Naples, Italy: Good Food And Fair Prices, But Lukewarm Food And Undercooked Pasta Left Me Bewildered

La Taverna del Buongustaio

Via Basilio Puoti 8
80134 Naples, Italy
Centro Storico
Phone number: +39 081 5512626
Prices: €€€€

A small taverna just off Via Toledo halfway between the Dante and Toledo Metro stations, Buongustaio (translated "gourmet" in one case) does not quite live up to its name, but I was pleasantly surprised by the food and value.

At €6.50 ($7.67) for a primo (pasta) or secondo (meat dish), the prices are quite reasonable and €4 for a half liter of vino della casa (house wine) ain't bad neither (how's that for lousy English?).

The small place (10-12 tables) was packed save one table for two tucked in the corner, so we grabbed it. The service was quite friendly and efficient, my top-2 priorities, and we were quickly brought our drinks (wine and water) and a basket of fresh Neapolitan bread.

My wife's Penne alla Genovese (a dish you would probably associate with Genoa, but will rarely find outside Naples), comes in a sauce with onion, mostly onion, carrots, celery, and white wine, then simmered with beef and was very tasty. Unfortunately, the kitchen served it just a tad too "al dente" (1 Bomb deduction #1), a mistake you rarely see in any Italian restaurant or home for that matter. It was too chewy, but hot and tasty nonetheless.

My Bucatini alla Siciliana, a thick, hollow spaghetti tubes baked in a tomato sauce with eggplant, mozzarella, and pieces of meatball, was also delicious, but obviously cut straight from a pan and not nearly hot enough, call it lukewarm (1 Bomb deduction #2).

For secondi, my wife had the Provola alla Piastra, a gooey slice of smoked, grilled cheese that was also delicious but nearly cold (1 Bomb deduction #3). The highlight of the meal was my Braciola al Ragù, a nice portion of thinly sliced beef rolled around herbs and pine nuts, then smothered in marinara sauce. I was perfectly heated and seasoned, much like my nonna (grandmother) and Zia (aunt) Gina used to make ... one of my favorite dishes.

Good food and fair prices, although €36 in not a €€€€ meal, this trattoria needs to pay a little closer attention-to-detail, ensuring dishes are served at the right temperature and pasta cooked "al dente", not break the dente.

CombatCritic Gives La Taverna Buongustaio 7 Bombs Out Of 10 ... More Bombs Are Better!

Seven Bombs Equates To:

"Shits & Grins"

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Read Chris S.'s review of La Taverna del Buongustaio on Yelp

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Title: Naples, Italy: Good Food And Fair Prices, But Lukewarm Entrees And Undercooked Pasta Left Me Bewildered

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Key Words: La Taverna del Buongustaio, la, taverna, buongustaio, Napoli, Naples, Italy, trattoria, CombatCritic, TravelValue, travel, value, restaurant, menu, Via Toledo, pasta, review, Yelp, Zomato

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Naples, Italy: Frittole - An Imaginary Tuscan Village - I Could Not Imagine Pizza So Good

Frittole

Via Leonardo Bianchi 2
80131 Naples, Italy
Phone number: +39 081 0012440
Website: frittole.it 
Prices: € € € €

Much better than under previous management, the pizza is very good and the vino locale (local wine) is cheap and refreshing. The ambiance has improved with a nice outdoor patio as you enter and upgrades to the interior with a medieval theme, including servers with period costumes. 

The pizza is their specialty and they do it very well, eat in or take out. They also have other choices, but, honestly, I have only had the pizza which, by Neapolitan standards is above average. My favorites are the pizza salsiccia e friarielli (sausage and broccoli rabe) and salami (salame in Italian) with peperoncino, both of which I have had several times. Prices are extremely fair, with four pizzas, a bag of zeppoline (fried dough balls), and a complimentary glass of wine while waiting for our takeout coming to just €24 and as they would say in Boston ... what a bahgain!

Pizzas are made in the traditional Neapolitan way, all ingredients fresh and local, then baked in about 90 seconds in a brick oven reaching over 500 degrees Fahrenheit, being turned every 30 seconds by the pizzaiuolo (pizza maker) to ensure even cooking. 

The pizza salsiccia e friarielli is made with a special Neapolitan dough recipe (you will not find pizza dough like this anywhere else in the world), provolone cheese, friarielli (broccoli rabe sauteéd in olive oil and garlic), then topped with sliced or crumbled sweet Italian sausage (peperoncino optional) and some extra virgin olive oil (EVO). 

The pizza salame piccante is made with the same dough, then basted with fresh tomato sauce (made only with San Marzano tomatoes, grown only in the fields of Agro Sarnese-Nocerino and just below Mount Vesuvius), then topped with fior di latte (fresh, locally made mozzarella) or mozzarella di bufala (mozzarella made only in the Naples area from the milk of the Italian Water Buffalo), thin slices of local salami, EVO, and peperonicino (also optional).

