Tutta Bella is held accountable to standards such as cooking in the approved wood fire oven, using only fresh herbs, fresh yeast, fresh mozzarella and San Marzano tomatoes and to the way the raw ingredients are prepared.
Photos by Richard A. Huston
April 2006 | Local Food
Pies Have It
Tutta Bella, now in Wallingford, has the best pizza this side of Naples, Italy.
By Nora West
I recently read a short story about an American woman living in Rome. She wanted to learn to speak Italian and her tutor was learning English from her. The woman planned an outing to Naples for the day and her tutor, being born there, directed her to the best pizzeria in Naples.
She figured if Naples makes the best pizza in the world and she was eating the best pizza in Naples, she was actually eating the best pizza in the world.
Well, I haven’t been to that particular place in Naples, but I have been to a slice of Naples right here in Seattle and it will do quite nicely, thank you. Tutta Bella Neapolitan Pizzeria has two locations (I ate at the Wallingford) and Columbia City (4914 Rainier Avenue South). They are the first pizzerias in the Northwest to receive the coveted VPN certification from the Associazione Verace Pizza Napoletana based in Naples, Italy.
For instance, Tutta Bella is held accountable to standards such as cooking in the approved wood fire oven, using only fresh herbs, fresh yeast, fresh mozzarella and San Marzano tomatoes and to the way the raw ingredients are prepared. All of this would mean little to us if the pies didn’t deliver. But they do in a huge way.
First of all, there are many options so it is very hard to choose what will be your pleasure. Many combinations delight, so it would take several trips or several people to satisfy one’s curiosity.
Second of all, it is my kind of pizza so I might be particularly biased. Give me the thin, perfectly fired crispy crust over a doughy Chicago deep dish or puffy New York classic any day. Then take wonderfully fresh cheese, not overdone as a topping, with the pomodoro made from those delicious San Marzano tomatoes and it doesn’t matter if you are in Naples, it is so good.
Speaking of cheese, one of my biggest pet peeves is too much cheese on a pizza. If I had a rebate for every time I have asked for “easy” cheese on a pizza and it has come back saturated I could open up my own pizzeria. Well, not really, but you get the point. Try ordering a pie in Wisconsin, the “dairy state,” with easy cheese. Pizza makers there think for sure you have said “extra” cheese or maybe they just cannot comprehend someone not wanting mouthfuls of oozing cheese.
Tutta Bella doesn’t overdo.
You can order the simplest of pizzas to the most complex. On our visit we tried the Mediterranea ($9.95), which had the aforementioned pomodoro, formaggi della casa, herb mushrooms, eggplant, fresh basil, kalamata olives and goat cheese. We also tried the simple but classic Margherita (8.95) with sauce, cheese and fresh basil.
Not done, we picked the Campania ($10.50) with chicken sausage, olives, garlic, red chili flakes, cheese and basil.
All of the pies were fabulous. There are at least 10 or 11 variations.
The salads are also quite good and hearty. We tried a house salad ($8.50 large, $5.50 small), which was fresh field greens, sweet red onions, white beans, carrots, olives and roasted red peppers tossed with a white balsamic vinaigrette. Tutta Bella offers a fresh Caesar (48.75/$5.75) and a Salerno salad ($9.75/$6.75) with crunchy shaved fennel, mozzarella, cherry tomato halves, cucumbers, basil and chopped romaine tossed with a dijon-balsamic vinaigrette. To me, a fresh well-prepared salad along with a good pizza is a complete and satisfying meal.
If completion includes dessert for you, then Filomena makes a lovely tiramasu and there is a delectable assortito of gelatos and sorbets.
Likewise, if espresso is your thing after a meal Tutta Bella is also the place. According to the menu, Neapolitans are fiercely passionate about their espresso. They serve it in the traditional way with just sugar. Full-flavored and robust, as a “digestivo” to sooth the stomach and make the heart “contento.”
After my visit my heart and stomach were plenty content. I found myself contemplating my next visit. The best pizza in the world? I can’t say, but as for Seattle I need search no more.
Nora West is the food mentor and dining critic for Seattle Conscious Choice. When she says best, she means best.
![[Send]](http://seattle.consciouschoice.com/sendlink/send.gif){kind=small}
Recommend this page to a friend
Top Ten pages recommended to friends:
