TRUNCH

Dishes mentioned

• Pizza a ruotino

  This ruotino pizza is a signora pizza — a great lady of a pizza. It has a crunchy base underneath, then it's a cloud of leavening that completely melts in your mouth by the second bite. The toppings are simple, fresh, and perfectly balanced. I'm glad that Naples is starting to appreciate other pizza styles beyond the classic Neapolitan. For me, this ruotino is superior to the classic Neapolitan pizza, and I'd give it a 10 — same level as Michelangelo Bob's ruotino, but different style: theirs is more rustic and oven-driven, while this one is more technical, taller, more leavened, like a cloud that dissolves sublimely, with a more refined topping. I'd come here just for this.

• Pizza alla pala

  This pala pizza is very good, but for us Romans, it's not a real pizza alla pala — that's the low, crunchy, baked-on-refractory-stone style. This is more of a leavened sheet pizza, like Bonci style. The dough is wonderful, it disappears in your mouth, and the toppings are great. But the ruotino is the one a customer should come here for — I'd take that, have a beer, and go home happy. This pala I can find in Rome at Bonci and similar places; the ruotino is unique.

• Frittatina

  This frittatina is a classic Neapolitan fried pasta ball, and it's incredibly creamy inside with a crunchy, slightly oily exterior — that's just how Neapolitan frying should be. The best frittatina I ever had was at Donna Luisella Takeaway in Secondigliano, and this one is on that same level, so we're starting strong.

• Scarpariello