I had enjoyed my first pizza at The Gypsy Poet, a smart and friendly, newish pizza joint in a slower of Midtown, and decided to sample their version of the margherita on my second visit. It was fairly disappointing. Order another pie there. I had shied away from ordering margheritas after the slog that my Margherita Pizza Project turned out to be, but I have occasionally craved a good or even decent version, with memories of the vibrancy and tastiness of an excellent slightly charred dough combining with seemingly magical amalgamation of pureed tomatoes, quality mozzarella, and a few basil leaves that a well-made margherita offers. I had one at an outpost of the lauded Gino Sorbillo in Milan in October.
Where to get a good version in Houston? The top margheritas in Houston take inspiration from Naples, not surprisingly, since this is where the margherita was born and is still one of its most popular pizzas.
Where you should order a margherita pizza:
Where you can order a margherita pizza in decent conscience, in order of preference:
The Regina Margherita at Amalfi
Where to get a good version in Houston? The top margheritas in Houston take inspiration from Naples, not surprisingly, since this is where the margherita was born and is still one of its most popular pizzas.
Where you should order a margherita pizza:
- Dolce Vita – Nicely light and Italian-tasting if not really Neapolitan in style, even with its soft wet center and raised crust. Dolce Vita remains the city’s best pizzeria and it will remain open, thankfully, after news this summer that it was going to shutter.
- Amalfi – More Neapolitan-tasting than Dolce Vita’s, even with the addition of sliced tomatoes to the sauce. This is one of Houston’s best Italian restaurants and the chef / co-owner Giancarlo Ferrara hails from Salerno, down the coast from Naples.
- Da Marco – The version at Dolce Vita’s big brother might have been the first really good version of the margherita pizza here
Where you can order a margherita pizza in decent conscience, in order of preference:
- Fresco Italian Café – Rectangular-shaped and cut into squares, the small and inexpensive pizza seemed to me to be almost a cross between the traditional thin, cracker-like crust pizza of Rome and its thicker, spongier pizza al taglio. This features fresh tomato slices, noticeably good quality ingredients and a nicely tasty crust.
- Osso & Kristalla
- Solario – Featuring nicely clean flavors and pretty decent ingredients, if not quite the highest quality, and done in the traditional Neapolitan or at least Italian style that is a great value during lunch.
- Grimaldi’s – Easily the best of the New York-style places for the margherita; lighter and more flavorful crust that was more Italian than New York-style
- Fratelli’s
- Weights + Measures
- Tiny’s No. 5
- Prego
- Pizaro’s
- Cane Rosso – It’s alright.
The Regina Margherita at Amalfi
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