I’m the worst kind of former New Yorker — completely intolerant of subpar pizza and Italian fare. I was raised in a family of Italian restaurateurs, and they taught me that it’s all about the sauce. Nashville now has several respectable pizza joints, but when I crave the simple, unfussy carbs of my youth, there’s only one place to go: Bella Napoli. The Edgehill Village spot sources its main ingredients from the motherland. San Marzano tomatoes make for a tangy, uncomplicated sauce. It’s easy to kill a good sauce with unnecessary spices — too many meals are spoiled by excess oregano — but Bella Napoli’s recipe adds only salt and pepper.
You can’t go wrong with any of the restaurant’s lunch specials, but I’m still thinking about the eggplant panini. Thick slabs of eggplant are unbreaded and just lightly fried — you’ll have none of the squishy, oily nightshades of many less authentic restaurants — and topped with sauce and locally sourced Fior di Latte. This cheese isn’t claggy or oily, but fresh, flavorful and salty. It’s a holy trinity sandwiched between thick slices of bread made in house (the same recipe they use for their pizza dough, with flour sourced from a family mill in Italy). It’s served with house-made chips on the side and good enough for your Italian grandma.