Quatro Stagione

Pizza Napolitano is different than pizza found anywhere else in Italy. The baked pizza dough is very thin, but holds-up well when cut into "American-style" slices (Italians normally eat pizza with a knife and fork, not with the hands) as Italian pizza is never served cut, only whole. The crust is thick, but very light and you will find an occasional small burnt spot or seven on the pizza bottom from the scorching hot oven. Frittole prepares their pizzas in the traditional Neapolitan way and the pizzaiuolo can be seen making and baking your pizza through the door into the dining room.

Salame Picante

Their house wine is wonderful and I normally buy it by the bottle for meals at my mother-in-law's home just down the street. The wine is a deep red, slightly fizzy and mildly sweet, served chilled as many local/house wines are because they are not made with added sulfates. A bottle (.75 to 1.0 liter - depending on who bottled it) normally only costs a couple Euros. My only gripe and the reason for my one BOMB deduction is the owner's hesitance to sell bottles of wine for take-out unless you return with the bottles in-hand. I am not sure why, maybe there is a shortage of bottles because they serve it in decanters, but I seem to get an attitude every time I show-up bottle-less.

Ham and Mushroom (White - No Sauce)

One of these days, maybe before we leave this time, I am going to try some of their pasta and meat dishes. If they are as good as their pizzas, I should be quite a happy camper.

CombatCrtic Gives Frittole 9 Out Of 10 Bombs ... More Bombs Are Better!

Nine Bombs Equates To:

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Read Chris S.'s review of Frittole on Yelp

Title: Naples, Italy: Frittole - An Imaginary Tuscan Village - I Could Not Imagine Pizza So Good

Key Words: Frittole, ristorante, pizza, pizzeria, pasta, Pompeii, Napoli, Naples, Italy, Rione Alto, rione, alto, medieval, CombatCritic, TravelValue, travel, value, restaurant, menu, review, Yelp

Translation for Civilians: OOH-RAH! = "U.S. Marine Response To A Verbal Greeting Or As An Expression Of Enthusiasm"

Naples, Italy: Good, Local Cuisine, But No "Burning" Desire To Return To La Brace ("The Embers")

Ristorante La Brace

Via Gabriele Jannelli 652
80131 Naples
Italy
Phone number: +39 081 5451074
Prices: €€€€

Pizza is an art form as well as a religious experience in Napoli (Naples, Italy), the home of the first pizzeria (Antica Pizzeria Port'Alba - 1830) and where pizza Margherita (named after Queen Margherita of Savoy - circa 1889) was invented at Pizzeria Brandi, both still in existence today. La Brace, "the embers" in Italian, did a decent job on mine, not the best pizza salsiccia e friarielli (sausage and broccoli rabe sauteed in olive oil and garlic) I have had, but far from the worst. Pizzerias, after all, do not exist for long in Naples unless they tend to get it right.

This was the first time we have eaten here, odd because my mother-in-law's home is less than a block away. The service was good although our server got carried away, along with numerous other patrons, as the Naples football club (S.S.C. Napoli) tied their northern rivals from Florence. We started with fritto misto (fried mix), consisting of the Naples standards including arancini (rice balls), potato croquettes, and algae dough balls (zeppoline di alghe). The non-seafood variety of fritto misto, which is what we had, normally costs less than $5 for reference sake.

My wife had rice with olive oil and parmigiano, a difficult dish to screw-up, because she had a bit of stomach flu that day and wanted something light. She, who (to put it mildly) is not well known for her culinary abilities, could not even mess-up this simple concoction if she tried. Of the two guests accompanying us, one had strips of steak (bistecca tagliata) with rucola and parmigiano as well as a side of french fries and the other had the thinest slices of sautéed chicken breasts I have ever seen along with some sautéed mushrooms. The steak looked very appetizing and plentiful, but the fries did not arrive until after I reminded the server of the order. The chicken consisted of less than three ounces of sliced breast, being overwhelmed by the decent sized order of mushrooms.

I ordered a bottle of vino locale (local wine - normally $3 - $5), which is usually a house wine made by the restaurant or one of their friends, but what we got was a cabernet sauvignon from Benevento about 45 miles away. I am not sure what the price of the wine was, but the bill (il conto) came to €61.50 (about $64) not including tip, a bit high for fritto misto ($5), a pizza ($8), steak and fries ($13), chicken and mushrooms ($7), rice ($5), a slice of cheesecake ($4) and a bottle of wine ($10 - all prices estimated and on the high side). Throw in $2.50 each for coperto/servizio (cover charge and service) and it would only come to about $62, about $2 less than what we paid (not including tip).

Anyway, a $70 price tag for dinner for four ain't all that bad no matter where you are, either in Europe or stateside.

