I wonder how the VPN certification ceremonies work behind the scenes. Are there three of four menacing Italian guys standing over the pizzaiolo as he works the oven? Is one of them sipping espresso? Are there two more out back with baseball bats and the trunk open on a massive black Cadillac? That's how I want it to be.
It's not. I know this because Jay Jarrier posted a picture yesterday of his lead pizza maker, Dino Santonicola, holding up their latest VPN certificate, and the officiant standing next to him looks like a pretty nice guy. I bet he makes good meatballs. I wonder how he feels about meatballs on his pizza? Actually, I wonder how he feels about brisket on his pizza?
The certification process is governed by the American delegation of the Associazione Vera Pizza Napoletana. These guys spec out Neapolitan pizzas down to every ingredient and every technique, and if you ask them, they will come and judge your pie. Certified pizzerias get to hang the VPN logo in their windows declaring that they're in the club. It's very serious.
Anyway, the extra special news is that the DFW area has become the Texan epicenter of Neapolitan pie, according to the VPN America website, which is already updated with the Fort Worth Cane Rosso.
I count five in Texas, and other than Luciano Brickoven Pizzeria in San Antonio all of them are in Dallas, Irving and Fort Worth. If you couple that with the Eater pizza map that's been floating around the Internet, things get even more interesting. According to their study, the average price for a VPN certified pie in Texas is just $12.31, significantly below the national average of $13.21. We could start a pizza tourism industry here, no?
Cane Rosso, 815 W. Magnolia Ave., Fort Worth, (817) 922- 9222
