Vince Vaughn’s Wedding Crashers character, Jeremy Grey, told a ridiculous lie in the beginning of the movie when mediating a couple’s divorce proceedings.
He exclaimed that a wedding band is “like pizza, baby: It’s good no matter what.”
The part about wedding bands probably isn’t true (see Jon Lovitz’s performance in The Wedding Singer), but it’s the statement about pizza that really offends an obsessive like me.
Sorry to burst the crust bubbles of those happily chowing down on frozen personal pies or cashing in those coupons to Papa John’s, but the combo of cheese, sauce and dough is not good “no matter what.” The cheese must be quality mozzarella (either aged, fresh or both), the sauce should be made from San Marzano or Roma tomatoes (Italy’s finest) and infused with garlic, basil and oregano. It shouldn’t be too sweet-tasting like Ragú or the little plastic packet of sauce found in Lunchables pizza.
While those elements of great pizza aren’t too debatable, the most contentious factor is the dough. The level of char, crispiness and thickness of cornicione (the proper term for the lip of the pizza most call the crust) is all a matter of personal preference and regional style.
As a New York City native, I favor the classic New York-Neapolitan style born in the coal oven of Lombardi’s, the country’s first official pizzeria, which opened in 1905 in Manhattan’s Little Italy. This type of dough is made with finely milled, high-gluten flour and is cooked at a temperature higher than 700 degrees Fahrenheit for a few minutes to achieve a cornicione that is smoky and blackened, yet has a yeasty, bread-like interior.
I have had trouble finding a pizzeria with pies that even slightly resemble my ideal version, or even the passable utility gas oven slices most New York pizza parlors dish out.
That is, until I tried Vito’s Pizzeria on Route 1.
It’s my belief tasty pizza is made by a hands-on pizzaiolo who is passionate about what he does and who loves to feed people. Owner and proprietor Vito Antonio Riccio, a 2005 university alumnus who opened the eatery and replaced Fat Tino’s pizzeria in January, is that guy. And while Vito’s Pizzeria isn’t as good as the neighborhood joints I grew up around, it is much more delicious than its College Park competition.
Forget Ratsie’s. Vito’s is a drunk food spot that can also be a sober lunch destination.
Riccio, who rocks Jersey Shore-esque spiky hair, calls his restaurant “An ode to my dad.” The recipes are from his father, who Riccio said used to own a pizzeria in The Mall in Columbia. Riccio opened Vito’s Pizzeria as his own friendly neighborhood slice-and-sub joint. He not only runs the place, but also acts as ambassador between the front and back of the house, always willing to chat with customers and pal around with employees.
The pizza-making gene was passed on from father to son, because Riccio’s product has an even distribution of oregano-heavy, peppery tomato sauce and shredded, aged Grande mozzarella cheese.
And while the crust doesn’t have an ethereal, airy interior that one can peer through as if it were a bready web, it’s rightfully thin and crunchy on the outside. It’s as foldable as the slice John Travolta scarfed down in the opening of Saturday Night Fever, but doesn’t sag at the end — a sign the piece can hold up to toppings. The crust’s structure is rather remarkable considering Riccio keeps his gas oven at a mere 550 degrees.
Slice.seriouseats.com, a blog about pizza, conducted a study in January to see whether the mineral content of water used to make bread dough has a significant effect on a pizza pie’s overall result. The study concluded it doesn’t make a difference, and Vito’s is the proof.
The pizza is noteworthy because the taste almost indistinguishable from common New York pizza, disproving the myth that New York tap water is crucial to a great pizza crust.
Although Vito’s would never be top-notch in New York — it’s the Mets to Lombardi’s Yankees — it can still at least hold its own in pizza’s birthplace.
“I’ve had people come from Brooklyn and Staten Island, they’ve all tried my pizza, and theytold me that it is just as good — if not better — than what they had there,” Riccio said confidently.
Key ingredients and a caring chef are conducive to quality pizza, however. Vito’s Pizzeria has those elements, which is why its pies can stack up to the skillfully constructed New York norm.
rush@umdbk.com
