CombatCritic's TravelValue™: pizzeria

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Showing posts with label pizzeria. Show all posts

Saturday, December 30, 2023

Napoli, Campagna (Italy): Very Good Pizza, Moderate Prices, But An Aloof Server Left Me Puzzled

Pizzeria Giuseppe Vesi

Via Luca Giordano 162

80129 Naples (Vomero), Italy

Prices: €€€€

One thing you have no problem finding in bella Napoli is ¨vera pizza napolitana¨, ¨true Neapolitan pizza¨, authentic, woodfired individual pizzas with toppings you will find almost nowhere else. No, I am not talking about pineapple which is a sacrilege in Naples.

My favorite Neapolitan pizza is Salsiccia e Friarielli (€12), chunks of sausage, sauteed broccoli rabe (a local favorite known as ¨friarielli¨ that you will find in very few places outside of Naples), mozzarella (fior di latte or provola can also be used), and EVO (ask for the olio piccante - EVO soaked in chili peppers).

My pizza was delicious with loads of fior di latte, friarielli, and sausage with almost too much cheese because I could barely finish half of my pizza. The pizza was perfectly cooked, thin but sturdy enough on the bottom to pick up a piece without the toppings falling onto the plate with a thick, flakey crust with just the right amount of char from the 600-degree Celsius wood oven.

My wife's Ham, Mushroom, and Cheese ¨Chef Special¨(€9.50) was also loaded with toppings and baked to perfection, enough said.

I am surprised to say that after all the years I have lived in and visited Napoli, my Sicilian spouse ordered something for me I had never heard of or seen before. Silly me!

My Montanarina (€4) arrived, a big fluffy ball of pizza dough with a big dollop of marinara in the middle with a chunk of mozzarella on top, then baked in the wood oven and topped with a huge, fresh basil leaf on top ... HOOAH!

The place is not very big, but is tastefully decorated with rock, brick, and wood. However, there is a large tent out front with loads of tables and a couple of propane heaters, having made it a tad too warm for us.

The first waiter who sat us and took our drink order was quite aloof, so I was pleased when a much friendlier server took over for the rest of our meal. The first server is responsible for the 2 Bomb deduction and €6.50 for a 40 cl beer can account for the other, hence ...

CombatCritic Gives Pizzeria Giuseppe Vesi 7 Bombs Out Of 10 ... More Bombs Are Better!

Seven Bombs Equates To

Translation for Civilians: "Shits & Grins"

Tuesday, October 25, 2022

Alvor (Algarve) Portugal: Pizza, Pasta, Meat, Fish, Or Salad, You Cannot Go Wrong At Pizzeria & Trattoria Napoli

Pizzeria & Trattoria Napoli

EM531 1 5a

8500-013

Alvor Portugal

Phone: 937 696 093

Prices: €€€€

Our doggy has cancer, so he needs a CT scan in Portimáo every 3 months, so we stop by Pizzeria & Trattoria Napoli for lunch while he has the procedure and wakes up.

I found out that their 'winter' hours (likely October through April) are different from my last visit in August, so we had to wait an hour until 12pm when they now open for lunch. No biggy!

I brought my wife this time as she recently returned from Napoli, the city in Italy, where she has been taking care of her mom. Gianluca greeted us once again and the two of them chatted in Italian about Napoli, his hometown, while I sat there and picked up some of the conversation ... Italians talk too fast for me to catch everything.

As it was one of the rare warm, sunny days in the Algarve, NOT, we sat on the patio. The service was fast and friendly and the food, once again, delicioso ... Mama Mia ... HOOAH!

I knew how big the portions were, so we did not go nuts with the antipasti, ordering one Bruschetta (€5) and sharing the four pieces, one with tomato, two with marinated, grilled melanzane (eggplant), and the other with melted gorgonzola and parmigiano. Very nice.

My wife had the Fettuccine (€14) in a gorgonzola and rucola pesto with pancetta, mushrooms, onion, and walnuts. It was superb!

It is not easy finding weal dishes anymore, so I got the Veal Parmigiano (€11) with a side of spaghetti tossed with their wonderful ragù instead of the chips (aka fries) and side salad, which was huge. The large cutlet was coated with breadcrumbs and perfectly fried, then topped with ragù, grated parmigiano, and fresh mozzarella (upon my request) before being baked until melted. I was in heaven.

One of the great things about Napoli, beside the excellent food and fair prices, is the fact that they are very willing to work with you on substitutions. My wife hates tomatoes - yes, she was born in Sicily and grew up in Naples - so they altered the normal bruschetta toppings. The veal parmigiana comes topped with parmigiano, not mozzarella as I became accustomed to in the US, but Gianluca did not flinch when I asked him if could add it and did not even charge extra.

