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.
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.
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!
