My wife and I were back in Italy for the 2nd time in 18 months. We loved it the first time and it’s been even better 2nd time round. After 4 fabulous days in Rome we took the bullet train to Florence where we spent another 4 glorious days. AND THEN ! On Thurs, March 27th Martin our good friend and limo tour driver picked us up at 9am at the Hotel Berchielli for the long drive to Salerno . . for a 6 day stay.
At around 1pm we stopped at a Sarni Grill for a hearty lunch and cappuccinos. FINALLY ! Martin navigated the narrow streets to get as close to our Airbnb apartment in Salerno as he could. At 3.30pm we said goodbye to Martin and wheeled our luggage up to our apartment on Corso Vittorio Emanuele . . the huge ( mostly ) pedestrian mall which runs the length of the main shopping district in Salerno. OH NO ! It was all ripped for as far as the eye could see . . new pipes etc being installed. Our 2 bed / 2 bath apartment was on the 4th floor . . we took the elevator up of course where we met up with Annie Mae who worked for the owner.
After Annie Mae saw our passports, showed us around the very nice apartment it was time to freshen up and think about dinner. We knew Salerno a fair bit from our 4 day stay 18 months before . . of course pizza would be our first choice. There was a Pizzium ( where we enjoyed a great tastin’ pizza last trip ) on the pedestrian mall a short walk from our apartment but it was drizzling when we exited our building at 7.30pm. After walking just a few feet we saw there was a pizzeria on the ground floor virtually below our apartment . . the door was open and a friendly looking guy beckoned us to come in. WE DID ! It felt very cosy indeed with its beautiful looking brick oven blazing away.
We sat at a table and Nello showed us a dinner menu . . pizzas and calzones. FIRST UP ! I asked Nello for a cold beer and a chilled glass . . in fact I asked him to put a stem glass in the fridge for a few minutes. NOTE ! In general we noticed that the Italians and French simply run cold water in their glasses when serving beers. We followed Nello’s suggestion and ordered 2 pizzas of different varieties . . Arruscata & Terre Sveve. My ice cold Peroni Nastro Azzurro Pale Lager – 5% abv and chilled glass were ready to enjoy . . it tasted okay. Our 2 wood-fired pizzas were ready within a few short minutes. I took a great pic of Peppe the Pizzaiolo with our 2 delicious looking pizzas before they hit our table.
MOUTHSATIONAL ! Trust me we know pizzas . . there is no shortage of excellent pizza joints in the USA and we have been making our own from scratch at home for more than 20 years. Amazing flavor and amazing texture . . as good as you would find anywhere in the world ! Nello who seemed to be the one running the show explained that his girlfriend Ilaria Falcone and her Dad owned the pizzeria. Business looked a bit quiet on the night but we were here in March which is much cooler and not the busy season. Very good pizzas, super friendly service, decent beers and a beautiful warm vibe inside is a recipe for success. We’ll be back for sure !
At around 7.30pm on Sunday, March 30th we headed downstairs for dinner here. How is the calzone I asked Nello . . the best he replied. Hard to beat that answer so that’s what we ordered. We met Ilaria again and also Isa. Nello suggested a Menabrea Ambrata….a Pale Lager – 4.8% abv which tasted fine. Before we knew it Arturo ( Peppe’s brother ) the Pizzaiolo had made our huge Calzone. And it tasted pretty darn good ! We totally enjoyed our 2 dinner visits here . . . really good pizzas & calzones, really good people and super friendly service. There are lots of great eateries in beautiful Salerno and this is one of them. IT’S THE REAL DEAL !
