Hello everyone. As many of you know, I have been working hard in Italy for the past few weeks. When I wasn't singing, I did some research for Tolak on the Italian style pizza. Here are my results and this thread is dedicated to him and all pizza lovers! 
Pizza #1
When I visited the town of Bellagio (very lovely, by the way), I asked about 12 Italians where they ate pizza. At first, they tried to direct me to the more "American style" places, but I would have none of that. I wanted honest-to-goodness Italian style pizza. They gave me two places and here is the first, Baba Yaga's.
At Baba Yaga's I had the Lucifero. A pizza with mozzarella, tomato sauce, and a spicy cantimpalo-type sausage. I also asked for mushrooms, I like them. Add also a piccola birra, and I was set. This is what I got.
The pizza crust is very thin, like paper, and extremely crunchy. I loved it! It looks huge in the picture, but I found it very easy to eat. The crust is so thin and light. Not a heavy meal at all. Very delicious. My only quibble was that it wasn't spicy enough to warrant being named after Lucifer, but it was still a delight to eat!
Pizza #2
This was the second place recommended to me by the locals. I revisited Bellagio do attend mass and stopped at the Ristorante Antico Pozzo for lunch. You have to climb up a small, cobble-stone path to get to the place. Ruined a pair of lovely wedges in the process.
I had a voice lesson that day, so no piccola birra. The pizza was similar in vein, and called the Diavolo. Pictured below.
Eh, this was the worst of the pizzas. The crust was gummy and too thick and the sausage tasted old and gummy to me. Not spicy either. I didn't finish it.
Pizza #3
I decided to try the pizza at the local dive at Dongo, the town where I was staying. To see how the locals eat their pizza. It was the cheapest pizza, at about 6 euros. Another piccola birra, and this was also called the Diavolo. Same idea, still not spicy. Maybe I've put down too many bowls of five-alarm chili and Thai food. It was much better than the Antico Pozzo pizza, though still not as good as Baba Yaga's.
Pizza #4
My final pizza was eaten in Milan. I was walking down Via Giuseppe Verdi (yes, in Italy, composers get street names, as it should be!) and being an opera singer, I just had to eat here.
I also opted for a different pizza. Quattro Staggione (four seasons), with artichoke hearts, leafy greens, mushrooms, ham, cherry tomatoes, mozzarella, and tomato sauce. Like Baba Yaga's the crust was very thin and crunchy. With yet another piccola birra, another very good pizza experience, only slightly behind Baba Yaga's.
I have completed my research for now. Now, I invite you to make your own contributions to this pizza thread. I did Italian style, though only in Lombardia, but I know for a fact that there are New York and Chicago style devotees lurking in this forum, and some of you may have enjoyed pizza in other exotic locations.
Enjoy, and Viva pizza!
llj
Pizza #1
When I visited the town of Bellagio (very lovely, by the way), I asked about 12 Italians where they ate pizza. At first, they tried to direct me to the more "American style" places, but I would have none of that. I wanted honest-to-goodness Italian style pizza. They gave me two places and here is the first, Baba Yaga's.
At Baba Yaga's I had the Lucifero. A pizza with mozzarella, tomato sauce, and a spicy cantimpalo-type sausage. I also asked for mushrooms, I like them. Add also a piccola birra, and I was set. This is what I got.
The pizza crust is very thin, like paper, and extremely crunchy. I loved it! It looks huge in the picture, but I found it very easy to eat. The crust is so thin and light. Not a heavy meal at all. Very delicious. My only quibble was that it wasn't spicy enough to warrant being named after Lucifer, but it was still a delight to eat!
Pizza #2
This was the second place recommended to me by the locals. I revisited Bellagio do attend mass and stopped at the Ristorante Antico Pozzo for lunch. You have to climb up a small, cobble-stone path to get to the place. Ruined a pair of lovely wedges in the process.
I had a voice lesson that day, so no piccola birra. The pizza was similar in vein, and called the Diavolo. Pictured below.
Eh, this was the worst of the pizzas. The crust was gummy and too thick and the sausage tasted old and gummy to me. Not spicy either. I didn't finish it.
Pizza #3
I decided to try the pizza at the local dive at Dongo, the town where I was staying. To see how the locals eat their pizza. It was the cheapest pizza, at about 6 euros. Another piccola birra, and this was also called the Diavolo. Same idea, still not spicy. Maybe I've put down too many bowls of five-alarm chili and Thai food. It was much better than the Antico Pozzo pizza, though still not as good as Baba Yaga's.
Pizza #4
My final pizza was eaten in Milan. I was walking down Via Giuseppe Verdi (yes, in Italy, composers get street names, as it should be!) and being an opera singer, I just had to eat here.
I also opted for a different pizza. Quattro Staggione (four seasons), with artichoke hearts, leafy greens, mushrooms, ham, cherry tomatoes, mozzarella, and tomato sauce. Like Baba Yaga's the crust was very thin and crunchy. With yet another piccola birra, another very good pizza experience, only slightly behind Baba Yaga's.
I have completed my research for now. Now, I invite you to make your own contributions to this pizza thread. I did Italian style, though only in Lombardia, but I know for a fact that there are New York and Chicago style devotees lurking in this forum, and some of you may have enjoyed pizza in other exotic locations.
Enjoy, and Viva pizza!
llj
/www.palermos95th.com/
(i could actually TASTE it)
