Europe 2012 - Napoli, Italia - Pizzeria i Decumani

I wanted to post something about the pizza in Napoli, Italia as they call it.  This is where pizza was invented and it's different then American pizza.  The ingredients are fresh and they don't put 10 toppings on the pizza except for the tourists.  Simple dough, fresh made not sweet/sugary tomato sauce, and local made buffalo mozzarella with a fresh leaf of basil cooked in a brick oven can make the best pizza in the world, Margherita.  We use too much high fructose corn syrup or sugar to make our pizza sauce, pasta sauce and ketchups more sweetened then they do in Italy, and it really makes American pizza taste bad.  It's like going out and getting a "Mexican coke" and thinking it's a great day because you drank that.  What I've found is that "Mexican coke" is just called "coke" everywhere else in the world.  As Americans we do too much processing in foods that should be simple.  Brick ovens are EVERYWHERE in southern Italy.  This adds the key component of the crust, a bit of char.  It's the difference between grilling a steak and microwaving it (yes, it's that important)  The cost of a pizza in Naples, 3.50, and the cost of a La Rosa's pizza is 3 times that! 

My first taste of REAL pizza!

This is my awesome tour guide of Napoli and his friends.

Margherita pizza: the staple in Napoli pizza, note the unique crust
that has been cooked in a brick oven.

That is a huge morsel of fresh buffalo mozzarella.

My second time was with 2 Australians from Pompeii
and a Canadian couple on their honeymoon!