Pizzeria Posto, Davis Square

Though pizza is a fairly simple combination of bread and toppings, arguments about it can become heated. American pizza is as diverse as our country, and I would argue, a more proper emblematic food than hot dogs or hamburgers, both of which have been stagnant for decades. Pizza, on the other hand, evolves endlessly. We have taken the Neapolitan original and both improved it and adulterated it. But have we succeeded at replicating it? I’m pretty sure I’ve never had an ideal Neapolitan pizza in Boston, so I was intrigued when Pizzeria Posto opened in Davis Square with a Margherita DOC on their menu. DOC, or Denominazione di Origine Controllata, is a term used by the Italian government to protect the authenticity of traditional food products b y setting regulations regarding their manufacture. Though the laws have no jurisdiction in the US, to use the term on a menu implies an attempt at authenticity. (Although now that I look at their online menu, it seems the term has been removed. Perhaps the pressure to live up to the name was too great.)

This would be a really great introduction if I had in fact ordered the Margherita. When confronted with the variety of interesting options, however, we chose a Prosciutto Cotto pizza and a Roast Pork pizza. Of course the first thing I did was check for charring on the underside of the pizza. As you can see, everything looked good, so we began eating with abandon. For one must really eat these pizzas with abandon. The Prosciutto Cotto pizza, with cooked Italian ham, arugula, gorgonzola piccante, and port syrup was pretty special. A slight bitterness from the arugula, the piquancy of the gorgonzola, the sweetness of the port sciroppo, and the salty ham all combined to hit the whole tongue at once .When combined with the homemade chili oil the server brought to the table, it was even more intense. It was a lot of flavor. Keep in mind that prosciutto cotto is different than regular prosciutto, which is uncooked, cured ham. Regular prosciutto can become gamy, leathery, and too salty on pizza, but the prosciutto cotto actually worked really well, perhaps because it is cooked rather than cured.

The roast pork pizza was somewhat of a disappointment in comparison. Though piled with ricotta, lemony rapini, red onion, and a soft egg, it missed transcendence. The ricotta in particular was bland, and it seemed as if the egg may have been unsalted, rendering it one-dimensional as well. The pork was not flavorful enough to add much, so by process of elimination, the rapini was the star of the show. In fact, I was a big fan of the rapini and still enjoyed the pizza in spite of its failings.

The other thing I want to talk about is their wine list. With three red wine options at $5 per glass, I thought it was really well-priced, and the Sangiovese was delicious and surprisingly fruity for an Italian red.