Pizza restaurants are like sports teams. Almost everyone has a favorite. Almost everyone cheers for their favorite. And almost everyone likes to tell other pizza lovers why their favorite should also be your favorite.
I eagerly watched a discussion…some might say a debate…some might say an argument…on social media this week about who’s delivering the best pizza in San Miguel de Allende these days.
Eight different pizza makers were mentioned, including the two that I usually order from: Neopolitan for a Naples style cracker crust. Pizza Guy for a more traditional, New York style pie.
But I also started thinking about a couple of restaurants that didn’t get any mentions. Places that I’ve always thought of as destinations not delivery spots, as places to dine out not dine in.
I realized that I’d eaten more pizza at those two places than anywhere else over the years and yet it had always been at there place. Never at my place. Never once had I ever had it at home.
The first of those two places is Mivida. Sunday nights with pizza, live rock ’n’ roll and an affordable red were some of my most memorable Sunday nights. Mivida closed their doors in the early days of the pandemic, back on March 20, and, with some of the wording they used in their message, “The entire team at Mivida Restaurante thanks you for all the support you gave us in these 11 years of activities”, I’m not even sure they’ll be coming back. But I certainly hope so.
I was reminded of the other pizza restaurant by a message I received just this week. Jeziel Laguna from Cent’Anni was hustling their take-out and delivery business (and doing a good job of it). Now I love Cent’Anni’s pizza. Cent’Anni’s roof is where I take my grandkids for pizza. In a voting poll I did a few years back, Cent’Anni’s pizza finished second (to the now deceased Pizza Pig). I even took a look at the first thing I ever wrote about Cent’Anni many, many years ago. The last line was, “Now if only there was some way we could talk Cent’Anni into delivery.”
Well Cent’Anni has been doing delivery for quite some time and I still haven’t picked up the phone. And the only reason is habit. And the only one to blame is me. So, even though I’m entering that social media discussion a little late, I thought I should send out a cheer for one of my favorites.
Cent’Anni makes a thin crust, Neopolitan style pizza that, thanks to the high heat, wood-fired brick oven, usually comes with a slight little crisp and char on the crust. My favorite is their signature pizza, the Cent’Anni, that’s topped with goat cheese, caramelized onions, sundried tomatoes and, just like the very first pizza I ever ate, pepperoni. My runner-up is an unusual choice, the potato and rosemary, but it really does work.
Cent’Anni has a fairly extensive delivery menu. If you think you can manage more than a pizza, check out the artichoke with four cheese sauce. I want it every time I’m at Cent’Anni. I want it right now, at home.
To order from Cent’Anni, telephone their landline at 415 154 8044 or cell at 145 140 7565.
Touchy subject! Everyone has a favorite and the key should be how it answers to personal tastebuds. However, the main problem is that most pizzas offered should not be called something they are not. If MiVida came very close to a real pizza from Napoli, Centanni does not come close because of its wrong crust size of the border. Thin crust in the middle is one thing but the outer crust has to be bread like. Entirely flat pizzas are not deserving the label! Here are the rules! https://www.pizzanapoletana.org/public/pdf/disciplinare%202008%20UK.pdf
FWIW, only one pizzeria in the region has been approved. It’s downtown Queretaro!
One of my favorite “eat in” pizza places, and the best pizza, in my opinion, is Bacco’s. I love their setting with the old Hacienda outside gallery for seating overlooking the separate gigantic pizza oven, and really old trees for shade and atmosphere.
We too enjoy Bacco pizzas along with the rest of the dished. Thr ambience is like an oasis in Centro. It is still open for business with appropriate social distancing. A welcome break from quarantine.
We really like the pizza (and pasta) at Mar y Nostrom. Thin crust and classic Italiano. Pizza is always a personal taste.
And Glenn you forgot to mention, probably because you’re not in San Miguel now, that Cent’Anni is now aligned with UberEats and makes delivery really easy…I just ordered their pizza from UberEats last night!