Antico Pizzeria in Atlanta
Fresh, hot margherita pizza from Antico in Atlanta
Earlier this year I started making somewhat regular trips to Atlanta. On one of those early trips as well as a later trip I ate pizza at Atico Pizza Napoletana.
Walking in the front door it is obvious this place is all about pizza. Approaching the counter there is usually a cooked pizza on display, showcasing a special that day. Order a pizza, pick a drink from the cooler, pay for it and wait. On both visits I have glanced at the case full of cannoli next to the ordering counter, but I’ve never thought seriously about ordering any. It’s all about the pizza.
On my first visit, I wasn’t quite sure what to do after I ordered. I had a receipt that guaranteed my pizza would come out at some point and I could lay claim to it. But looking around, there is a counter with stools lining a couple of the windows, in a separate room there is one large farmhouse table. All around the edges of that room there is equipment and ingredients lined up. It looks very much like it is part of the kitchen where the pizza is prepped. Yet there is always people around the table eating pizza when I’ve been there. Off the back of that room is another large room with three big wood burning ovens lining the back wall and pizza cooking in full swing. Out in front of these ovens are more tables as well as the staff making pizzas and working the ovens.
There is definitely a fuzzy line between those working at the restaurant and those eating at the restaurant. Once I got my head around that during my first visit, I sat down to wait for my pizza. Margherita. I always order a margherita on my first visit. I figure if you can’t make a good margherita then chances are nothing else on the menu is going to be that great either.
The pizza came out scalding hot on a half-sheet pan lined with parchment. It was good. Very good. I repeatedly burned my mouth eating it. And it was worth it. This first visit I was by myself and they only make one size of pizza so I figured I would eat half of it and leave the rest. But I couldn’t stop. I ate the whole thing.
On a second visit I was with someone else so we got a margherita and something with sausage and other goodies on it. Both very good. Antico is definitely on my list of places to get a great margherita.
If you are ever in Atlanta it is well worth the visit.
Antico Pizza
1093 Hemphill Ave
Atlanta, Georgia 30318
+1-404-724-2333
http://www.anticopizza.it/
