Before many of us can speak, pizza becomes an essential components of our diet, an ever-present option for unsophisticated palates. It is eaten at birthday parties, after soccer matches and is the standard fare at school cafeterias everywhere.
But despite its ubiquity, pizza is not intrinsically unsophisticated. Just ask Luca Varuni and Giancarlo Pirrone, the owners of Varuni-Napoli, a new Neapolitan pizzeria in Morningside at the corner of Monroe and Piedmont. Varuni-Napoli opened its doors at the end of April to lines of customers that wrap around the block. What makes his pizza so special?
It starts with Varuni’s pizza pedigree. Born and raised in Naples and having cooked with world famous chefs, he has spent a full year creating the concept and menu for Varuni-Napoli.
Everything in the restaurant it seems is from Naples: the owner, the ingredients and the employees.
“All my pizza makers come from Naples, and all our products comes from and is made from ingredients from Naples as we import everything directly, so that is what makes our pizza so unique,” Varuni said. “I opened Varuni-Napoli because I felt the need to explain to the people a little more about my culture, the Neapolitan culture, and I truly feel we are getting a good result.”
The pizza menu has four classic pizzas and 10 artisans pizzas.
Varuni says his favorite pizza is the Margherita, a pizza topped with San Marzano tomatoes, buffalo mozzarella, pecorino romano and basil. A not-to-be-missed favorite is the “Mamma,” a pizza made with cherry Vesuvian tomatoes and provletta, topped with arugula and prosciutto di Parma but no sauce.
Varuni’s menu also offers fried calzones stuffed with mozzarella, ricotta, pomodoro corbarino, salami, Cicolo, basil, salads, Mozzarella platters and street food.
“We brought the two pizza ovens from Italy so we could make the perfect pizzas,” Varuni said.
Grady parent Gigi Schwartz was one of the first people to try Varuni-Napoli pizza. She said it is a fantastic addition to the neighborhood because the ingredients used for the pizza toppings are high quality, and the dough is crisp and has a fluffiness inside that makes for a great pizza.
“They have done a fabulous job of renovating the space with two giant tiled pizza ovens,” Schwartz said. “The atmosphere was a bit crazy each time I was there and a bit loud if you wanted to actually talk to your dinner companions. The owner treats you like family, and all the employees were accommodating with questions about the menu.”
Schwartz hopes that the restaurant stops taking order at the counter and starts seating customers and taking orders by table. Varuni said in a few weeks they will offer both counter and table service.
“I would definitely recommend to people in our community,” Schwartz said, “but [I would] caution them to go early before the crowds converge on the place.”
