While visiting Atlanta from Savannah, I dined with my husband and a friend one Saturday afternoon at Antico. I had been to Antico a few months before and was blown away by my first experience. The pizzeria was recommended to me by a trusted foodie friend and Italian chef, so I knew it had to be excellent. My second experience at Antico was just as impressive as the first time.
Pizza Tradizionale di Napoli
The pizza at Antico is made with the highest quality ingredients, straight from Italy. They hand knead their dough, which when cooked has a charred, crispy and savory crust that is crunchy but chewy inside. They use fresh mozzarella di bufala and fior di latta mozzarella that is flown from Naples to the restaurant. The San Marzano and pomodorini tomatoes are also hand-picked from a farm in the Campania region of southern Italy.
The three ovens that cook the pizzas were handmade in Naples and consists of Refractory Sorrento Stone and Santa Maria brick and volcanic rock from Mt. Vesuivius. The pizzas are cooked in 900 degree heat that radiates from hardwood.
The Pizzeria and Menu
The pizzeria is in west midtown Atlanta, near the Georgia Tech campus. We arrived shortly after noon, and the parking lots around the restaurant were full, so we parked up the street and walked over. Looking through the vast pizzeria menu posted behind the front register, we decided on a Margherita pizza with pepperoni.
It's tough making a decision there because every pizza on the menu sounds so delicious - Marinara, Bianca, Capricciosa, Pomodorini and many more. They also serve calzoni napoletana and desserts such as homemade cannolis that are made fresh daily.
The dining areas of the restaurant were full, but we found a few bar-stools and took a seat by the window. Much of the restaurant has family-style seating, with several customers gathered around several large tables. If you sit in the largest dining room, you can watch the pizzas being made right before your eyes.
A masterpiece of true Italian goodness
Although they had a packed house, we received our pizza within 10 minutes of ordering it. The large Margherita pizza was brought to us on a large metal platter lined with brown paper. The scent of the pizza was heavenly. The temperature had just the right amount of heat. The San Marzano tomato sauce, pepperoni, bufala mozzarella, garlic and basil gave it a true Italian taste.
The sauce had clusters of plump tomatoes and a sweetness about it. The crust was charred and savory, and it was thin but firm. The bufala mozzarella didn't overwhelm the pizza but had just the right amount spread across each piece. Our pepperoni topping was a great addition to the traditional Margherita pizza. It had just the right amount of spice and meatiness. The basil, garlic and extra virgin olive oil brought together all the flavors to complete the perfect Pizza Napoletana.
Authentic Italian Pizzerias
Antico is Italian for "ancient," and the method by which they make their pizza derives from the pizza masters and generations before them. They have perfected their recipe and method, making the pizza worth the Napoletana name.
A few weeks before, I was vacationing in New York City and dined at 57 Napoli Pizza e Vino on 57th Street between Lexington and Park Aves. in Manhattan. Very similar to Antico, the pizza at 57 Napoli had the same charred crust and sweet sauce with herbs and spices to give it a kick. It was an amazing experience on both occasions. From NYC to Atlanta, although both pizzerias are in America, they felt just as authentic and tasted just as delicious as if they were from the streets of Naples.
Antico Pizza Napoletana
1093 Hemphill Ave. NW
Atlanta, GA 30318
(404) 724-2333
anticopizza.it
Kenda Williams - I am a freelance writer in Savannah, Ga. Originally from Conway, Ark., I received my BA in journalism at the University of Arkansas in ...
