Neapolitan people are known for being receptive and curious about other countries' culinary preferences. They like to learn, absorb and incorporate new ingredients and create new dishes. Margherita - the first pizza to ever walk the earth - is a clear example of this. Pita in Arabic means bread, which is the origin of the name and the dough. The cheese used was buffalo mozzarella. These animals were brought to Naples from India to work on farms. The tomatoes weren't available before the colonization of South America. At that time, they were yellow; that's why Italians call them pomo d'oro (golden apple). Then there is basil, a local ingredient, and olive oil, a Mediterranean product.

Some suggest that the dish was named after Queen Margherita de Savoia right after Italy's unification, explaining the coincidence between the color of the ingredients and the Italian flag. 

This episode is the first installment of the DMV Pizza Wars, where we will try to find the best pizza in DC, Maryland, and Virginia. I'm joined by a frequent collaborator of the podcast, Mike Davis from Fed City Team at Century 21 Redwood Realty, a group of 15 tasters, and our guest and deluxe judge, Chef Declan Horgan, talented chef and one of Fox's Hell's Kitchen stars. Today, we visit Pacci's Trattoria, a restaurant inspired by the Neapolitan tradition and passion for fine food. 

We will taste and judge two types of Neapolitan pizza, the traditional Margherita and Il Padrino. The evaluation will be over the presentation, paying attention to the outside crust, the taste of the combination of the tomatoes, basil, and mozzarella, and lastly, the pizza's crispiness. 

Tune in to Just Black Talking and learn about what an authentic Neapolitan pizza should look, taste, and sound like.  

In This Episode, You Will Learn:

• What makes Neapolitan pizza different from the others (4:20)
• The parameters used to evaluate Pacci's Trattoria Neapolitan pizza (7:10)
• Chef Declan Horgan's verdict (33:16)
• The results, which one people liked most (36:47)
• Final assessment about Pacci's Trattoria (40:19)

Resources:

• Pacci's Trattoria Website
• Fed City Team at Century 21 Redwood Realty Website
• Chef Declan Horgan Website

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