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Interview with Mina Adamo and Dino Romano of Napolisumisura, Part I - Page 3

post #31 of 49
2/7/13 at 6:29am
I have no shame. My camera was out everywhere. In fact, the restaurant owners really seemed to love it. They knew I was really into their food. At Europeo, the owner offered me a tour of his kitchen and brought me out his personally recommended dishes. While I ate, he sat down with me to chat--mostly about how great a man Mariano is. He is essentially the unofficial mayor of the city.
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post #32 of 49
2/7/13 at 6:34am
It is kind of amazing how everyone unanimously respects Rubinacci. Not because he doesn't deserve it, but because the trade is so petty, and everyone is so quick to bad mouth each other. The only exception is Mariano and his company.
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post #33 of 49
2/7/13 at 6:44am
Quote:
Originally Posted by dieworkwear View Post

It is kind of amazing how everyone unanimously respects Rubinacci. Not because he doesn't deserve it, but because the trade is so petty, and everyone is so quick to bad mouth each other. The only exception is Mariano and his company.

It's because Naples has such a terrible reputation as a dirty, grimy place, and Mariano puts a glamorous, fashionable face on it. Also, he's a charming guy. If he takes you anywhere in town, you get treated like royalty.
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post #34 of 49
2/7/13 at 6:55am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by dieworkwear View Post

It is kind of amazing how everyone unanimously respects Rubinacci. Not because he doesn't deserve it, but because the trade is so petty, and everyone is so quick to bad mouth each other. The only exception is Mariano and his company.

Agreed. The only thing I've heard people say is that his style is not really Neapolitan, but instead more English. Not that he would disagree, he calls it the "London House" after all.
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post #35 of 49
2/7/13 at 7:06am
Quote:
Originally Posted by unbelragazzo View Post

Agreed. The only thing I've heard people say is that his style is not really Neapolitan, but instead more English. Not that he would disagree, he calls it the "London House" after all.

Well, "Neapolitan" does not have the clear-cut meaning we pretend it does on the internet. Naples, like anywhere else, is subject to trend and fashion. The prevailing look has fluctuated over the decades there. So, in that sense, it is true: Rubinacci is not very "Neapolitan" because he does not do what is fashionable at this moment, which is a sort of cartoon of Neapolitan styling flourishes. Why? Because that's what they've become known for internationally and the local culture is attempting to latch onto that fashionability. I really dislike it, no offense to anybody.

What Rubinacci does do is a cut and style that has barely changed in over eighty years. You can tell by looking at the old vintage pieces. They are only English-inspired in the sense that anything anybody made eighty years ago had better have been English-inspired to be considered of any taste. So current talk of the Rubinacci style being more English than Neapolitan seems extremely odd to me. Any style of suit or jacket with a real claim to historical Neapolitan heritage is going to be English-inspired because the English dominated men's fashion for the first half of the twentieth century.

A piece of Neapolitan tailoring that does not claim English influence is thus likely of much, much more recent origin.
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post #36 of 49
2/7/13 at 7:15am
Thread Starter 
I agree with all that. I don't really have enough first hand experience with Rubinacci to say one way or the other. But the claim made was that Rubinacci jackets are less "softly tailored"/more constructed than many other Neapolitan tailors today. Your suggestion that this is because Rubinacci has stayed pretty much constant in their methods for 80 years while others have deconstructed further seems right to me.

Again, when I have heard this suggested, it's not as a criticism, just as a statement. I don't think the people I've heard this from would necessarily disagree with what you said either, except for the part about disliking the more "exaggerated" Neapolitan styling.
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post #37 of 49
2/7/13 at 1:55pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by mafoofan View Post

That's Starita. They are truly known for their fried pizza, not so much the normal stuff. Some call it touristy, but don't believe it: there is no such thing in Naples. Anyway, Mariano likes it, it is far away from anywhere a tourist would go, and when I was there, it was entirely full with local families.
In my opinion, it is still Da Michele for the win. Best crust, best sauce, best cheese. In fact, if I recall correctly, you can't really order any pizzas other than marinara or margherita. Be prepared to wait 45 minutes to an hour to be seated though. The locals line-up outside. You will sit elbow-to-elbow with strangers inside. Not the nicest area either. Totally awesome.

To be honest, I don't understand this business of piling up things like arugula or prosciutto on a pizza like that. Ruins the point to me.

My favorite was Brandi which could probably be called touristy, though I only saw locals there.

The crust was a little better than Mattozzi. I didn't love Starita, though I expected to given Mina's glowing recommendation.

Funny enough, when I first went to try Don Antonioin NYC, it was closed due to failing health inspection.
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post #38 of 49
2/7/13 at 2:11pm
I've heard of Brandi. Never been, though.

At Starita, did you have the fried pizza?
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post #39 of 49
2/7/13 at 4:05pm
I did - one fried and one unfried margerita. I wasn't super impressed with the fried.

Though anything I had in Naples is light years ahead of the best I've tried in London.
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post #40 of 49
2/7/13 at 4:16pm
You mean there's pizza in London?
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post #41 of 49
2/7/13 at 6:08pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Cantabrigian View Post


Though anything I had in Naples is light years ahead of the best I've tried in London.

I'm shocked!
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post #42 of 49
2/7/13 at 6:38pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by dieworkwear View Post

As great and beautiful as the food was, as an Asian man, I couldn't bring myself to take photos. Just too self conscious that way.

Weird. Asians, especially in the U.S., are notorious for taking pics of their food and putting them up on FB, IG and blogs. At a table with Asian friends in a restaurant, you typically don't dig in until the requisite pics have been taken for posting.
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post #43 of 49
2/7/13 at 7:29pm
My family typically doesn't celebrate Thanksgiving, but this last year, we made an effort. A lot of American food like stuffed turkey, mashed potatoes, and cranberry sauce (that wasn't even touched in the end). Instead of taking out the camera to take a family photo, however, people took photos of the food.

Even when we try to assimilate, we are, at our core, Asian.
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post #44 of 49
2/7/13 at 11:05pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by mafoofan View Post

Well, "Neapolitan" does not have the clear-cut meaning we pretend it does on the internet. Naples, like anywhere else, is subject to trend and fashion. The prevailing look has fluctuated over the decades there. So, in that sense, it is true: Rubinacci is not very "Neapolitan" because he does not do what is fashionable at this moment, which is a sort of cartoon of Neapolitan styling flourishes. Why? Because that's what they've become known for internationally and the local culture is attempting to latch onto that fashionability. I really dislike it, no offense to anybody.

What Rubinacci does do is a cut and style that has barely changed in over eighty years. You can tell by looking at the old vintage pieces. They are only English-inspired in the sense that anything anybody made eighty years ago had better have been English-inspired to be considered of any taste. So current talk of the Rubinacci style being more English than Neapolitan seems extremely odd to me. Any style of suit or jacket with a real claim to historical Neapolitan heritage is going to be English-inspired because the English dominated men's fashion for the first half of the twentieth century.

A piece of Neapolitan tailoring that does not claim English influence is thus likely of much, much more recent origin.

Based on what I've seen from some other prominent and popular Neapolitan makers ( " in person") aside from Rubinacci and Solito,
it's a good thing that London House adheres to it's English inspriation.
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post #45 of 49
2/8/13 at 6:51am
Quote:
Originally Posted by JPHardy View Post

AppleMark

Don't get me wrong, I like the cornicione char just like the rest of you, but the crust on the bottom side of this pizza is burned. When I was in Naples, not one pizza looked alike, even from the same place.
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