I was looking for a pizzeria Midtown Manhattan, when I stumbled upon Don Antonio by Starita. This place is the result of the association of Chef Roberto Caporuscio of Kesté Pizza & Vino on Bleecker street, and Antonio Starita, third generation owner of one Naples’ oldest pizzerias, Pizzeria Starita a Materdei. I was not only interested to go there for their Neapolitan pizza, but also because they serve fried pizza or pizza fritte, a dish I never tried before and that made me curious.

It is a good size place, with some warmth, thanks to the exposed bricks and the red color on the walls, with a noticeable opening on the ceiling in the back that lets the light come through. 

Menu wise, we definitely hesitated as they have a wide variety of dishes, not only pizza, that were mouth watering. We decided to do an all pizza lunch. Our first choice was a classic margherita that was made with homemade mozzarella. 

It was a very good pizza: the crust had a wonderful char as well as some nice charred blobs on the outside; the sauce was very good and the cheese delicious (I just wished there was a bit more of it). 

Our second pizza was a pizza fritte simply called pizza fritta. 

I loved the very artisanal presentation of this dish and, when it came to the table, it had this wonderful smell characteristic of fried dough that I would more associate to something sweet than to something savory. The pizza was filled with cherry tomatoes, homemade mozzarella, fresh ricotta and salami. There was definitely a lot of filling inside the pizza. The first bites were great, the dough being deliciously crispy and slightly greasy, but I admit that after a while, I went back to the margherita pizza, this fried pizza being a bit too much. It was big and I definitely recommend it, if you are curious, for sharing with maybe an appetizer rather than another pizza, except if you have a big appetite.

We had a good and interesting lunch at Don Antonio by Starita: their menu is definitely appealing. Would I go back? Definitely. I already eyed the homemade burrata with truffle and their four cheeses pizza...

Enjoy (I did)!

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