Its best to take it all in while youre waiting in line, because once youre seated at Via Tevere, your food will come so fast you wont have time to notice the finer details that make this pizzeria the best in the city.
Note the painstakingly restored, hand-painted advertisement on the south exterior wall; the bags of Caputo double zero flour stacked pragmatically by the front door; the quietly intense island workstation where dough is handpulled in the old-world tradition. This addictive Neapolitan experience comes courtesy of a pair of East Vancouver brothers Dom and Frank Morra with real deal roots.
Named after the street that their father grew up on in Naples, Via Tevere pays homage to their countless summers spent with family and food.
In the intimate setting of the beautiful old Victoria Drive Confectionery building (built in 1922), the brothers serve up their favourite Neapolitan fare, including that much-lauded, certified Vera Pizza Napoletana (VPN) pizza.
After dashing into the exquisitely tiled wood-fired oven (which goes zero to cooked in 90 seconds), the San Marzano tomatoes from the Campania region, fresh leaves of basil, extra virgin olive oil and milky fresh fior di latte (rules to live by for any Neapolitan pizza) are transformed.
Flavour is further enhanced by the char on the crust, which comes to the table uncut (best eaten in fours, folded) to keep with VPN standards.
The pizza may hit home runs, but its the rest of the team that racks up RBIs. The servers smile with an authority rooted in pride, because Via Tevere excels across the menu from the Caprese salads that deliver a salt-cut mozarella hit to the decadence of the secret-recipe tiramisu.
Our customers get it, says Dom, because once they enter our restaurant they know theyre in for an authentic experience.
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FUN FACTS ABOUT PIZZA:
Pizza gained renown in 1889, when Italian pizzaiolo Raffaele Esposito prepared a pizza in honour of the visiting Queen Margherita of Savoy. He named it Margherita, and chose green basil leaves, white mozzarella and red tomatoes to symbolize the colours of the Italian flag.
VPN pizza must be baked in a wood-fired, domed oven at 485C for no longer than 60 to 90 seconds.
The pizzas should measure 30cm in diameter.
Some Neapolitans eat their pizza with a fork and knife, others prefer to rip and fold their pizzas by hand.
