VIEW SLIDESHOW: Top This: Pollo (à la Trattoria Neapolis)
At first glance, it's clear that Trattoria Neapolis takes its pizza seriously. A walk through the kitchen proves it. Owner Perry Vidalakis trained with Enzo Coccia, has an Acunto WFO installed in his backyard and built Trattoria Neapolis with every advantage in pizza making. From the water softening, to the temperature/humidity controlled roll in retarder, to the double arm mixer, to the Stefano Ferrara, it's a doughhead's paradise. Pizzaiolo, Michele Galifi, hails from Palermo and has been making pizzas at his family shop since he was strong enough to wield a peel. Now he's making the best Neapolitan-style pizzas in Pasadena.
With so much attention to the crust, Perry Vidalakis knows the topping must match the quality and innovation. The pizza menu is broken into two sections: Classic (a nod to Naples) and Specialty (a nod to chef-driven originality). The Pollo, topped with smoked chicken, Asiago cheese, fresh orange, pickled red onion, balsamic, and basil, will elicit the common cry of "Chicken! No way," but Executive Chef Bryant Wigger has solved the problem of dry rubbery chicken pizza: Smoking! As he explains, the chicken "never gets to a temperature where the muscles get tight and release all their juices... it's kind of like sitting in a sauna and relaxing for an hour and a half."
What You'll Need
- 1 Portion of dough
- Smoked chicken
- Asiago cheese
- Fresh mozzarella
- Orange
- Pickled red onion (like Kenji's recipe but without jalapeño)
- Balsamic
- Olive oil
- Basil
Trattoria Neapolis
336 South Lake Avenue Pasadena, CA 91101 (map)
626-792-3000; trattorianeapolis.com
About the author: After nearly a decade in Brooklyn, Kelly Bone landed back in Los Angeles where she writes The Vegetarian Foodie. She spends the rest of her time designing office cubicles... you might be sitting in one right now! Follow her on Twitter at @TheVegFoodie