L'antica Pizzeria Da Michele

I am going through all the brochures, receipts, and pamphelts we kept (or rather I kept, as my sister has jettisoned most of hers) from our trip to Italy and I encountered a few from our day in Naples. One was the receipt from L'antica Pizzeria Da Michele, just as that cheesy well-known song is playing ("That's Amore... when your heart is a big pizza pie...").

Our receipt states that we ordered two pizzas, because they only serve pizzas (margherita and marinara) and cold drinks. The total bill was 7 euros. We had to take the pizzas to go because the line outside Da Michele was insane - out the door - mostly, if not all Neapolitans. There was no place to sit and eat our pizzas, it isn't like the States, where people are fine eating on the streets. So we had to walk with our boxes of pizza and find a public arena to sit... after walking about 10 minutes, we found a little piazza, halfway between the pizzeria and the train station.

We dodged oncoming cars, buses, and crazy pedestrians to make our way to the island, with pizza boxes in hand. I don't remember what time it was, but it was time when a lot of the store vendors were closing shop and the street vendors were starting to open up their businesses. After we made it to the piazza, we had to find a spot to sit down that wasn't bombed with bird poop, litter, or liquor. (I know, all to eat some of this famous pizza!)

Finally, we found a spot and my sister and I tore into the boxes. She started in on the marinara and I the margherita. The marinara is simple, like most Italian cooking. It comprises of only dough, tomatoes, and garlic. The margherita adds basil and mozzarella cheese. All of Da Michele's, and Italy's pizzas, are baked in wood fire ovens, which give them a flaky, crispy, yet nice doughy crust. After eating half of our pizza, we gave the other half to each other.

Da Michele also has tables at its restaurant pizzeria, but there wasn't any space. There are other pizzeria restaurants in the neighborhood, I think Trianon is its biggest competitor, as it is more spacious, seems more "upscale" in a way, and has more pizza combinations. But we had to go to Da Michele, as it's an institution as a pizzeria (I heard Trianon is too). Anyway, I wish we had more time to sample Naples' restaurants...

It was the best pizza we have both had -- simply delicious. Too bad you can't bring that home with you!

L'Antica Pizzeria Da Michele
Via C. Sersale N. 1/3
Naples (Napoli) Campania
Tel. 081/553.9204
www.damichele.net
Map It! Via Michelin

When we went, small sized pizzas were 3.50 euros each. They do offer different sizes of their two variations (marinara and margherita).

Go before or after you visit the Museo Cappella Sansevero
Via F. De Sanctis 19, 80134 Napoli, Campania