On May 23rd, at the 50 Top Pizza Italy 2019 announcements in Naples, legendary Pizzaiolo Franco…read morePepe suddenly found himself tied for first, the name Francesco Martucci of I Masanielli in Caserta suddenly occupying the same rare air that Pepe in Grani had breathed alone for the previous two years. Known best as the home of Mozzarella Di Bufala, Caserta is the capital of the province of Caserta in the Campania region of Italy, and located just 30 minutes by car from Napoli I Masanielli can be found at Viale Giulio Douhet 11 where Martucci operate two ovens responsible for producing some nine hundred Pizzas per day in addition to Salads and Fritti. Not to be mistaken for similarly-named I Masanielli da Sasa Martucci, also in Caserta and owned by his brother, Francesco Martucci's Pizzeria is a large space with good lighting and a sizable Bar near the door, a collection of local Beer and Wine offered at fair prices to compliment I Masanielli's culinary creations. Beginning as a young boy at his uncle's Pizzeria in Caserta, first running errands before learning to shape Dough as a teen, Martucci can still be found on the line daily with his staff, this day stretching Pies and also expediting orders that entail approximately one Pizza leaving the kitchen every sixty seconds. Opened in September 2017, the Pizza style self-defined as "very mine," it is while waiting that guests are invited to snack on fried items including faultless Rice Balls and housemade Pasta, even the €1 Cheese Stick far better than usual thanks to locally produced Provolone. Contemporary from start to finish, and using a long-fermented blend of Flour to create Pizzas "a canotto," one will quickly notice a slight nuttiness and hints of smoke from Martucci's Crust, it's lightness largely unrivaled despite nearly-Montanara crispness that is best-appreciated simply with fresh Tomatoes, Basil and local Mozzarella.. Nothing short of a rags-to-riches story, I Masanielli's success continues thanks to creativity and obsessiveness, every Pizza including the now-famous "Riccia di Mammà" accounting for balance, but perhaps none more than Pizza "Pink" with Gorganzola Fondue and Fior di Latte laying the groundwork for drapes of Salame Rosa and crispy Zucchini added after exiting the oven.

I Masanielli is located in Caserta. The city is not charming in any way. As we made our…read morereservations months in advance, we were the first party called. Franceso Martucci, the pizza chef, is known for applying advanced culinary techniques. A large portion of the pizzas on his menu has dough that is fried, steamed, and then cooked in the oven. Did it make a lovely, light crust? Yes. Is it better or more tender than the pizzas we had elsewhere that had only been fried or had only been baked in an oven? No. APPETIZERS: FRITTATINA VEGETARIANA: Crispy potatoes sautéed in Normandy butter with red peppers, Salina capers, sun-dried Caiazzan olives, fondue and 28-month aged Parmigiano Reggiano Bianca, Buffalo milk cheese, béchamel scented with cubeb pepper, and fresh basil. This was just a single bite. POLENTA FRITTA. Corn polenta, wild garlic, cubebe pepper, pecorino cheese; served with onion mayonnaise (no eggs, with soy milk). Everyone at the table liked this, PIZZAS: UNA VOLTA Fior di latte cheese, Semi-aged Agnone Caciocavallo cheese, blue cheese by Fattorie Garofalo, marinated Scottona beef top round with garlic, olive oil and parsley, lime mousse, Sichuan pepper, cubeb pepper. The toppings were the star on this one, and it was not overly blue-cheesy. ASSOLUTO DI POMODORO: Roasted cherry tomato cream, piennolo tomato sautéed, yellow tomato sautéed, San Marzano PDO tomato mousse, dried piennolo cherry tomato, chips of red datterino, Piennolo tomato jam, extra virgin olive oil Matilde Misuraca. This was a tomato-forward pizza. Did I enjoy it? Absolutely. Was it better than a plain Cosacca that I had later that week at Pizzeria Salvo? No. VIA EMILIA  Fior di latte cheese, Mortadella Bologna PGI, flakes of 28-month-aged Parmigiano Reggiano made from Bianca Modenese cow's milk. Although my wife ordered this pizza, this was my daughter's favorite. It had the best bake of the pizzas we tried, probably because the toppings were added post-bake,

