Nary a Neopolitan … Not
January 12, 2010 by Hedonista · Leave a Comment
Pizza – it’s one of those things you either like, or you don’t. What’s more, there are so many ways to make it. If you ask the Associazione Vera Pizza Napoletana (AVPN), however, there is only one way to make it: the traditional way. In fact, they have pages and pages of legal verbage regulations dictating exactly how to construct such a pizza (not very long ago, I wrote such an article on Seattle’s Via Tribunali’s VPN certification for Cornichon). Did you know that Seattle is now the U.S. city with the highest density of certified Neapolitan pizzerias?
Their antipasti misti: salume, verdure, formaggi, pane and olives.
But let’s talk about Victoria. On Vancouver Island, folks there do things a little differently – and that’s just fine. Take the Pizzeria Prima Strada, for example, which opened up in August of 2008 (and hosted your Hedonista to a private media tasting). Although they state they’re authentic Neapolitan, technically they’re not, for they lack the VPN certification (although they do use Caputo “OO” capital grain flour, filtered water, and Italian plum tomatoes imported form Italy). That said, after tasting their pizza, who cares? San Franciscan Cristen DeCarolis Dallas and her Canadian hubby Geoffrey Dallas make fresh, fabulous pizza, with as many local ingredients as possible – including buffalo mozzarella from the only such dairy in Canada, Duncan’s Fairburn Farm in the Cowichan Valley. (Incidentally, Prima Strada is Fairburn’s largest buyer; check out Cornichon for more buffalo details.)
Located in the Fairfield neighbo(u)rhood of Victoria, Prima Strada serves lunch and dinner; there’s also a pizza cart – named the Black Beauty – as well as plans to add a second restaurant to serve breakfast, lunch, and dinner in a more industrial area of Victoria (stay tuned).
The funghi: although you can never go wrong with mushrooms, it's the carmelized onions that really make this pizza.
At Prima Strada they make the bread and pizza dough in-house, using their own fermented starters. The antipasti, insalate, and dolci (I recommend the gelato) are all fairly tasty, but the highlight by far is the pizze: favs include the margherita (with that fab Fairburn Farms mozzarella di bufala) and the funghi (porcini cream, fresh thyme, pecorino, mozzarella, and roasted mushrooms ‘n’ onions). VPN-certified or not, that oven-roasted crispy thin crust simply makes my toes curl and my eyes roll into the back of my head.
Saucy descriptions aside, Prima Strada strives to be a neighbo(u)rhood restaurant that families – both young and old – can frequent and weave into their memories; to make theirs “a place for the generations.”
They’re on the right track, for sure.
