Via Tevere

I discovered an authentic Neapolitan pizza place this past Sunday night ... all thanks to my lovely friend, Rita. She suggested that we go to her favourite pizza spot for a girls' dinner. Via Tevere is hidden in the heart of a residential neighbourhood by Commercial Dr. and Hastings (Victoria and Williams, to be exact).

As usual, I did a bit of research beforehand ...

The restaurant was founded by two brothers - Frank and Dominic Morra, who also own Ragazzi Pizza Co. in Vancouver. Via Tevere is named after a street in Naples, Italy where the founders' father was raised. The brothers attribute their appreciation for Neapolitan food, lifestyle, and most importantly, pizza, to their experiences on Via Tevere. And so, they started the restaurant with a goal to commemorate their family's heritage and the essence of "la vera pizza Napoletana" (the true Neapolitan pizza!). 

Their menu features an appetizers, pizzas ranging from $11 to $21, a daily pasta, and a mini collection of dessert. Their pizzas have won numerous awards and have been lauded by many as the best Neapolitan pizzas in Vancouver (next to Nicli Antica Pizzeria - already on my to-try list).

And now, a little bit about Neapolitan pizza and the history of pizza:

On June 11, 1889, a Neapolitan pizza-maker in the name of Raffaele Esposito cleverly crafted a pizza embodying the colours of the Italian flag to honour the Queen Margherita of Savoy. The pizza was adorned with tomatoes, mozzarella, and basil and has since become one of two most popular pizzas among Neapolitans. That pizza is know commonly known as the Pizza Margherita. The other pizza that ranks similarly high in popularity among Neapolitans is the Pizza Marinara - garnished with tomatoes, garlic, oregano and extra virgin olive oil. 

I learned that Neapolitans take their pizza seriously. So seriously that there is actually an association that exists to restore and preserve the authenticity of traditional Neapolitan pizza-making. Together with the Italian government and European Union, the Associazone Vera Pizza Napolatena (AVPN) sets strict guidelines and criteria for the certification of a vera pizza Napoletana. The criteria is as follows: 

1. Required ingredients include: double zero flour, San Marzano tomatoes, fior di latte mozzarella and extra virgin olive oil; 

2. The pizza must be baked in a wood-fired, domed oven at 485 degrees Celsius for a duration of 60 to 90 seconds; 

3. The dough must only be hand-kneaded; 

4. The pizza must be 30 cm in diametre, with a thickness of 3 mm at the centre, and a cornicione (crust) of 1 to 2 cm in height; 

5. The texture should be soft, elastic and easily fold-able into a libretto (booklet) and the centre should be soft to the touch; 

6. The the finished crust should be golden with a bit a charring, the mozzarella should appear in even patches, and the basil leaves should be cooked to a darkened green colour; and

7. The pizza should be consumed immediately at the pizzeria right after being taken out of the oven! 

Fun fact #1: In Naples, pizzas are served uncut to preserve its toppings and its thin centre.

Rita, Rachel, Michelle and I got to the restaurant just a bit before 7:30 pm on Sunday. The optimist in me was hoping that there would be no (or close to no) wait. Unfortunately, the wait at that time was around 30 - 40 minutes. However, I've actually heard that sometimes the wait gets up to 1.5 hours, so perhaps we were lucky after all. The exterior of the restaurant had a very rustic feel that I was drawn to right away. One of the sides of the building is a canvas to a vintage-looking mural. Parked along the side of the street is their blue food truck and a cute little yellow 1969 Fiat 500 mini, branded with the name of the restaurant.

Fun fact #2: Via Tevere has a food truck that operates in downtown Vancouver by Burrard and Pender from Tuesday to Friday.

After about half an hour, they offered us four seats at the bar (which I was more than happy to accept considering how hungry I was at that point). The inside of the restaurant was very comfortable and charming. Their wood-fired oven acts as a centrepiece and is beautifully covered with turquoise/teal-coloured tiles. The staff were all very friendly and personable.

I told him I was taking a picture for my food blog and he agreed to pose for my photo ... yay!

We ordered the Polenta Fritta to start and a Pizza Prosciutto e Funghi, a Pizza Capricciosa, and a pasta of the day (because we wanted to satisfy our carbs craving) to share.

The Polenta Fritta were deep-fried sticks of cornmeal that were served with a side of tomato sauce. I read in a Vancouver Sun article on the restaurant that the owners' mother comes in to prepare all the fried appetizers. I wonder if this is true. The polenta sticks tasted better than I expected, but not extraordinary by any means.

The Pasta Del Giorno (pasta of the day) was a penne pasta in meat sauce - not particularly exciting and borderline sub-mediocre. I'm going to withhold from commenting too much on the pasta, as I'm well-aware that Via Tevere is a pizzeria.

The pizzas definitely lived up to my expectations! The Pizza Prosciutto e Funghi was topped with tomatoes, mozzarella, prosciutto, and mushrooms and the Pizza Capricciosa was topped with tomatoes, mozzarella, prosciutto cotto, salame, artichokes, mushrooms, and olives.

Note: Prosciutto (crudo) is Italian dry-cured ham and prosciutto cotto is Italian baked ham.

Pizza Prosciutto e Funghi

Pizza Cappricciosa

Both pizzas were soft and fold-able (as described in #5 of the above APVN criteria list), all the way from the crust to the centre. I'm not a fork and knife type of pizza person, so I opted with the fold and eat method. The crust was perfectly charred, but not too much so that it was overly hardened. I liked that the ingredients were traditional and simple and that they did not skimp on the prosciutto. The saltiness of the prosciutto went really well with the fresh mozzarella and the smooth tomato sauce.

To end off the night we ordered their Tiramisu to share. We had heard good things about the tiramisu and couldn't wait to see of ourselves. The bartender said the serving was quite sizable, so we went with just one. A common issue I have with tiramisu is that the lady fingers become too soggy after they've been dipped in coffee/rum. This in turn makes the whole inside of the cake too wet. Another common issue I find is that I can rarely taste the mascarpone in the whipped cream layers of the cake; a lot of times I can only taste the whipped cream.

The lighting wasn't very good, so the photo doesn't do it justice.

This tiramisu was heavenly. It did not have a "wetness" problem. There was actually still a bit of crunch from the lady fingers. The whipped cream layers were very well done - the whipped cream was very smooth throughout and the mascarpone was distinct. Despite the many calories I'm sure I consumed while eating the cake, it tasted very light and spongy.

Honourable mention: Rachel and Michelle ordered lattes to try. I had sip of Rachel's and loved it - the latte was very smooth and not too sweet.

Overall, I would give Via Tevere 4/5 stars for their pizza! Their efforts to maintain a high level of authenticity definitely paid off. The pizza is worth the wait. Also, if you're a big tiramisu fan, I would highly recommend you give theirs a try. Trust me, you will not be disappointed.