We drove south from Rome to Caizzo on a Thursday. It's a small hillside town. We arrived about 20…read moreminutes before opening (7 pm). The doors opened unexpectedly and Franco Pepe poked out his head and shouted out "Buenaserra!". Before they started calling out the reservations, a large wedding party was ushered in for a reception! It was an unexpected surprise that only added to the joy of eating at this establishment for the first time. Fried appetizers are common at Naples' pizzerias. They were uniformly good everywhere but these were the best we had on the trip ROCCO: Cone with 12-month Grana Padano DOP fondue, pecorino cheese,Piennolo del Vesuvio DOP tomatoes, dried Casertano pork sausage, chili pepper, pecorino chips, basil. CIRO: Cone with 12-monthGrana Padano DOP fondue, rocket pesto, dehydrated Caiazzo black olives. As a side note, most pizzerias did not have any salads or vegetable sides. Now for the pizzas. PORKASERTA: San Marzano tomatoes, fiordilatte cheese, smoked scamorza cheese, dried Casertano pork sausage, oregano and EVOO. This is the pizza that will haunt my dreams. The aroma of the pizza was indescribably porky, and the flavor was the most porky thing I've ever eaten. The "dried sausage" had wonderfully soft fat, and the slices were a little less than a ¼" thick. MARGHERITA SBAGLIATA: Campana DOP Buffalo mozzarella cheese, purée of "riccio" tomatoes, basil reduction, EVOO. This is the pizza that Franco Pepe is known for. It was good and I'm glad we tried it, but I did not find it to be a major improvement over a normal Margherita. LA PICCANTE: Fiordilatte cheese, San Marzano tomato, spicy salami, oregano and EVOO. This was my second favorite pizza that we tried here. RICOTTA E PISTACCHIO: Cheesecake al pistacchio della pasticceria Pepe. It was the perfect way to end the meal. The waiters at most of the pizzerias we visited were extremely knowledgeable about the technical aspects of pizza. I found out that they use a custom flour, the dough ball weight is 281 grams and the bake time is about 2 minutes (which I verified by watching their kitchen cam TV on the dining room wall). The pizzas all had more cheese than I was expecting. The crust was extremely light and it was not salty like Da Michele. I'd estimate it to be under 3%. They do use a bit of old dough as part of their fermentation process. Getting to meet Franco Pepe was the cherry on top. He's not a schmoozer, but he did briefly visit all the dining areas. This was our overall favorite pizzeria we visited and it's very possibly the best Neapolitan pizza in the world.

Continues to be the go-to pizza lover spot. Can't say enough of the memories created here.read more

