Review: Porta - Philadelphia, PA

Situated in a huge two-story former furniture store, Porta is Philadelphia's largest restaurant space. This is the third location for Porta, which began in Asbury Park, NJ in the space once occupied by The Student Prince, the nightclub where Bruce Springsteen met Clarence Clemons.

I visited the Philly location on a Wednesday night, and the place was abuzz with dining parties of all sorts. There are two levels inside, and the place feels warm and comfortable despite its cavernous dimensions. My visit was part of a group outing for food and drinks, so I didn't have control of the menu.

Porta is known best, perhaps, for its authentically Neapolitan pizza, but there is a fairly complete Italian menu including salads, fried appetizers, pastas, steaks, and even branzino. We gathered around a large attractive bar on the second floor and began with drinks and appetizers. 

Our Caesar salad was simple but well-executed, and the big crunchy croutons were a standout. Another impressive starter was the house-made mozzarella drizzled with extra virgin olive oil, sea salt, & black pepper, served with excellent fresh sliced Italian bread. Bread is always an odd appetizer before pizza, but this really set our taste buds on edge.

The first pizza I sampled was the simple Margherita, always the truest test of a Neapolitan pizza. This was was rendered with San Marzano tomatoes, house-made mozzarella, Parmigiano Reggiano, basil, and extra virgin olive oil. 

It was perfectly balanced in tastes and textures, with none of the wet spots or sogginess that plagues so many Neapolitans. I took particular note of the brightly flavored red sauce. The crust, always the most important element, was excellent if not quite at the level of Razza or Scuola Vecchia, the best Neapolitans I've had.

The Quattro Formaggio and the Margherita

The next pie I sampled was a white quattro formaggio. I like a white Neapolitan, because although it's indeed inauthentic without the red sauce, the reduced moisture content means the cheese gets to absorb more of that brief 90 seconds of heat in the 900 degree dome oven. 

Much like the Margherita, this pie too was ideally balanced. I can't name the four cheeses (nor find it on the menu), but the blend was particularly tasty, with a strongly flavored one (goat cheese?) in the mix.

Excellent char underneath

The third  Neapolitan was the least successful, essentially a Margherita topped with peppers, onions, and sausage. These are all terrific conventional pizza toppings, but not ideal on a Neapolitan. The peppers were tasty, but not in harmony with the more delicate flavors of the Margherita underneath.

Quattro Formaggio

The sausage, excellent quality, were inch-size pre-cooked slices which did not integrate into the pie at all, riding on top like the sad add-ons at a slice joint when the pizzaiolo puts sausage on a plain cheese slice before the re-heat. Porta's catering menu seems to tilt toward more "Medigan" tastes and this pie was probably a compromise to that. I'm glad it's not on the regular menu.

Sausage, peppers, onions

Finally, the last pies to come out were Nutella dessert pizzas. I've seen versions of this at other Neapolitan places and never was tempted, but in this setting it was easy to grab a slice to try it. I put some Nutella slices and other leftovers in a box to take home. An hour later, I tasted the Nutella pie and I was floored. Dusted with powdered sugar, it was a delightful mix of that savory and chewy crust with the sweet chocolate-hazelnut flavor inside.  I had another piece the next day after overnight refrigeration and it was still wonderful.

Source: @pizzaporta on Twitter

Philly is a great pizza town, even if Beddia has come and gone. Roman al taglio style at Rione or Alice, traditional masterpieces at Tacconelli's and Pizza Brain, Neapolitans at Capofitto and Vetri. Porta is a worthy addition both in terms of the quality of their Neapolitan pies, but also the huge space with great ambiance in an ideal center city location. We'll be back!