A Neapolitan-style pizzeria might have 200 different varieties of leopard-spotted pies on its menu, but you only need to try one to know if the place is worth its salt: the Margherita. The quintessence of the form, the original and the pizza from which all else flows, this simple masterpiece of crust, fresh mozzarella, simple tomato sauce and fresh basil doesn't give a pizzeria any room to hide, which is why it tells you whether or not you are dealing with a true pizza artist. These five restaurants represent our local Margherita masters.
Noto
The only area restaurant to be certified as serving true Neapolitan pizza by the Associazione Vera Pizza Napoletana, Noto (5105 Westwood Drive, St. Peters; 636-317-1143) is, hands-down, the bi-state region's most authentic Margherita pie thanks to co-owner and pizzaiolo Wayne Sieve's obsession with the form.
Louie
Louie (706 De Mun Avenue, Clayton; 314-300-8188) offers such an all-around extraordinary dining experience, it's sometimes easy to forget that, behind the impeccable hospitality, exceptional beverage program and shaved-to-order prosciutto di Parma, lies a humble Margherita pizza. And yet flawlessly nailing something so simple is exactly why this outstanding restaurant shines.
Katie's Pizza & Pasta Osteria
Katie Lee Collier likes to laugh about the fact that when she opened her first restaurant, Katie's Pizza, she didn't even know how to fold a pizza box. How things have changed. Now an accomplished restaurateur with a thriving frozen pizza line, the Katie's Pizza & Pastaria co-owner (multiple locations including 9568 Manchester Road, Rock Hill; 314-942-6555) has never lost sight of the fundamentals, like making a quintessential Margherita made even more delicious by its especially luscious fior di latte mozzarella.
Fordo's Killer Pizza
Chef Joe Luckey deftly carries out restaurateur Gerard Craft's vision for pizza excellence at Fordo's Killer Pizza (3730 Foundry Way) through a variety of innovative wood-fired pies that show the limitless potential of pizza as a canvas. However, he equally excels at the classics, such as a stunning Margherita that is quintessential, char-speckled pleasure.
Union Loafers
Union Loafers (1629 Tower Grove Avenue, 314-833-6111) serves the best bread in the metro area, if not the whole damn world. It's no surprise, then, that anything built upon this fermented dough foundation is just as exceptional. The Classic, Loafers' name for its Margherita, is case in point, a stunning, leopard-spotted masterpiece. No one leaves behind the crust here.
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