An agriturismo in my paternal grandfather's hometown, we discovered La Cantina di Baffone a few…read moreyears back and I have never gone for a visit without at least one meal there. Just down the hill from downtown Montecalvo, a small, hillside town 60 miles east of Naples, the restaurant seems to be far from civilization in a relaxed and peaceful setting surrounded by olive and cherry orchards ... AHHHHHHH! Owned by the lovely and very kind Daniela Racioppi, who does most of the interacting with guests, she greeted me warmly as usual and quickly gave us the menus. Knowing the menu very well, we quickly ordered some mineral water and a liter of the local red wine for the four of us as well as some bruschetta (€1.50/$1.75 - FYI: the "ch" in Italian is pronounced like our "k', so it is pronounced brew-sket-ah, not brew-shet-a) and a Caprese salad (€5/$5.75). The bruschetta was delish and the Caprese salad was bigger and better than most places that charge between €7/$8 and €12/$13.75. Having been born about 15 miles away, my grandmother's cooking was very similar to the dishes found in this region, so I always feel right at home here. None of the pizzas are over €5 ($5.75) and they are the cheapest I have seen in recent memory, here or in Naples, and the most expensive thing on the menu is just €7 ($8). Naples is chock full of fabulous pizzerias, so my focus on this occasion was on the cucina tipica (local cuisine), Montecalvese in this case. For our first courses (primi), my cousin Gino, nephew Francesco and I all had the Cicatielli e Broccoli (€5/$5.75). Cicatielli (dialect) is a local pasta that is known as Cavatelli in other parts of Italy. With just the right amount of perfectly cooked pasta, the broccoli leaves were not overwhelmed by the light, olive oil sauce holding the pasta together. Top it with some grated Parmigiano Reggiano and you have a delicious pasta dish that would easily cost two to three times the price elsewhere. As they say, "great minds think alike", so the three of us also ordered the Patane e Pupini (€5) for our secondi (second dish), a traditional combination of roasted sweet sausage, chunks of stewed beef, red and green bell peppers, and potatoes. My grandma used to make this and it was one of my dad's favorite dishes, and Da Baffone always does an excellent job in their preparation. Along with some local bread, I had to "fare la scarpetta" (to do the little shoe) with the leftover sauce, using a small piece of local bread to mop up the wonderful juices I could not possibly have left behind. My Italian-born wife always tells me that it is frowned upon in public, but I could not resist. Thoroughly stuffed, I had no room for dessert, but Gino and Francesco order the cheesecake (€2.50), a house specialty, one drizzled with caramel and the other a fresh fruit sauce with strawberry, raspberry, and cherry from trees in the adjacent grove. The graham cracker crust was perfect and the filling as good as any stateside restaurant, a dessert easily fetching twice the price at most places. Cantina di Baffone is a rarity and a place you can only find only off the beaten track in a place only locals know. The prices are ridiculously cheap, the portions big, and the food incredible. For a party of four, we ate extremely well for €15 per person, including drinks, making this restaurant an exceptional value. We only see my relatives once every year or two, but the next time we are in Montecalvo we will return to Cantina di Baffone for another inexpensive and delicious meal. This is as good as it gets folks! CombatCritic Gives Cantina di Baffone 10 Out Of 10 Bombs ... TravelValue Does Not Get Any Better Than This Folks ... More Bombs Are Better!

I was not expecting much from this place in a small town, but I was truly amazed. The staff is very…read morewelcoming, our server spoke English. I got chicken which was ok. The pizza was amazing though. We had different pizzas and the best one was what the server recommended- margarita pizza with fresh buffalo mozzarella. The prices were very affordable. Definitely recommend.

This was by far the best pizza I had our entire trip. Service was wonderful and very welcoming…read more Very clean and would definitely eat here again if we were near!!!

It absolutely is your moral imperative to go to Naples, Italy for pizza, but it is also your moral…read moreimperative, to go to Naples and enjoy a sfogliatelle! Antico Forna is literally the place to go for this delectable and delicious pastry. They are located fairly close to the train station, and definitely off the beat and path, but literally anyone and everyone that knows how amazing this place is, and they will be there. You should see the line lol. Don't let that intimidate you, jump in line like everyone else, because you absolutely will be thrilled that you did. You will want to order one of everything, and I can't say that I would blame you. If I could go back every day, I absolutely would. The Sfogliatelle is served, warm, and the light flaky pastry crust is everything. Order more than you want, or need, and thank me later. There isn't a place to sit, there isn't a place to wait, it's pretty much completely take away. Have I said how amazing this place is?! I found the people to be extremely friendly that worked there, and they were extremely patient with my questions, and my ordering lol. Mangia!

I finally made it here before leaving Naples, and I'm so glad I listened to the locals! It's…read moreconveniently located right near the train station, making it an easy and essential stop-by. The Sfogliatella completely blew my mind. The flakiness was incredible, and the level of sweetness was a perfect match for my cappuccino. It is truly a must-have in Napoli! On the other hand, the Babà was just okay for me and wasn't quite my favorite compared to the pastry. Just a heads-up: the line is usually long, so make sure to give yourself plenty of time. My only regret is that I didn't buy a second sfogliatella for the road!