Neapolitan-born pizza master Daniele Uditi is convinced that in order to appreciate pizza, you should try it in the city where it was born. Here are his favorite spots to have pizza in Naples. Neapolitan-born pizzaiolo (pizzamaker) master Daniele Uditi has resided in the US for over 15 years. But, “no matter where I am in the world, I will always remain from Naples,” he says to the BBC.
Similar to Uditi, pizza originated in the notoriously disorganized seaside Italian city; its creation generally credited to chef Raffaele Esposito who is said to have developed the white, red and green dish in honor of the colors of the newly unified country’s flag.
Uditi, a judge for Hulu’s 2022 pizza competition series Best in Dough, says while pizza is a worldwide favorite – and can be had in many variations – he thinks you never fully know it until you’ve had it where it was born. To know [pizza], you go to Naples, and you have pizza the way it should be, al portafoglio,” says Uditi, talking about Neapolitan street pizza that is folded twice on its sides “wallet-style”.
To eat a pizza in the city where it was invented with all the noises of the city, to see another Neapolitan eating it while on the phone and walking with a bursting pizza in the box because it grew too large.”
Can a pizza be too large? “It’s not ideal,” confesses Uditi. “Neapolitan pizza is a craft product, so once in a while you don’t see the perfect circle. I think it’s a perfect illustration of the city. Naples isn’t a perfect circle. Naples has things that are positive and flaws, but when you bite into it, everything makes complete sense.
Up high in Naples’s green, leafy Capodimonte neighborhood, Pizzeria La Notizia 53, run by chef Enzo Coccia, is a draw for tourists from all walks of life, according to Uditi. “You might find a university professor, a lawyer, or you might find a student, you might find a couple they just want to have a good time.”
In spite of Coccia’s own claim to fame for creative pizzas such as one of his more recent springtime specials, courgette, tomatoes and thyme on top, Uditi maintains the plain pizzeria’s most popular attraction is by far their original Margherita.
You go there for the Margherita,” he remarks. “The Margherita is unique, because he gets the perfect harmony between the three ingredients… Everything works together, nothing dominating.”
