Pizza 
Value
Quality
If you HAD to live off it forever, how happy would you be?
Rome witnessed the second leg of my journey to find the best pizza in Italy. Known for pizza al trancia (pizza by the slice), it’s cooked in gas ovens in rectangular metallic pans and served by the slice, and is usually priced by weight. The dough is thinner, crispier and the toppings are known to be less generous than other regions in Italy.
Pizza e Tramezzini
Probably because of the touristic nature of Rome but there seemed to be pizza on every corner, street and generally everywhere you looked. Sure enough, it was served by the slice, unless you were to have it in a restaurant or pizzeria, where you’d get it whole. The hardest decision, other than choosing which topping you’d like, is where to go. However, I definitely gave Rome a good run for its money on the pizza bar front.
With the exception of one pizza, I really enjoyed every slice I ate while in the country’s capital. The dough is a lot crispier than the standard pizza you eat in England, and with its perfectly layered air pockets throughout the base, is almost ciabatta like in texture. In fact, it resembled more of an open sandwich, than a pizza, but then again what IS the actual definition of pizza? I tried asking this to a local Roman, but not sure I got the desired results, but it is a funny video, so please do give it a watch once I’ve uploaded it, meanwhile I’ll leave you with the following:
Click here and please don’t laugh!
The most popular toppings in Rome, other than the standard margherita, were bechemel sauce with zucchini, simply potato and rosemary or spicy salami. I tried all three and despite usually always opting for the tomato base, I preferred the bechemel and zucchini. I’ll definitely be taking on this topping for MYO and it reinforced my initial idea of offering a choice of bechemel or ragu as the sauce. Ben and I also tried the experimental pizza from Pizzarium, however, despite the topping of pig cheek, orange and broccoli being delicious, the base was almost like a pastry bread due to its layered effect, and just tasted like a gourmet sandwich. Still yummy though.
Pizza from Pizzarium – nearly 4 euros for this tiny piece!
The pizza that you’d find in pizzerias was incredibly thin, and easy to eat. I’m not so keen on the thinner crust as I leave feeling hungry and unsatisfied, and they don’t tend to taste of much more than charred toast. I also find it odd that the evening pizza is so much different to the yummy ciabatta like day-time one. I’d choose the latter any day.
In summary, I really enjoyed the Roman pizza, more so than I was expecting. It was nice to see simply pizza, with the exception of tramezzini (pizza sandwich) on the snack bar menu, rather than tens of varieties like you’d see in Naples or Bari. I also realised how much I love the bianca or bechemel base but I just wish they’d serve their food hotter. I realise I’m a little strange in how much I like my food hot, but surely pizza tastes better hot rather than tepid? So, the things I’m taking away from Rome, is that I love the pizza but it needs to be served piping.
