Ciao Readers!
I have talked about a pizza-review post for a while, but have failed to deliver. I think the reason is, there are some things that they just do right here (like gelato, olive oil, wine, pasta….), making it really hard to pick the “best.” What it really comes down to is that there are several places that do things very well, and you end up picking the one where the folks are the nicest. Such is the case in our pizza quest. (But in case you’re wondering, we both prefer thin-crust pizzas, more crispy than not.)
Now don’t get me wrong – not everyone does pizza well. There are tons of pre-made pizza places in town where you just pick the kind you want from the display case and they heat it up for you (barely). In my humble opinion, these pizzas are really inferior (not only due to being tepid in temperature, but also in flavor), and with so much good pizza in town, why eat this stuff?! (Okay, one answer is real pizza places don’t open till 7:30 at night, while these heat-and-eat places may be open all day, but still…) “Fast-food” pizza:
“Real” pizza is made on-the-spot in a super-hot brick oven – it only takes about 90 seconds for one to cook, so it’s worth the “wait” for the real deal. We’ve only tried places in our neighborhood so far, as ya want the pizza hot when you get it home. The two runners-up in our neighborhood are La Luna (pictured first) and Le Stagioni (pictured next). La Luna actually makes pretty yummy pizza, but they are the most expensive and least friendly (not unfriendly, just comparatively less so), so lose for subjective, non-taste-related reasons. The folks at Le Stagioni are very friendly and their pizza is good, but just a little undercooked for my taste (notice the crust color), so they come in a close second (sorry for the pics – sorta like apples and oranges as the first was a specialty pizza and the second was a plain margherita):
Our “winner” is…… Fuori Piazza Restaurant (nope, not a type-o, piazza, not pizza). Their pizza tastes great (and is nice and crispy) and they are super friendly. The restaurant itself looks like a cozy local joint and next time (if we can wait that late), we’ll probably actually sit down instead of ordering pizza to go (they also have pasta and risotto dishes). Here are both their margherita pizza as well as one with ham and zucchini:
Thanks for coming along for our pizza-taste-testing! Bon appetit!
New Mexico to Italy 
expatsincebirth
/ December 3, 2012Yummy! Is it the Pizzeria Le Stagioni in Via Capo di Mondo? – I can recommend the Trattoria Pizzeria Dante, it’s Oltrarno on Piazza Nazzario Sauro 😉 Prova ad andarci, se vuoi.
newmexicotoitaly
/ December 3, 2012Yes – thanks for correcting my horrible spelling – Le Stagioni! Thanks for the recommendation!
expatsincebirth
/ December 3, 2012Oh, that wasn’t my intention! I just wanted to share and I know the Le Stagioni too: it’s just a nice coincidence 😉
newmexicotoitaly
/ December 3, 2012No, I honestly was happy – I hate having type-o’s on my blog! I think Le Stagioni has a nice fixed price lunch as well, so will have to try them again soon!
Colleen
/ December 3, 2012I got my pizza fix last night. I was trying to get to the World Champion winner Da Isa in Tokyo but settled for another amazing place. My friends from Napoli (ok, restaurant owners) tell me Italian in Japan is better than Italy! I have a hard time believing it after seeing your posts.
newmexicotoitaly
/ December 3, 2012Ciao! I spent 3 months in Japan and tried several “Italian” restaurants – sorry to tell you, not even close! So, here I eat Italian food, there I eat sushi and takoyaki and ramen and…
Our Adventure in Croatia
/ December 3, 2012def think crust, and totally agree, you must know which Pizzeria to go to, to have a good pizza. Why have all the calories, if it’s not good?
Ako
/ December 3, 2012Funny you should write about pizza. H & I discovered a pizza place that opened by the house. Pizaro’s – Napoletana style: they use all authentic ingredients, imported Italian pizza flour, San Marzano tomatoes, etc. all baked in their oven from Naples (90 seconds to heaven). So, for once I know what you are talking about!! xoxo
newmexicotoitaly
/ December 3, 2012You’ll have to do your own compare and contrast when you taste it here!
Ako
/ December 4, 2012Well, the pizzas at Pizaro’s look just like the pics above (except the under-cooked one), so we will see! My fav is the Campania: roasted crimini mushrooms, artichokes, prosciutto cotto, black olives & bufala mozzarella. 😀
Laura
/ December 4, 2012One thing is certain- there is not enough pizza in Singapore. Think I may have to start planning a trip to Italy!
newmexicotoitaly
/ December 4, 2012Thanks for reading! What do they do best there? I don’t know much about Singapore at all….
Laura
/ December 4, 2012Hawker market food. Noodles and seafood and soups and tofu. Delicious, but not pizza!
Bethie B
/ December 7, 2012YUM! I’m drooling over the thin super crispy pizzas above. The closest we have here in Austin, TX is Brick Oven, and they do a decent classic Napoletana pie – we like the “European” – basic red sauce with basil and mozzarella and provolone cheeses. Crust is super thin and crisp due to their traditional screaming hot real brick oven. I can only dream of pizza from Italia for now 🙂
newmexicotoitaly
/ December 7, 2012Thanks for reading! Austin is a pretty good foodie town, so you’re not eating too badly yourself!
Bethie B
/ December 7, 2012Yes, can’t complain 🙂 We enjoy lots of great food here…