Pizza al Taglio -- Simply the Best!

     Reach back into your memory of taste sensations with me for a moment.   Summon the delicious flavors of a baked piece of very thin bread, moist and chewy with a crispy brown bottom, topped with a dabs of savory Fontana cheese, delicately accented with slices of fresh tomatoes, rich caramelized red onions, garlic and savory pieces of pancetta and we have just “tasted” the best pizza I ever had!

Declaring any food as the “best I ever had” is a phrase that I have strenuously stayed away from using until now.   Individual taste and personal preferences vary so much that such declarations are subjective at best.  To add to my unease with this phrase I have often been disappointed when tasting someone else’s “best” of anything.   Then there are times such as this when I savor food that is better than any other version of what I know to be very good or tasty, that I have no other choice but to simply say, this is the best I ever had.  Such is my esteem for the pizza I relished from a little Pizzeria in the Trastevere section of Rome, Italy.

     Tired and hungry, on our arrival in Rome we found ourselves hunting for a taste of the local fare when most Ristorantes and Trattorias are closed between lunch and dinner.   Tucked away on a little street off of the Viale Trastevere, near the Tiber River we stumbled upon Pizza al Taglio.  Much like a child with his nose pressed up against the glass storefront of his or her favorite toy store I beheld an array of rectangular trays of thin crusted pizzas.  I was overwhelmed with insatiable joy at the prospect of trying each and every one of their offerings available by the slice. The variety of toppings on each pizza tray included some of these mouthwatering choices: pancetta, tender slices of fresh mushrooms, tangy anchovies, flavorful caramelized red onions and what would become my favorite, the unlikely combination of potatoes and curry.   Each tray beckoned us to satisfy our hunger, which we did until there was no room for more.  Every mouthful was a taste experience long to be remembered, fresh morsels of different combinations of cheese, meat and vegetables atop a delicious pizza crust.

     The deliciously thin flavorsome pizza crust though is what sets Pizza al Taglio’s pizza apart from all other pizzas I have enjoyed.  The dough is made from Manitoba flour, a blend of wheat from North America whose origins are from the Canadian Provence of Manitoba.    According to Debra Rossi and Roberto Spagocci the owners of Pizza al Taglio, dough made from Manitoba flour can rise for as long as seventy-two hours.  The result is a crispy on the bottom, moist and chewy on top pizza crust that enhances the flavors of the toppings.  Combine this delicious pizza crust topped with fresh cheese, meat and vegetables, baked to perfection and the end result of this appetizing mélange is the best pizza I ever had.

Pizza al Taglio is located on the Via Cardinal Marmaggi, 12 in Rome Italy! 

Culinary Magic in Barcelona

      A little culinary magic takes place every day in a cozy Brasserie/Restaurant just ten minutes away from the hustle and bustle of La Ramblas in Barcelona. There is no other way to explain the picturesque, mouth-watering food coming out of the tiny kitchen in La Collita—it must be magic!

Fredy Naranjo - Magic at Work

Carpaccio of Shitake

     Cooking in less than fifty square feet (4.65m²) of space, Fredy Naranjo creates his culinary magic to the delight of his loyal customers with such Catalan favorites as: a casserole of small white beans with tender rings of calamares and mushrooms or a plate of juicy botifarra (sausage seasoned with cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves) or my favorite, crisp and tender grilled rabbit and more. Other delicious specialties of La Collita include an assortment of savory Risottos, velvety smooth rice dishes laced with mushrooms and ham or vegetables and prawns or my favorite, risotto with prawns and curry— a flavorful meal of rich rice, seasoned with curry and dotted with tender prawns.



A Tempting Dessert



"A Glass of Foie"



     We happened onto La Collita by chance. After a forty-eight hour journey from Phoenix, Arizona to Barcelona, Spain, a story on its own, my wife Linda and I threw down our luggage in our flat and went searching for food late that night. Travel weary and hungry we accidentally stumbled upon La Collita, a short walk from our flat that was to be our home for the next four months. Our good fortune continued when our server, a friendly young Serbian with an irrepressible smile spoke English well enough to explain some of their Catalan delicacies to us, such as: Carpaccio de Bacalao, paper thin slices of codfish drizzled with black olive oil, Queso de Cabras, a wonderfully nutty, semi-soft Spanish goat cheese and chorizo, a Spanish sausage flavored with paprika and garlic that is unlike any chorizo we have had in Arizona. Ever since that fortuitous night, we happily managed to find reasons to dine there at least once or twice a week. On our last night in Barcelona we bid the city farewell with another delicious meal at La Collita. I still long for another mouthful of Torrada de la Collita, a thick slice of toasted Catalan bread (similar to Ciabatta bread) covered with tender and not very salty anchovies, slices of pimentos and Queso de Cabras.

Bernard Dines Alfresco

     La Collita (The Harvest in Catalan) sits on the outer edge of the popular tourist areas of La Ramblas and the trendy La Ribera section, on Carrer Ramon Turro, just west of the tree lined Parc de la Ciutatdella. It is a small, unpretentious restaurant. The cozy dining room houses four tables, smartly set with white linen table cloths, wine glasses properly arranged and a small liquor service bar. Upstairs, six more tables are nestled under a wood beamed cathedral ceiling and surrounded by rustic brick walls. Dining alfresco is almost always an option in Barcelona as it is at La Collita. The service, watchfully attended to by Leon Salon, is always friendly, prompt and courteous and Fredy the magician creates culinary magic everyday from a kitchen that is too small for mere mortals.



The Magician!