Al fresco area at Pizzeria Brandi
ONE of the best parts of traveling is experiencing the local culture. It’s a time to let go of the familiar and immerse ourselves in the daily life of a new place.
In traveling to over 60 countries on six of the seven continents, the best memories were usually experienced outside our comfort zone. But sometimes we get the chance to experience something familiar in a whole new way. The latter was the case when we got to visit Naples, Italy, the birthplace of the modern pizza.
Pizza has become a comfort food around the globe. There are countless variations from the staples of cheese, pepperoni and sausage to more regional specialties. But no matter what your favorite recipe is, it all originated back to the town of Naples.
Naples is the third-largest city in Italy with a population of nearly 3.7 million people in the metropolitan area. The city’s history dates back to 2000 B.C., making it one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world. Located on the Mediterranean Sea, Naples has always been an important seaport. In World War II, it suffered the most damage of all Italian cities. In the decades since, Naples has transformed itself into a modern city with luxury goods while at the same time preserving its rich heritage.
Pizzeria Brandi oven
Now back to pizza. Food similar to pizza has been around for thousands of years in different forms, typically flatbread with a cheese on top and maybe a fruit or vegetable topping. So how did the city of Naples get credited with making the first modern pizza? The answer lies in the year 1889, the 28th anniversary of the unification of the country of Italy. To commemorate the event, King Umberto I and his wife, Queen Margherita traveled to Naples for a celebration. A local restaurant named Pizzeria Brandi asked their chef Raffaele Esposito to come up with a dish fit for the celebration of their country.
The Italian flag’s three main colors (red, green and white) served as Chef Esposito’s inspiration. While his recipe and ingredient list was simple, the dish was found to be a favorite of the queen. The ingredients were the color of the Italian flag: the red tomato sauce, the green basil leaves, and the white mozzarella cheese. This version was then named in honor of the queen, Queen Margherita. To this day, the simple margherita pizza is a
favorite around the world.
When Anna and I found out that we would be visiting Naples, we knew we had to find Pizzeria Brandi. Naples is a big city with lots of side streets so we had to bring a map in order to find it. Part of the experience was taking our time and making it an adventure. Plus, with all the walking, we were definitely ready for lunch once we got there.
As soon as we arrived, we could begin to smell their celebrated cuisine. A stone oven is in plain sight from the entryway. On the walls are pictures of the hundreds of celebrities who have eaten at the restaurant, raging from actors and movie stars to politicians to Italian opera singers to Italian soccer stars. We arrived at the start of lunchtime so luckily it wasn’t too busy.
The menu is not overly complicated, but has expanded quite a bit since 1889. The pizza margherita is still one of their best sellers. Anna stuck with tradition and ordered the classic while I went for a slightly more modern version with buffalo mozzarella and Parma ham.
There are many other foods to be found in Naples, butpizza remains the staple. No matter where you go in the city the quality is good and surprisingly consistent.
Each pizzeria has its own specialties but overall they are a lot similar. We asked our waiter why and he explained that there are actual rules to be followed in order to sell pizza in Naples and call it genuine Neapolitan pizza. Everything is regulated from the type of wheat flour (only type 0 or 00) and even the variety of yeast. The dough must then be kneaded by hand or low-speed mixer. After the dough rises, it can only be formed by hand, no machines allowed, and may be no more than 3 millimeters thick. While the stone oven is a well-known tradition, that is only the first step. The pizza must be cooked at 485 degrees Celsius and for a total time beteeen 60 and 90 seconds. There is even an organization called the Associazone Vera Pizza Napoletana (Association of Authentic Neapolitan Pizza) and they oversee the certification process.
All the history and details aside, how was the pizza during our visit? You can tell the city takes great pride in their most famous gastronomic export. I would have to say that it’s the best pizza I have ever tasted. Not that there is anything wrong with Pizza Hut or Sbarro, but there is a noticeable difference in the original. True, Italian pizza is rather simple and with less toppings. In typical American- style pizza, it is loaded with toppings, usually so much so that the cheese is almost difficult to be seen. In quality Neapolitan pizza, they use the freshest ingredients in less quantities and cook according to very specific standards.
You can really taste each ingredient come through in perfect balance. Fresh dough, fresh mozzarella, fresh tomato sauce, and fresh basil are cooked with utmost care to create a final product rivaled by none.
I think in a way that holds true to other areas of life: Less is more, or quality over quantity. We often spend our lives trying to cram more and more in and as life gets complicated we start to makes sacrifices to make it all happen. Sometimes simple but high quality is the way to go.
A simple pizza in Italy was a reminder that it’s okay to scale it back and to take in the simple joys of life.