Gianluca's dad came out after our meal and reminded me about my promise to bring him some Antico Toscano cigars, made famous by Clint Eastwood in his 'spaghetti' westerns like The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly, which were actually filmed in Italy. I promised to bring some cigars from Ayamonte, Spain (much closer to where we live than Alvor) where I buy my Toscano cigars and much cheaper than in Portugal, but I forgot ... OOPS! I will try to remember next time.

In a nutshell, excellent, authentic food at very reasonable prices with great, friendly service, that's amore, I mean Pizzeria & Trattoria Napoli ... OOH-RAH!

CombatCritic Gives Pizzeria & Trattoria Napoli A Very Rare 10 Bombs Out Of 10 And A Spot On My 'WALL OF FAME' ... More Bombs Are Better!

Ten Bombs Equates To:

Translation for Civilians:

HOOAH!: "Phonetic spelling of the acronym HUA, which stands for 'Heard Understood Acknowledged.' Originally used by the British in the late 1800's in Afghanistan. More recently adopted by the United States Army to indicate an affirmative or a pleased response." - Urban Dictionary

"The Department of Military Science and Leadership, University of Tennessee claim HOOAH 'refers to or means anything except no' ... Regardless of its meaning ... the term is an expression of high morale, confidence, motivation and spirit." - WarChronicle.com

"The U.S. Air Force stole 'HOOAH' from the Army because we were part of the Army until 1947 and rather than waste a bunch of time coming up with something new and unique like "ROO-YAH" or "HAL-A-LOO-YAH", we said 'screw it, let's go with HOOAH' ... thanks Army ... HOOAH!" - CombatCritic

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Wednesday, September 28, 2022

Bilbao, Spain: NAP? ... EVO? ... VPN? ... That's A Negative Colonel!

NAP Pizzeria

Ramón Basterra Kalea, 1

48011 Bilbo, Bizkaia, Spain

+34946614362

NAP.com

Prices: €€€€

They (NAP) call it 'verace pizza napoletana' (VPN - true Neapolitan pizza), but this place would never make it in Naples, Italy. I lived in Naples for three years while assigned to NATO's Southern region Headquarters and where I met my wife, so we visit Napoli often. My dad's side of the family is from a small mountain town about 100 clicks in the mountains east of Napoli and where they also know how to make a great pizza. I also received my certification in a veraci pizza napoletana pizzeria in Napoli on my birthday in 2017 so I know my shit Bozo.

My pizza Salsiccia e Friarielli (€11.90 - sausage, broccoli rabe, mozzarella, and EVO) was a rare find, something you usually only find in Naples and my very favorite pizza.

It came very quickly like a true neapolitan pizza should, 90 seconds at 600 degrees Celsius, and was about the right size (35cm). The dough (pasta) was about the right thickness as well, but, unfortunately, had far too much olive oil and it did not look like the advertised EVO, much lighter in color. Therefore, the extremely thin dough was soggy instead of being just thick enough and cooked well enough to be able to fold and pick up in your hand, as a true neapolitan pizza is customarily eaten.

They had olio piccante on-hand, a bottle of EVO containing hot peppers, Calabrian chiles to be exact and considered the classic Italian pepper, so I was somewhat impressed. However, I could barely taste it because there were not enough chilis inside and the watery 'EVO' drowned out any flavor there might have been. Bummer.

I had two glasses of their house red wine (€4 each), so I satiated myself before the James Taylor concert for just under €20 plus tip.

It was a decent attempt, but flawfully executed, much to my dismay. No HOOAH here comrades.

CombatCritic Gives NAP 4 Bombs Out Of 10 ... More Bombs Are Better!

Four Bombs Equates To:

Translation for Civilians: "Bend Over, Here It Comes Again"

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Vancouver, WA: No Veal, No Deal – Olive Garden Delivers Mediocrity with a Side of Sticker Shock

Saturday, December 30, 2023

Napoli, Campagna (Italy): Very Good Pizza, Moderate Prices, But An Aloof Server Left Me Puzzled

Tuesday, October 25, 2022

Alvor (Algarve) Portugal: Pizza, Pasta, Meat, Fish, Or Salad, You Cannot Go Wrong At Pizzeria & Trattoria Napoli

Wednesday, September 28, 2022

Bilbao, Spain: NAP? ... EVO? ... VPN? ... That's A Negative Colonel!

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