After all the flour had settled, dough has proofed and the ovens plugged into the outlets, does it live up to the hype? We all know FLIP didn't but will JV's...
The Neapolitan pizza wars have started years before this joint was even a stain in JV's pants. His website proclaiming Fritti's 'ZA as "Pathetic tasteless cardboard" raise the oven temps in the quest for the best pie in the ATL. Can my pouch handle all this high gluten? Do washed up, old skanks end up at the Clermont to die a noble death? The answer is yes... It's not an easy job but someone's gotta do it.
What better way to see the inner workings than to sit at the pizza bar... Stefano stretching the dough, like my pouch, was a mesmerizing sight, thin as can be and a perfect circle. With a tap of the foot switch, the oven door swings open (those newfangled gadgets!) and in goes the pie.
Timing and temperature is everything to a great Neapolitan pie... The Swedish electric oven was set at 365 Celsius (689 F) which kinda threw me off a bit since it really should be 800 F or higher. The pie came out within 3-4 minutes. But what happened next was just a bunch of Tomfoolery. The pie sat on a cooling rack with two Tornado fans under it. I assume it was used to release the extra steam so it wouldn't be soggy... But by the time I got the pie (a whole 2 feet away), it was barely warm and limp in the middle. Could it be that the server (like a chicken without a head) picked it up and ran a lap around the resto with it before coming back to home plate? Nooooo, can't be!
Classic Margherita- Crust was thin, crispy and lightly charred. The sauce was a bit watery and needed more zing. The cheese disintegrated into the sauce and by then it was barely distinguishable. The basil was scarce. I also missed the smell and taste only a wood burning oven can produce. But not a bad pie overall.
I had tried a bunch of his other 'ZA's at his home before and they tasted a lot better, probably because it was in a controlled environment. Only time will tell if they can consistently control every single pie that comes out. With JV's passion about pizza, I think he will.
Is it better than Fritti's? With Enrico, straight outta Naples, slinging pies from the motherland, it will be a difficult feat. Especially, with their wood burning oven. I'm sure I will be back many times to both places to see who truly is the "Cardboard" King.
3.5 Stars with potential. (Rounded up to 4 for proximity)
Mangia!
2171 Peachtree Rd
Atlanta, GA 30309
(404) 352-8216
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