A Taste of Home

I was raised in Worcester, went to school here, met my wife here and got married here.  However, I was born in the Campania Region (Naples) of Italy.  Some of my vacations growing up were spending summers back in Italy with family that I still have there.  I was able to learn and practice the language, learn about my ancestry and understand the traditions more.  For example, every August we can tomato sauce for the entire year, never needing to buy any at the store.  Up until a few years ago, my dad and I made our own wine.  Holding on to old family traditions, no matter what your origins are, is something truly to be proud of.

Recently we went to Volturno Restaurant on Shrewsbury Street in Worcester.  Their sign said Pizza Napoletana, which coming from the region is big shoes to fill.  I had heard great reviews from friends and felt that we needed to see for ourselves.  The restaurant is located in the old Edward Buick building on the downtown end of Shrewsbury Street.  What an amazing job they did renovating that site, you would have never known there was a car dealership there.  We were greeted as soon as we came in and felt welcome almost immediately.

They have a one page menu, which is one of the things I love most about the place.  It is completely centered on its pizza, which a pizza restaurant should do.  For appetizers we had the Grilled Calamari with Chili Olives, Chick Peas and Parsley.  If you only like fried Calamari you are completely missing out on this one. It was presented well and it tasted even better.  We also had for and appetizer, the Arancini, which simply put was Risotto ball with Porcini and Mozzarella.  Very tasty!  Now it was time to move on to the real reason we were there, the pizza. 

Pizza Napoletana is world renowned.  It was even featured as one of the "eats" in the book/movie "Eat, Pray, Love".  It is normally cooked in a brick oven with oak firewood.  Volturno has two large brick ovens at the far end of the restaurant that everyone can see.  The pizzas that we ordered were the Margharita, Bianca and Calabrese.  The Margharita, which is my dad's all-time favorite, was cooked with just the right amount of Fiore di Latte (Mozzarella), tomato and basil.  The crust was light and fluffy, not too thin and not too thick, just right.  It tasted amazing.  My dad ate the majority of it, but the rest of did get to get a taste.  The Calabrese had the same type crust with and added mixture of sausage and scallions for toppings.  The Bianca was by far the best pizza of the three.  A "white" pizza with Ricotta and Fiore di Latte, seasoned with chile, scallions and roasted garlic.  When I say roasted garlic, there were full cloves on the pizza.  Everything just melted in your mouth.  

Volturno is named after the River Volturno which was a dividing point between the Allies and the Axis.  It runs right through the Campania region and out to the Tyrrhenian Sea at the beach town Castel Volturno.  In speaking with one of the owners on my way out she told me that her son had visited the region on his honeymoon and was so enamored that he went back for a year to learn how to make Pizza Napoletana.  I must say, job well done.

Volturno Pizza has a great atmosphere with its high ceilings, and its floor to ceiling front windows.  It does have a patio that was not opened when we went but I will assume will be very nice for outdoor dining.  The bar is at the center of the restaurant is also a great place to meet up with friends for a drink.  Volturno has other foods on its menu including Bruschetta's, Pastas and Entrees.  But really, there is no other reason to go there.  Volturno Pizza, Job Well Done!  Can't wait to go back

3D

If you don't take it from me, ask my wife.