The Margherita pizza is nothing if not a classic and requires fidelity to the old country above all else.
We tasted eight of San Francisco’s most popular Neapolitan-style Margherita pizzas and found that some things are apparently not to be messed with: a thin crust placed ever so briefly in a very hot oven, topped with a simple tomato sauce, a generous amount of olive oil, mozzarella, and a sprig or two of fresh basil.
Each of the restaurants listed here have a slightly different take on the Margherita, but each will agree that the pie should be consumed as soon as it is placed in front of you as the delicate crispness and chewiness is lost three to five minutes after the pizza leaves the oven.
SMZT = Cooked, canned San Marzano tomatoes, imported from the Naples area. They are generally milled and seasoned straight from the can to make pizza sauce, unless otherwise noted. True San Marzano tomatoes must be grown in Italy’s SarnoValley, and are designated D.O.P. (Denominazione d' Origine Protetta, meaning protected designation of origin).
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Trazza
Ai6 is in Marina, not North Beach.
Sarah H
Thanks, we're on it!
chefbru
Zero Zero is in Soma. You also missed the best new Buffalo Mozzarella in town- Annabella brand. Used on Zero Zero's Margherita extra.
pantonelover
Good intentions, flawed execution, not really much of a contribution. Shouldn't "nerding out" include doing some things traditionally associated with journalism, such as fact-checking? For starters, call Gioia and ask them if they make cheese using water buffalo milk.
Lwallace
Nice design, makes me want pizza!
Raoul O
What LWallace said!
NewsYouCanUse
Gialina in Glen Park.
FrankJ4
Well done for the most part... However, not listing the water type was a big fumble.
Like NY bagels, part of the difference between pizza made in Naples, and elsewhere is the water coming from the area of Vesuvio. Only a very few places in the US use bottled water matching the mineral content...
Jordan
I'm not convinced that water quality plays a major role in the taste of a pizza crust.
http://www.slate.com/id/2297583/
FrankJ4
Perhaps not the best analogy - the Bagel... However, none of the cities that Slate references, are located in the shadow of - much less in the former eruption zone - a volcano. One drink of Neapolitan water confirms the difference in taste. There are, only 3 ingredients in VPN pizza... 1. "00"Flour 2. FRESH yeast, not dried 3. Water. Besides, using Slate as a reference for anything other than pop-culture references, certainly negates the validity...
Jordan
I'm pretty sure you started the bagel analogy.
http://www.goodeater.org/2010/01/08/the-food-lab-is-good-pizza-really-all-about-the-water/
FrankJ4
Nice, Jordan... I haven't seen this article. However, I'm still of the opinion that the total culmination of ingredients lends to a different product overall... San Marzano and buffalo milk included.
Dare I say, "ask a pizzaiolo from Naples"?
Run Your Mouth