For Amelia and I, Napoli Pizza in Vallejo, California, is hands-down, our favorite pizza on the planet. It is the pizza against which we judge all pizzas! So, when Amelia suggested Napoli for our first “official” meeting, it was a no brainer! We love their downtown Vallejo restaurant and enjoy watching them toss their pizza dough – those guys are like pizza making machines! And when I can’t make it to downtown Vallejo, I order it delivered to my home from their Benicia store. The crust is perfect, the sauce is perfectly balanced and the end product is amazing. What’s more is that Napoli Pizza is kind of a family tradition for us as well. Our parents used to go there back in the 60’s! And every time our Dad comes to town, we are sure to make a special trip there.

I think these photos say it all but they really do the food no justice whatsoever.

Today there was a new item on the appetizer menu – the Mezza Luna, which is a crescent shaped thinly rolled pizza dough filled with smoked mozzarella cheese and sun dried tomatoes served with your choice of ranch or marinara (we went for the marinara at the suggestion of our server). They were awesome! Caution: the filling may be hot but you’ll totally risk the mouth-burn a for a second bite!

We also ordered a two topping large pizza (so as to have leftovers to take home) – Canadian bacon and pineapple. Look at this! The underneath has the perfect crisp, the edge crust has just the right crumb and crisp with the inside being soft and hot, and even if you tried to orchestrate the perfect pizza shot, you won’t see a cheese string like this anywhere else.

The first half of each slice is soft and wonderful and should be eaten with a fork and knife. After you’ve finished the first half, then crunchy-but-soft second half can be eaten with your hands. What it is that makes each slice so perfect, we may never know.

Our dream in life really is that someday the pizza makers at Napoli Pizza will impart all of their pizza making secrets to us (our second dream being to learn how Peet’s Coffee & Tea makes a perfect latte). Until then, we will continue to enjoy our unofficial family tradition of letting the real pizza geniuses serve us their art.

If you get a chance, check them out: http://www.napolipizzavallejo.com

Eat Well!

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