I have long been a denizen of that greasy, gooey goodness known as Fuzzy's Pizza on Antoine (which, if you don't know, is the favorite pizza joint of President Bush the Elder).
But now there's a new pizza joint in town. A place that makes authentic Pizza Napoletano. Neapolitan-style pizza is very simple. Crushed tomatoes, basil and mozzarella on a thin, misshapen crust baked in a wood-fired oven.
Bill Hutchinson is the owner of Pizaro's Pizza on the west side of Houston. He became so enamored of the pizza in Naples that he got himself trained to be a certified Pizza Napoletano maker. I met him the other night when my wife, her mother and our two daughters went out for a bite. He walks around the restaurant like a proud papa -- and, judging by the number of people eating and waiting in line, he has every right to be.
The pizzas are baked in an igloo-shaped wood-fired oven at 900 degrees for 90 seconds. The thin crust has char marks from the heat blast. My girls had a tomato and mozzarella pizza, I had a pizza Marghertia with sausage and my wife and her mom had a pizza with goat cheese and sausage. They were all excellent.
Pizaro's Pizza doesn't have a liquor license but feel free to bring in your own wine and use their beautiful wrought-iron corking station. Call me a heathen, but I love a good rioja with my pizza.
There's nothing fancy about the pizza. It's made by hand with just a few simple ingredients. And it is good. Damn good.
I'm sure there's a lesson in there. No need to make things more complicated than they need to be. Be direct and straight forward. It works for pizza. I'm sure it works for other things.
See also:
"Neapolitan-style pizza comes to West Houston," J.C. Reid, Texas (Jan. 26, 2012)
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