Locomotoring

Una Pizza Napoletana

We had seen chef Mangieri on Chow Obsessives. Location of Una Pizza Napoletana isn’t particularly exciting. Except for the oven, the restaurant interior looks like a bare canteen. From a choice of half dozen toppings, we ordered the Margherita. From any table, you can watch him prep the pizza with focus of a meditative monk. There is no aerial tossing, there is not much talking, there is no clinking of glasses, there is no busy moving to and fro from the kitchen… in fact there is no wasted movement, just obsessive placing of basil leaves and cheese on the dough. A baby, who was in the pram next to his station, presumably his, is growing up on the sweet smell of bread and basil.

The pizza comes out with big air bubbles. Some air bubbles are charred that the server removes with swipe of a knife. It is served on the table as is – not sliced, not adorned with extra cheese or pepper. The dough has a smoky flavor, and the cheese delicious. It goes quickly. Perhaps a common theme about good pizza is that they disappear quickly leaving you with a desire for more.

It took me nearly 4 years, one pizza per week, to perfect my own home pizza baking. Of course my dough doesn’t go through professional oven temperature regime and I can’t source such excellent cheese, but within the margins of my limitations, I too have obsessed over the range of toppings and cheeses and dough rising/baking regimes. So I for one, completely understand Mangieri’s focus and wish him the very best. And yes, it could very well be the best pizza in town.