Michael’s Pizzeria Naples Island

The kind of pizza you’d get in Naples, Italy… and darn good.  Michael’s Pizzeria was recently rated by Zagat Guide as the Number One pizza joint in all of America.  Wow – that’s a statement.  We arrived on a weeknight – busy as usual.  About a 30-45 minute wait later we  were seated. The first impression of the décor is that one of a chic pizzeria that had modern amenities strewn together in a colorful way. It is an interesting pairing when you have the cheery vibrant design that floats into the earthy and sturdy edifice of the brick oven. It is a contrast that works for this eatery in balanced way.   The menus are simple and mostly concentrate on individual pizzas, but you can get calzones, salads and some nice antipasti.   We chose the Pistachio E Stracciatella as well as the Prosciutto E Arugula pizza.  The Pistachio pizza – wow.  I loved it. Simplistic beauty with an interesting twist that I haven’t experience before and it had probably the best buffalo mozzarella I have ever encountered. The pistachios were there but not overwhelming and while the crust was slightly overdone compared to the Prosciutto pizza–which, was quite possibly, the best crust I have ever experienced.    Michael’s has some delicious offerings on their menu at a decent price, and their wood oven is impressive.  You can see every step of the process from plying the dough, to scattering the fresh toppings, to baking your pizza.  I’d more than welcome an opportunity to go back again.  Michael’s Pizzeria also has locations in downtown Long Beach and Rancho Mirage, CA.