ANTICO PIZZA BABY!

MARCH 2012

Photo Credit: Cate Bogue

So...after having to spend time in traffic court (no, not my fault, but Fulton County, GA requires that ALL involved in an accident HAVE to appear in court - ugh!), my husband and I decided we needed a reward. Antico Pizza Napoletana fit the bill! We had heard that table space is hard to come by - especially on the weekend, so we headed there on a Wednesday night.


Heard from a blog - "They import San Marzano tomatoes from Italy for the sauce, use bufala mozzarella from Campania, and their ovens are built from refractory Sorrento stone. The dough is made each day and, when they run out of dough, they close down for the night. "

Also heard - "best pizza in town"

And "The crusts were thick yet light, crispy, and pulled apart like the best french bread. The creamy, full-flavored mozzarella highlighted the simple toppings of basil and meats."

Great link to what's good - ccccchttp://www.chowdownatlanta.com/antico-pizza-napoletana-in-pictures/

It's in a totally non-descript building that's very easy to miss - on Hemphill Ave. just off the Georgia Tech campus and Northside Drive.

And once you're inside it's more of the same - bare bones decor with sturdy communal style tables and bench seating. But there's an ambiance that's unmistakable. We were greeted immediately upon entering the restaurant with a, "Bueno Sera!" And we were in an instant transported back to Italy.




The menu is on a board behind the cashier and is listed in Euros and Dollars. There are few choices, but each item is amazing. Be forewarned - no pizza by the slice here. You buy the whole pie, and the only choice is a large. But I promise you - you won't complain. We were thrilled to have a to-go box to take home the delicacies for later...

Here's the menu:

Photo Credit: Cate Bogue

We opted to eat in the main dining area so that we could enjoy watching the pizza being made from dough tossing to layering on ingredients (including roughly breaking up buffalo mozzarella - yum!). You literally are sitting in the kitchen feet away from the giant pizza ovens.

Photo Credit: Cate Bogue

They only recently began serving beer and wine - Italian only of course. It used to be strictly BYOB. We felt the need to be transported completely so our choices were:

Photo Credit: Cate Bogue

Now for the good stuff! We ordered a San Gennaro (sweet Italian sausage, buffalo mozzarella and sweet red pepper) and a Margharita (we added pepperoni).

The San Gennaro:

Photo Credit: Cate Bogue

The Margharita:

Photo Credit: Cate Bogue

Both were (almost) indescribably good. The dough was as good as any we had while in Italy (or elsewhere for that matter!) - crisp on the bottom but chewy crust with fresh wonderful flavor. And the tomato sauce - ahhhhhhhh! So so good. All other ingredients were fresh and flavorful. Each bite was a flavor explosion in my mouth. Definitely a moan worthy meal. I was sad that I got full and couldn't eat more - they were THAT good. Looking forward to going again with friends so that we can all try more dishes. Hands down THE best pizza in Atlanta!

Next up possibilities:
One41
4th & Swift
Abattoir
Rathbuns

Till next time - - - Happy Eating!