~ Authentic Neapolitan Pizza ~
Hand-tossed dough makes the best crust: crisp yet soft, fragrant, tender and slightly elastic. Top that delightful base with fresh mozzarella, tomato, basil, garlic, ham, mushrooms, artichokes and whatever other items your heart desires and you suddenly understand how a simple creation has taken over the world.
There is no shortage of pizza on the island and the styles are wide and varied, but it’s not likely you’ll find anything more true to the original creation from Naples, Italy, than the Pizzeria in Plaza del Lago, Pizza Italy. All their ingredients are imported from Italy and they adhere to the rules proposed by the Original Neapolitan Pizza Association. This requires that the dough is made 48 hours in advance in order to get the special flavour and digestibility characteristics of the traditional product. Formed entirely by hand without the use of any machines or even a rolling pin, the result is that the centre of the pizza crust is not more than five millimetres thick, that is 0.12 inches! The outer crown of the crust bubbles up crisp and thin. The pizza is baked on a slab of stone for about one minute to get that fresh and fragrant effect, served to your table right away with a big smile!
We stopped in on Tuesday to enjoy the full moon rising over the mountains and couldn’t have been more satisfied with the food, service, atmosphere and ambiance. Sitting out on the sidewalk, the breeze was cool and fresh, so we settled in to some lovely wine and conversation. I had red (Merlot) and my dining companion had white (Pino Griggio). Eventually we made our choices from the menu – a bit of pizza, had to do that, and the special which our waiter described as a variation on the classic lasagne which featured arugula. The pizza was the hit of the table, a prosciutto e funghi recipe (ham and mushrooms) that was outstandingly delicious and most certainly addictive!
After a long indulgence and more delightful conversation, we asked for cappuccinos and were tempted into ordering some chocolate gelato. This proved to be just another notch on the Pizza Italy belt – I promise you this is not to be missed. Go soon, go often, and get the pizza of your dreams, then once that is achieved, treat yourself to the gelato. Tell them Lisa sent you. You can’t go wrong with this Simpson Bay fantastic eatery.
Info:
Pizza Italy
68 Welfare Road
Plaza del Lago
Simpson Bay
Phone: 544-1928
Open: 5:00pm – 10:30pm, Tuesdays through Sundays
Cuisine: Pizza, pastas, calzones, gelato.
Price range: $
Ratings:
Staff friendliness: *****
Service speed: *****
Restaurant cleanliness: *****
Food quality: *****
Value for money: ****
Ambience: ****
