The Pizzeria Test

(Day 9 of 30 – story crumbs from the world of Loveandpizza.it 🍕)

In Napoli, the pizzeria is where the soul is laid bare. Forget star signs… tell me what you order, and I’ll tell you exactly who you are.

So, purely in the name of research (and a bit of fun), let’s put the cast of Loveandpizza.it to the test. Same table, same menu, four very different people. Here’s what they’d order – and what it gives away.

Carolina: the Margherita, no menu required

Here’s the funny thing about Carolina: give her a life decision – her career, her future, whether she’s made a terrible mistake – and she’ll agonise for weeks. Give her a pizza menu, and there’s no hesitation at all. Margherita. Every time. She won’t even open the menu. Because a proper Margherita, done right, is perfection. And Carolina is a purist. She wants the real thing, no fuss, no showing off. It might be the one decision in her whole life she’s completely sure of. (And yes, she’s already thinking about something chocolate for after. Priorities.)  Turns out she’s not the only one at this table with strong feelings about a Margherita… but we’ll get to him. 😏

Lisa: whatever’s weirdest, and half of yours

Lisa doesn’t hover. Lisa points at the strangest thing on the menu: the one with ‘nduja, or friarielli, or whatever the pizzaiolo swears by that day – and says “that one.” She orders like she lives: all in, no hesitation, “let’s just try it.” (This is a woman who once ordered a chocolate beer. On purpose. But then hated it.) She’ll also steal a slice of yours – and be, infuriatingly, right that hers is better. 😏

Luca: he’ll order for the table (you didn’t get a say)

Luca won’t open the menu either, but for entirely different reasons. He’ll wave the waiter over, mention he knows the owner, and order for everyone – “trust me, you’ll love it” – something expensive enough to make a point. It’s less about the pizza and more about being the man who Handles It. Did anyone ask what you wanted? They did not. But the wine is excellent, and he’s already found a way to work his own brilliance into the conversation, so you almost don’t notice. Almost. 

Fabrizio: the Margherita (and don’t get him started)

Ask Fabrizio his order and he’ll say Margherita. But where Carolina orders hers with easy certainty, Fabrizio orders his like a man with opinions. Because to him, a proper Margherita isn’t just dinner. It’s the whole philosophy: the sweet and the sharp, the pleasure and the ache, the simple thing done so perfectly it undoes you. Get him talking about tomato, mozzarella, olive oil, and that quiet man suddenly has rather a lot to say. (He knows suspiciously much about how a good pizza should be made… but that’s a story for another day. 😏)

So there they are: four people, one table, and four little confessions. (Including, it turns out, two very different kinds of love for the very same Margherita… 😏) Because what you order says more about you than you’d think – and nobody at a Napoli table is ever really talking about the food.

Now it’s your turn, and be honest: what’s your pizzeria order, and what does it give away about you? 👇 (I’m a Margherita-no-menu-needed myself… and if you’re eating a pizza in Napoli, please do me a favour and don’t order anything different, ok? You’ll thank me later. Though I’ll always check whether they do one with cream and sweetcorn. Don’t judge me. 😄)

Dani. x

P.S. Loveandpizza.it is coming back in English, Italian and Portuguese. Save your slice and you’ll be first to know the moment your edition’s ready. 🍕