Vapiano: Best Italian Pizza Outside Of Italy

(Sunday, May 20, 2007) - Those of you who have been to Italy are lucky enough to have tasted real Italian pizza. I'm not here to knock what American pizza is - it is a totally different dish, and wonderful for it's own reasons. But to me, Italian pizza is sublime. A thin crust that is not necessarily round made from spring water, their own strains of yeast (but not over-risen) and topped with fresh tomatoes, unpasteurized cheese and basil and mushrooms that make me weak in the knees. And the meats they are allowed to use - salamis that are air-cured for months - are nothing short of heavenly.

While most of these ingredients are illegal in the US, since we don't actually understand what it is we need to be restricting to keep our food supply safe, it is nice to see some places actually doing their best to re-create the flavors of Europe here in the US. I would whole-heartedly recommend Vapiano in Arlington (near the Ballston Commons mall - with other DC locations on M street and Chinatown coming) as one of those places.

And of course why shouldn't they be? They are a European chain originally. They understand the concept of fresh food and made-to-order items. Billing themselves as "the future of fresh casual," the experience is unique from the moment you enter the restaurant.

It's like the Mobil Speed Pass, only you're not funding a greedy multi-million dollar corporation for the sole purpose of polluting the planet...
You are greeted by a hostess who would normally show you to your seat, but instead she hands you a credit card. This is your tab that you can then take around to the different stations in the restaurant, ordering what you want, and building a tab as you go. There is a bar, multiple pasta stations, a fresh salad station and a pizza station as well. You go up to those stations, order what you want, and they charge it to your card which you settle up with as you leave.

On the one hand, this is a new twist on how to order food, while on the other hand, it is really just an up-scale cafeteria. I don't know about you, but while I am all in favor of the concept of new, creative designs to the eating experience, I am not a fan of having to "learn" how to use a restaurant. I really just want my food. But the small amount of effort that has to be put in at Vapiano to learn the nuances of the ordering process are well worth the effort.

The pizza I received was fresh, hot and looked just like something I would have ordered in the Campo dei Fiori in Rome. And the taste was something totally unexpected. There was that fresh tomato taste, that clean water sensation in the crust. All in all, this was a pie that actually tried to be an Italian pizza, and it came pretty darn close. Of course, we will never be 100% there as long as we keep our meats and cheeses stuck in the irradiated hell they are currently stuck in, but I dare say this is as close as we will ever come - and I was pleasantly surprised just how close that was.

When done right, it is one of the all-time great pasta dishes. Too bad it is so rarely done right...
My wife ordered a pasta - carbonara, a risky option to order in the states seeing as how most places drown it in an eggy flavor that is totally unpalatable - and again the result was rather surprising. While this was not quite the "real deal," again, the freshness of the pasta itself came through, and the quality of the ingredients made this into a hit. And who doesn't like to see their fresh pasta made right in front of them? You know you are getting the good stuff when you see it come out al dente before your very eyes.

I topped off my experience with their house red which was a Montepulciano de Abruzzo, which is jut perfect for me seeing as how my grandfather was born in Abruzzi. As far as house wines go, you could do a lot worse. But the whole experience transported me back - if only in flavor - to an enjoyable night of dining in Italy.

Now if only they would tone down the "hip-ness" of the whole place and let the food speak for itself... But like I said, it is worth a visit if only to learn all about the joys of real Italian pizza.

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