Summerville pizzeria excels at beloved Neapolitan street food, long overlooked stateside - Charleston Post Courier

Italian restaurant Antica Napoli Pizzeria is now open in Summerville

Readers said Summerville is a great place to eat, so our food critic spent 48 hours there

You be the judge: Summerville man takes issue with shape of pizza, knots from new pizzeria

On the right night, Antica Pizzeria Napoli serves the best Neapolitan pizza in the greater Charleston area. But the Summerville strip mall pizzeria every night serves what’s quite likely the finest pizze fritte in the state.

To be sure, the classic street food isn’t widely available in South Carolina. But even if owner Ciro Damiano had more competitors, they’d no doubt struggle to produce a supple dough with the same tang, and a similarly crisp finish that brooks no grease.

“Once people try it, they’re like, ‘Whoa,’ ” Damiano says.

So what is pizze fritte? Damiano describes it to customers tripped up by the phrase on his menu as “like a Hot Pocket,” which is accurate in so far as the sealed snack’s melted cheese filling is initially hot enough to sear unsuspecting tongues.

But the comparison undercuts pizze fritte’s significance in Naples’ culinary culture. Called “pizza of the people,” because it’s simpler and cheaper than the baked version known around the world, pizze fritte is adored by Neapolitans.

“In fact, people love it,” says Damiano, who grew up in Naples. “You can go in the streets and they make it right in front of you and put it in butcher paper. Here it’s a little different. You kind of have to adjust to what happens here, so we serve it on a plate.”

Specifically, a 14-inch plate. The pizze fritte, essentially a flash-fried calzone, nearly reaches from one end to the other.

Damiano sells three varieties of pizze fritte, each one named for an island in Naples Bay. Damiano’s favorite is the Capri filled with ricotta, fresh mozzarella and basil. When he’s making it for himself, he also adds sweet Italian sausage to the mix.

“Everything can be added as people please,” he says, noting that once customers discover the pizze fritte, they tend to experiment with different fillings on successive visits. But they don’t stray from the dish. And, Damiano says, “they’re very, very happy about it.”

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Summerville pizzeria excels at beloved Neapolitan street food, long overlooked stateside - Charleston Post Courier
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