CombatCritic Gives Ristorante And Pizzeria La Brace 6 Bombs Out Of 10 ... More Bombs Are Better!

Six Bombs Equates To:

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Read Chris S.'s review of La Brace on Yelp

Title: Naples, Italy: Good, Local Cuisine, But No "Burning" Desire To Return To La Brace ("The Embers")

Key Words: Ristorante La Brace, ristorante, la, brace, Rione, alto, Napoli, Naples, Italy, 80131, CombatCritic, TravelValue, travel, value, restaurant, menu, review, Yelp, Zomato, Tabelog

Translation for Civilians: G2G = "Good To Go"

Naples, Italy: Simplicity And Value On The Outskirts, Yet Well Connected

Hotel Camaldoli

Via Gabriele Jannelli 586
80131 Naples
Italy
Phone number +39 081 5466836
Website: hotelcamaldoli.it
Prices: €€€€

A nice, simple, reasonably priced, clean hotel just north of Vomero in the hospital zone (Zona Ospedale - hospitals Monaldi and Cardarelli) and close to two Metro stops (Policlinico and Rione Alto) as well as shops, markets, restaurants and pizzerias galore.

You can walk to both Metro stations (Linea 1 - Line 1 - Yellow Line), taking you to Vomero, downtown (Centro Storico - the historical district), shopping areas on Via Toledo and Via Roma, and the port as well as the main train station (Napoli Centrale) and Piazza Garibaldi. At Napoli Centrale, you can take trains pretty much anywhere in Italy and Europe, either slowly (Regionale) or very quickly (Freccia Rosa and Italo), getting you to Rome in an hour, Florence in two, and Venice in five. You can also travel locally on the Metro from Piazza Garibaldi (adjacent to Napoli Centrale), taking Linea 2 (Line 2) to Mergelina and Pozzuoli. Linea 4 (Line 4 - Circumvesuviana) to Herculaneum (Ercolano), Pompeii, and Sorrento is actually in the basement of Napoli Centrale, so follow the signs or inquire at an Information Booth if needed. It is also quite easy to get to the islands of Capri, Ischia, and Procida by ferry in addition to Sorrento or even Sicily if you have the time.

CLICK HERE FOR A NAPLES METRO MAP

Breakfast is included at the hotel and is served from 7:30 AM to 9:30 AM daily. It is a typical, light Italian breakfast, serving cornetti (a fresh, flaky croissant filled with sweet cream and sprinkled with powdered sugar - indigenous to Southern Italy, Naples in particular) and coffee as you like it (cappuccino, espresso, caffe latte, etc). They also have juices, water, cereal, croissants, tarts, toast and an assortment of jellies as well as Nutella and butter.

Most rooms have balconies although the view is limited to surrounding buildings and the neighborhood's high rise apartment buildings and shops. Our balcony was spacious with a table and chairs to relax and get some fresh air. Our room was large with an entry vestibule to hang coats and umbrellas and store luggage. We also had a medium size wardrobe with four drawers, a small desk, two chairs, and a TV (only useful if you understand Italian because there are no English language channels - e.g. CNN, BBC, or Sky). The bed was an "Italian king size" (two twins pushed together on a king size frame

There is Wi-Fi, but it is a bit slow. You can stream videos, but they sometime pause as the video is buffering. Wi-Fi on the ground floor is spotty at best as it seems the wireless routers are on the upper floors. The staff are very friendly and helpful, attending to our every need. There is almost always someone at the front desk or in the breakfast area/bar where they have a limited selection of spirits.

There is no elevator, so handicapped access is a problem because even the lowest floor of rooms is 8-10 steps up from the front desk. Large bags can also pose a challenge, particularly if you are located on any of the upper floors. Our room was on the 1st floor (2nd floor in the U.S.), a trek of over 30 steps up the staircases from the lobby and even I was a touch winded after dragging two large bags up to our room.

A simple, pleasant hotel on the outskirts of Naples, yet well connected through the Metro system, Hotel Camaldoli is a good option if you do not have the need or desire to stay in the main tourist areas and want to get acquainted with the true Neapolitan way of life.

CombatCritic Gives Hotel Camaldoli 7 Bombs Out Of 10 ... More Bombs Are Better!

Seven Bombs Equates To:

Read Reviews By CombatCritic:

Yelp - Elite '14/'15/'16

Tabelog - Official Judge (Silver)

Zomato - #1 Ranked "Verified" Foodie





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Read Chris S.'s review of Hotel Camaldoli on Yelp

Title: Naples, Italy: Simplicity And Value On The Outskirts, Yet Well Connected 

Key Words: Hotel Camaldoli, hotel, Camaldoli, Naples, Napoli, Pompeii, Sorrento, Roma, Amalfi, Italy, Italia, CombatCritic, TravelValue, travel, value, review, Yelp, bed, breakfast

Translation for Civilians: S&G = "Shits & Grins"