My Pizza is SO Chic! - Friday, 12 June

For many years my tradition has been to have pizza for dinner my first night in town. Strange, I know, and I can’t really explain any logic behind it (other than that it’s pretty simple fare for a jetlagged evening).  But there ya go.

I didn’t get my pizza on Tuesday night, but there is a highly-rated joint just a couple blocks away called Pizza Chic, so I gave it a try tonight. It lived up to its name! 

This place is so chic that it has a topping that I’ve only ever heard mentioned in hushed tones, Lardo di Colonnata de Fausto Guadagni – the brick-sized blocks of pure white pork back fat that is cured with salt, pepper and rosemary in subterranean Carrara marble vats for at least 6 months in the tiny village of Colonnata, Italy.  Only a few families produce it, and Fausto Guadagni’s is the most highly regarded of them.

Even my coffee was
served in a chic fashion,
on a small silver tray!

The resto's namesake pizza, the “Pizza Chic” featured only this lardo (and a little rosemary) on a sauceless crust, so I had to order it!  WOW!  The lardo was sliced paper-thin, and generous ribbons of it were dropped onto the crust (which was absolutely fabulous – crisp and sweet and full-flavored) after it came out of the oven. The lardo was very clean tasting and buttery, with just a hint of herbaceousness, just slight salty, as pure a charcuterie as I’ve ever eaten. Even though it was 100% fat it didn’t seem fatty. Although there were no muscle fibers in it, you still had to chew it – it didn’t melt away on its own. The pizza was served with a plate of vinaigrette-dressed arugula – I piled some on each slice of pizza just before I ate it.  An absolutely eye-opening experience! 

The place was packed when I strolled over at about 9:30, but happily I was able to get a table outside (I love eating outside and it was pretty loud inside!). The interior is very stylish – an embossed cast iron wall, hanging chrome-dipped lightbulbs, a giant black wood-burning oven, white tablecloths.

Join the chic crowd next time you’re in Paris! It’s not gauche to eat Italian food here, especially since this is on the left bank (tee hee!). Pizza Chic, 13 Rue de Mézières in the 6th arrondissement.  www.pizzachic.fr

[Here is a bit more history about Lardo di Colonnata (shamelessly cut and pasted from the “Discover Italian Food” website):

“The history of this product is mixed with legend and myths, such as that of Michelangelo hoarding on the local lard while visiting Colonnata to choose the best marble blocks.

“The origins of Colonnata are related to a colony of slaves from Ancient Rome sent to Carrara to work at the quarries. These ancient workers from Rome gradually mixed with the local mountain population.

“Since that ancient time lard has always been the food of quarrymen, usually consumed with only bread and fresh tomatoes. The quarries have been the life of Colonnata until the late 1950s, when the men started to move to the factories in the nearby city of Massa. Today, only about 300 people live in Colonnata.

“Nonetheless, the tradition of lard production has been passed from generation to generation, and today only a few families in Colonnata are full time producers of lard.”]