Paris continues to welcome new Italian eateries that bring to light street specialties that are frankly little-known in Paris. After Frittza's fried pizzas, and more recentlyAlla Mano's supplì and panzerotti, chef Gennaro Nasti has resurrected another Neapolitan street-food specialty at Tribunali: pizza a rot e carrett' aka the 'wagon wheel' pizza.
Chef Nasti made a name for himself in Paris by dexterously flying pizza dough at Bijou, voted third best pizzeria in Europe in 2020 (now Popine), before opening +400° Laboratorio (he has now withdrawn from the project) and recently inaugurating Brasserie Italienne by Nasti in the 16th arrondissement.
The ancestor of the Neapolitan pizza we appreciate today for its puffy, plump edges, the pizza a rot e carrett' is distinguished by its extended format (30 cm in diameter!), reminiscent of a wheel according to Neapolitan poet and storyteller Velardinièllo, but also its thin dough and narrow sidewalks - the original aspect of the true Neapolitan pizza, according to the chef!
It was in the 15th century that this XXL pizza first appeared, right in the heart of Naples' judicial district, via dei Tribunali - see the link with the name of Gennaro Nasti's new restaurant? A convenient way to eat this large pizza for lawyers and defendants, pressed for time by legal matters, was then to enjoy it folded in 4, in the manner of a portafoglio pizza - its close descendant enjoyed in Paris at Magnà.
"My grandmother used to eat it on the sidewalk, and this pizza evokes so many memories for me... I wanted to recreate a popular, open and accessible place. More than a pizza, it's a piece of Naples' history that I'm importing to Paris," explains chef Gennaro Nasti. So, has the gamble paid off? It's already worth pointing out that the Neapolitan chef makes it a point of honor, as usual, to source the finest flours, cheeses and tomato sauces.
In terms of recipes, Tribunali offers the classics you'd expect from a pizzeria - margherita (€9.50), 4-cheese (€11.50) and pizza reine (€12) - alongside more personal recipes, such as pizza lasagna (€13,50€) with ragù, pizza parmigiana (13€) with eggplant, or pizza Emiliana (18€) with Parma ham, sun-dried tomatoes, burrata, pine nuts, garlic, arugula and basil pesto.
Finally, except for their enlarged format, Tribunali's pizzas are similar to Gennaro Nasti's usual pizzas, well made and generously topped. The price of the margherita, at €9.50, brings Parisian street food down to earth (a little).
The other specialty to be discovered at Tribunali, and always to be eaten on the go, are the famous panuozzi, sandwiches originating from Campania, halfway between panini and pizza - they are made from the same dough as the latter. From the simplest (tomato/parmesan/basil; €7.50) to the most recreational (mortadella/pistachio/stracciatella cream; €12), Tribunali's panuozzi are devoured in the blink of an eye.
So, will it be panuozzo or pizza a rot e carrett' this lunchtime?
Location
Tribunali
36 Boulevard des Batignolles
75017 Paris 17
Official website
tribunali-pizzerianapoletana.co
