On Friday night, I was craving Neopolitan pizza. There are three places I frequent – Rocket Pie, Azzurri Pizzeria and Savino Pizzeria. I like to rotate between these pizzerias because they each make their own distinct Naples-style pizza. I picked Savino, as it was long overdue for a repeat visit. For this post, let’s listen to “Just Like A Woman” by Bob Dylan.
I ordered three personal size pizzas to share with L: Pizza Margherita ($12), The New Yorker ($12) and Classic Pepperoni ($14). I purposely ordered the simplest pizzas because I wanted to experience the food as my father did when he first visited Naples. Ludwig often reminisces how shocked he was to find that pizza in Italy was so dissimilar from what he grew up with in his predominantly Italian neighbourhood in Vancouver, BC.
Ludwig is one the better orators I know. I’d rank him after Mayor Naheed Nenshi and mayoral candidate Jyoti Gondek. When Ludwig tells this story, fifty years after his trip to Naples, he face still lights up with absolute bewilderment. His tone is dramatic and one of astonishment. “The pizzas were thin, with barely anything on it. A little tomato sauce, a little cheese, and that was it! It was delicious, yes, but I thought to myself, what is this? Where are the green peppers? The pepperoni and mushrooms? The thick layer of cheese and sauce?”
I can grasp the concept that pizzas differ by region and culture, so I dig what Savino is creating. The fresh, light flavour of the tomato sauce in the Margherita pizza popped out. I love how the thin crust contrasted against the softness of the fior’di latte mozzarella and tomato sauce. The fresh basil was fantastic. The taste of the herb was better than the four varieties I grow in my own garden. The crust was light and chewy, evenly charred throughout.
The New Yorker was tasty as hell. Though there are so few ingredients on the pizza, the tang of tomato sauce, garlic, oregano and cheese was intense. The cheese topping was crunchy. I was surprised that even though the crust and toppings were so minimal, there was still so much flavour. I thought the New Yorker was the most unique pizza I’ve tried. I would get this again.
The classic pepperoni was L’s favourite of the three pizzas. There was ample pepperoni, and each piece was crispy and fatty. L thought the crust highlighted the deliciousness of the pepperoni. This one is a winner – a real flavour bomb.
I’m making my way through the entire menu. We live near Savino, so our pizzas are still hot when we arrive home. If you live further away, I’d suggest you enjoy dinner in your car or a nearby park, so you eat the pizza at the optimal freshness. One thing to note – if you expect to get stuffed and have leftovers with one pizza (like I do at Hanni’s Pizza), Savino might not be for you. This style of pizza is quality over quantity. Hitting the Sauce gives this neighbourhood gem two phat thumbs up.
Hitting the Sauce 