Antica Pizzeria Del Borgo - Napoli, italy

Rating:  9 / 10

Today the rain was my foe as I stretched my legs over puddles and poops to finally try this pizzeria that TanzenVsPizza had recommended. I had tried to eat there a few days earlier but the family had been on vacation. My heart skipped a beat turning the corner and seeing the red awning which mean't they were open.

A pleasant man met me, checked my green pass, showed me to a table and took my order. I stared out at the streets wondering what would greet me today. Would it be a winner, would it fall somewhere in the middle, surely it couldn't be worse than Port Alba? I crossed myself in anticipation.

My pizza arrived blisteringly quick. I doubt it was more than 2 minutes from when I placed the order till it was sitting in front of me staring back with those melty white eyes, red faced and slightly puffy round the edges. Some token basil floated atop the steaming surface, adding a bit of nutrition to another detour down carb alley.

You know love at first sight, well this was love at first bite. Cascading rivulets of rich, sweet (but not overly sweet) tomato sauce hit my tongue like bullets, the cheese calmed things down a bit with creamy embrace, and the crust carried all the accompaniments with grace.

​This was unlike any Neopolitan pizza I had eaten so far. At a stretch I'd say the closest resemblence would be Di Matteo, but this was better. It had a thinner outer ring, deciding not to go for the dramatic puffed fluffy crust so many shops here flaunt. The underside was also slightly thicker, creating an easier "hand job" rather than "knife & fork" meditations. 

It ate like a dream, aggressively salty in the way I like, everything balanced and ridiculously delicious. Some small portions of the crust were a tad biscuity but that's perhaps because they just got back from vacation and were maybe a bit rusty. 

I have had better pizza in Naples, but when posed the difficult question of "Where would you go to eat again if you could only choose one place", I'm almost convinced I'd say this spot. For your everyday eat you don't always want the supreme being, you want something that hits right, and this hits freaking right.

These recommendations are just personal opinions based on my palate, things change, chefs get fired or replaced, places open-close, relocate, so take it all with a pinch of MSG  and discover your own gems too. But please do try a few of these, they have been researched exhaustively.