PIZZA DOC

Anyone been to Pizza DOC recently? How is it? Is it worth the price? Thanks

I haven't been in a couple of years now after a couple of really bad experiences there. At the time, the best that could be said about it was that it was inconsistent. I never saw the good side of inconsistent.

I'm waiting for Antonius to open a Pizza joint. His homemade pies look like what I would expect from a place that calls itself DOC.

I haven't been there for at least a year, but I had some pretty bad pizza there. Soggy thin crust that was unable to hold it's heavy handed topping. It just turned into a pile of slop when you picked it up, and it was bland slop at that.

YourPalWill wrote:I'm waiting for Antonius to open a Pizza joint. His homemade pies look like what I would expect from a place that calls itself DOC.

Thanks Will!

If and when I do, your first 10 pies will be on the house!

A

I've been a regular since it opened and can confirm that it goes through ups and downs. Currently it's down. Recently they had a pizzaiola from Sardegna who was terrific, but she only lasted 6 months, leaving to take work in Japan. It's similar with the kitchen. They've had chefs who were pretty good (never great, though, but it's a neighborhood place, after all) and got lured away to more upscale restaurants.

I don't object to the prices, but I don't know your expectations. I'm hanging in until I find another (convenient) place that takes Roman or Neapolitan pizza seriously.

Hence, I'm definitely there on opening night of "Da Antonius."

I ate there last week and found the day's special appetizers(and regular calamari) better than the eponymous pizza. However, the pizza wasn't bad by any means; just slightly underseasoned and a tad goopy for my taste.

It really varies. It first opened with a Roman chef, and altho the pizza wasn't of Neapolitan quality, IMO it matched those of Rome. Since then, I guess it depends on who's minding the oven. The good news is that the oven is a wood-burning one, so the potential is there. My advice, try it, altho stick to the simple pizzas (Margherita per esempio) to avoid excess goop and be warned that it's small, so it can get crowded, noisy, and uncomfortable on prime weekend hours.

i just ate there last week and was not impressed. the crust on my margarita pizza was unevenly cooked, and bland. there was too much cheese and it wasn't good cheese. i am a regular at a place called Two Amy's in Washington, DC, which also offers Pizza DOC. with the stringent standards that DOC certification requires, i thought the pizza would be the same everywhere i ordered it, but Two Amy's margarita is much better. Their cheese is the most delicious sharp smoky creamy buffalo mozzarella. The crust is chewy but thin, perfect. Pizza DOC can't hold a candle to it.

Rachel, there was an interesting discussion of DOC designation of Pizza on the other place a while back. Apparently Amy's, while it serves great Pizza may be pulling the public's leg about it's pizza meeting the Italian requirements for DOC. The consensus is that DOC is assigned to wine and other hand produced foods. There seems to be, at best, conflicting information as to whether a DOC designation belongs to Pizza.

Here's the link:

http://www.chowhound.com/midwest/boards ... 15911.html

Hi,

Over on Beyond Chicagoland Board there is another thread tackling this DOC issue.

Bill/SFNM wrote:If by "accredited" you mean they serve true "vera pizza napoletana" in which the ingredients and method are dictated by the "denomination of controlled origen" (DOC), then you are probably referring to:

Il Ritrovo
515 S 8th St
Sheboygan, WI 53081-4403
(920) 803-7516

But they aren't the only one in the Midwest. See the link at:

http://www.verapizzanapoletana.org/vpn/ ... -index.htm

As I understand it, it is not very hard to get DOC certification. You mainly have to attest that your methods and ingredients comply with the DOC standard. The cost is $700 for the first year and $200 per year therafter. And just because a pizza joint has been certified doesn't mean they have to make pizzas that conform to the DOC standard. And just because they are certified doesn't mean they are any good. In Naples pizzerias, you can order DOC and non-DOC versions; many prefer the non-DOC version. Most pizzas made in this country are very far outside of the standard (cheese must be mozzarella di bufala, no oil or sugar in the dough, etc.)

In Washington, D.C. there is a Bertucci's location at 21st and Pennsylvania, NW where they serve pizza from a brick oven. The menu states:

Bertucci’s is proud to be one of only a handful of restaurants in America awarded the Certificate of Authenticity from the prestigious L’Associazione Vera Pizza Napoletana in Naples.
Made in classic Italian style, it’s truly one of the world’s best.

On the site Verace Pizza Napoletana Association where members are noted, at the very bottom they state:

Suspended Members

Bertucci's (all locations)
* Member listing as of 02/04. A work in progress.

FYI - Bertucci's is a national chain, not related to any Bertucci restaurants in Chicago or Highwood.

Regards,

Bertucci (the chain) had a branch in River North for some time. (Still there??) To Chicago's credit, it was never too popular.

JeffB wrote:Bertucci (the chain) had a branch in River North for some time. (Still there??) To Chicago's credit, it was never too popular.

IIRC, when the national Bertucci's chain came in, they somehow forced (paid off, maybe?) the local Bertucci's to change their name. As to the River North location, I was there once, and to put it charitably, I was unimpressed. I believe Joe's Crab Shack is in that space now - draw your own conclusion about the quality of establishments that go in there.

From what I understand DOC doesn't correspond to pizza. However, Two Amy's is certified VPN, which IS all about pizza. Two Amy's is damn good too by the way.

The place in Sheboygan has the VPN designation as well. In two weeks I'm going to give it a try.

Nr706 wrote:they somehow forced (paid off, maybe?) the local Bertucci's to change their name.

There was contractual arrangement. Bertucci's became Papagallos (sp?) maybe as early as the late 70's, which it was for many years until a few years ago when it returned to Bertucci's. The gentleman who owns the Highwood establishment has the family name Bertucci.

I will ask the owner the next time I am there.

Regards,

CMC wrote:The place in Sheboygan has the VPN designation as well. In two weeks I'm going to give it a try.

The missus and I make at least one pilgrimage to Il Ritrovo in Sheboygan annually. It's always worth the trip. If you get there at prime dinner hour, though, you should expect to wait -- again it's worth it. Best pizza I've had in the midwest bar none.

Enjoy,
J. Ro

As a bit of background, and momentarily hijacking the thread...

The national Bertucci's chain started in my previous hometown of Somerville, Mass., when ice cream impresario Joey Crugnale (predating Steve Herrell by more than a decade if I remember right) realized that he'd make even more money if his Teele Square shop, Joey's, was near a dinner destination that he owned. I won't defend or apologize for my own fondness for restaurants of my youth (and the Bertucci's outlets around the headquarters might arguably be under closer scrutiny than national outlets -- and anyway, even I can't get away with claiming it was as good when I moved here as it was a decade before), but they do use brick ovens, and given the number of detractors it has here it certainly proves that the brick oven has little to do with a pizza's ultimate quality.

We now return the thread to Pizza DOC, which I was lucky enough to hit during one of its upswings a coupla years ago. The potato & rosemary pizza I had that night was a treat.

And none of this has anything to do with the venerable and atmospheric Bertucci's Corner on the edge of Chinatown.

We went to Pizza DOC on Sunday night and had that same zabaglione semifreddo. It was one of the best desserts I've had in a long while. I ordered the spaghetti carbonara and it was the best carbonara I've had outside of Italy. I had only gotten carry-out from DOC previously and had only had the pizza and gnocchi (both are wonderful). I'll definitely be back for the carbonara and that wonderful dessert.