Arrive Magazine - May/June, 2010

LaPosta was there when Nusser fired up the pizza oven for the first time.

They set about perfecting the dough.

“There were probably about a dozen factors: Do we put olive oil in, do we not?” Nusser says.

“Do we use dry yeast, do
we use fresh? Do we mix
for 15 minutes or do we
mix for 17 minutes? We
probably made the per-
fect dough, and then messed ourselves
up, and then went back to it again.”
The crust has just the right crunch,
chew and char—and they achieve that in
about 2 1/ minutes in the oven.

The toppings are made with impeccable ingredients: fresh clams in their shells with garlic, oregano and red pepper; guiancale with black truffles and a soft egg; thinly sliced rounds of crispy potatoes with pancetta and rosemary;

bresaola with caramelized onions and caciocavallo, which tastes almost like a Philly cheesesteak, in a good way.

If LaPosta had his way, says Nusser,
he’d change his pizza toppings every day,
but instead, they keep the same 15 or so
choices on the menu for at least a season
2

or so. Though some haven’t changed since the restaurant opened in 2008.

Perhaps that’s good luck for LaPosta’s entry in the Pizza Classica event at the World Pizza Championships (Campionato Mondiale Della Pizza) in Salsomaggiore Terme in Italy. The event was held in April, but before press time for this article.

He said he would be preparing a margherita—and perhaps a fruitti di mare, which is topped with seafood— and would have been judged for overall best pizza for taste, presentation and speed.