Pizza, pizza, pizza-go to 50 different pizza joints, you get 50 different kinds of pizza. Unfortunately, at half of those joints you are going to find the crust is similar in texture and taste to damp cardboard. That is not the case at Tutta Bella Neapolitan Pizzeria in Columbia City, on Rainier Avenue at Hudson.
Some might be tempted to call this pizza with a gimmick-a genuine wood-fired pizza oven right behind the ordering counter where everyone can see it, wood flames and all. Gimmicks tend to fall flat if the food doesn't prop them up, and the pizza at Tutta Bella is high quality and delicious; not a hint of cardboard.
Tutta Bella opened in January, the brainchild of owner Joe Fugere, whose great grandmother came from Calabria, Italy (that is the area of the heel and toe of boot-shaped Italy). So why not Calabrian pizza?
"Naples is where pizza was born, and if you're going to do pizza, you might as well do the original," Fugere said.
I didn't know pizza was born in Naples. But it has become naturalized, not only in this country, but worldwide. We talk about New York pizza, Chicago pizza, real Italian pizza-I have even had pizza in Katmandu with yak cheese (unusual, not bad, but not real pizza, either). Tutta Bella's pizza is different from the pizza you will find anywhere else in town. One thing I can call it is good-very good.
Fugere is proud of his ingredients-everything he uses is fresh, much of it is organic. The wait staff wears bright red pins that look like fat peppers. They aren't peppers at all, though. They are San Marzano tomatoes. These tomatoes grow only "in the rich, volcanic soil on the slopes of Mount Vesuvius," Fugere explained, adding that they are low in acid and naturally sweeter than other tomatoes. He said the Italian government is so protective of these tomatoes that they are certified and regulated.
"These tomatoes are so pure we only add extra virgin olive oil and Italian sea salt to make the sauce," Fugere said.
When you order your pizza at the long counter, the pizza is made before your eyes, if you want to watch. Otherwise you can sit at your table, enjoy a beverage and talk until it is delivered. The options range from the quite inexpensive (at $6.95) Quattro Formaggi (four-cheese) pizza, a thin crust pizza with olive oil, oregano, slivered garlic, fresh mozzarella cheese, gorgonzola cheese and formaggi di casa (House cheese-which includes provolone, assiago and fouticca cheese. By my count, that makes it a five-cheese pizza, but never mind) to the Tutta Bella, at $8.95, the most expensive offering, which features salsa di pomodoro (pomodoro means tomato) fresh mozzarella, carmelized onions, hot Italian sausage, herbed mushrooms and parmigiano cheese. We had one of each of those.
There are eight other choices in prices ranging between those and offering such unusual, but authentically Italian choices as prosciutto (Italian thin-sliced ham), kalamata olives, eggplant, yellow squash and goat cheese.
Actually, there is one less expensive pizza on the menu. It is the classic Marinara Napoletana, just $5.95, that comes with tomato sauce, slivered garlic, oregano, virgin olive oil and no cheese. For a dollar you can add anchovies-always a lure to me, but anathama to my dining companion (a real, grown-up person, for a change) who averred that there is not enough water in Seattle to wash down the salt from anchovies. It is thinking like this that may be the real reason for the fall of the Roman Empire-but I digress.
All of the pizzas are 11-inch personal pizzas, so you are encouraged to get one for each person and share. The crust is very thin, without a rolled edge, so that the cheese pizza looks almost like an open quesadilla. The menu also offers salads and desserts (have you ever had gelato? It is similar to ice cream, but deliciously different).
And there are beverages. Those who believe you must have beer with pizza (a great American addition to Italian culture) have a choice of two bottled Italian beers, Moretti on draft and Tutta Bella Ale, a Northwest microbrew. For the more traditionally minded there is white and red Italian wine, even one from Naples, by the glass. For non-drinkers there is the usual soda pop, Italian bottled water, and even a non-alcoholic beer.
Fugere is not a New York or California transplant intent on bringing Italian culture to Seattle. He grew up on Beacon Hill in a neighborhood near the Veterans Administration hospital.
"I'm a Beacon Hill native, born and raised," he said proudly. "We're talking four generations on Beacon Hill." His grandparents were the first couple to be married in St. Peter's Church, even before the church building was constructed. His mother and all her sisters were also married in the church.
According to the Tutta Bella menu, pizza has been made for 150 years in Naples. "To be called a true Neapolitan Pizzeria, a restaurant must meet strict Italian government regulations for its ingredients -flour, salt, yeast, tomatoes, cheese and fresh herbs. Tutta Bella Neapolitan Pizzeria has held itself accountable to these standards by sourcing and importing only the freshest and highest quality ingredients."
Fugere puts a lot of pride into what he is doing, and it translates into a terrific dining experience. His Neapolitan pizza is unique in Seattle, as far as I know, and darned good chow. Or is that ciao?
Tutta Bella Neapolitan Pizzeria, 4918 Rainier Ave. S., is open for lunch and dinner from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Saturday, closed Sundays. Takeout is available by calling 721-3501.
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