campana, which is made with the milk from water buffalo raised in the marshlands of Campania and Lazio. Finally, it needs to be cooked in a wood-brick oven at 485°C for about 90 seconds.

Oh, and in Italy you eat your pizza with a knife and fork! That's probably a good thing because the center of the pizza is so full of sauce and olive oil that it gets pretty drippy.

When Melanie took her first bite she almost immediately said, "Oh my..." And every few bites after that she would say, "Oh my God..." I nodded in agreement.

The sauce was delicious with a lovely tang, and it blended perfectly with the mozzarella, which was still fantastic even after the pizza cooled down. The crust was light, with a slight charred taste in places (that was a good thing!), and it was a little chewy (also a good thing!). I can't really pick one reason why this pizza was so good... it was a combination of everything.

Bottom line, this pizza was downright addictive. Sometimes you eat something with explosive flavor that blows the back of your head off, but after a few bites you're kind of satiated. This was different. It was like eating potato chips or popcorn... by the time you finished one bite you couldn't wait to take the next one. Melanie was so happy with the meal she hugged the waitress/owner before we left.

Though still a little full, that night we had a nice dinner at the hotel.

The restaurant in the hotel is in an open air palatial cloister that is over 800 years old!

Large pasta with rock fish

Fried potatoes with rosemary

This Limoncello Baba looked a little dry, but it was SUPER moist and delicious

The next day, we set out again to find Via dei Tribunali, and this time we succeeded.

Via dei Tribunali is a street in the old historic center. It was the main decumanus -- that is, the main east-west street -- of the ancient Greek and then Roman city of Neapolis.

The bust celebrates a character named "Pulcinella", who later became known as "Mr. Punch" (of Punch and Judy)

We saw this bronze skull in front of an opening to some kind of underground passageway

There were countless shops and restaurants up and down the street

The Church and Convent of the Girolamini 

The Cattedrale di San Gennaro, named for Saint Januarius, Naple's patron saint

When we found Gino Sorbillo's pizzeria at the end of the street, it was, unfortunately, closed. As it was another very hot day in Naples we really didn't want to wait for over an hour, so we headed back to the hotel and had some cold drinks.

The other pizza place in Naples that we really wanted to try is called "L'Antica Pizzeria da Michele". Some people have said this is the best pizza on earth, while others have called it an overrated tourist trap. We wanted to find out for ourselves. (This is the restaurant Julia Roberts ate at in the film "Eat Pray Love").

Yelp says Pizzeria da Michele is the least busy between 4:00 PM and 5:00 PM. Unfortunately, when we got out of the cab we found this:

There must have been 60 people waiting outside the pizzeria

Looking around we were surprised to see that Spuzzuliamm was only a block away! We thought about going there instead, but I was really curious to see how Michele's pizza stacked up, so I took a number and we got in line.

Strangely, they only call out the numbers in Italian, so we felt a little lost. After about fifteen minutes, with very little progress, we decided to get takeout instead. We were directed to another line on the left. We hoped this would be much faster, but this line was even slower than the other one. Just as we were about to get called inside to place our orders we heard our number. "Here!" we shouted in unison.

Pizzeria da Michele is a busy place

We ordered 2 cold beers and 2 margherita pizzas -- total price: 13 euros!

So what was our verdict? It was a very good pizza, for sure, but it was NOT as good as Spuzzuliamm. The biggest difference was the sauce, which wasn't as tangy. Still, we're glad we braved the long lines to try it out. Now we know!

Despite our reservations, we never felt threatened or in any danger. In the end, it's probably just like every other big city in the world. There are thieves, and pickpockets, and purse snatchers everywhere. You just have to be careful.

We thoroughly enjoyed our time in Naples, and when we return to Italy for our anniversary next year we will definitely spend a few more days there, eating pizza and soaking up the wonderful Italian culture and history.